Quoted from Quartermaster:Just a little lighthearted story for anyone who's not totally exhausted.
In 1975 my partners and I built and opened Noah's Arkade in the La Mirada Mall, in La Mirada California.
During our 14 year run some of our patrons included many of today's collectors and aficionados, among them were the honorable Mr. John Weeks himself, also a young Chuck Casey, and Kevin Glass, to mention just a few. If you were there also you'll have to shout out.
Anyway I was inspired by EricPinballFan's purchase of the Allied Leisure "Monte Carlo" (congrats Eric) The arcade was 3650 sq ft with roughly 90 to 100 games and Monte Carlo was one. Billed as a (cheap) affordable game, (maybe $695.00 I'll look through old invoices later) it was a great purchase. It consistently outearned many of it's more expensive counterparts. It's biggest competitor for cheap but productive game was Atari's "Touch Me" (think coin operated cabinet style version of Simon) If I remember correctly, price tag was $350.00 But it made A LOT of money and drove workers batty.
Beepbeep, boop boop boop beep boop beep, all day long.
Opening day was a bit harrowing as the frontage of the arcade was 60ft across with accordian security gates which were at least 20 deep with anxious kids all the way across, literally counting down the seconds, 5,4,3,2,1 they poured in like a deluge and then the strangest thing happened. For a few minutes it was eerily quiet as they were all just taking it in, unsure what to play first. Then all of a sudden, chaos as the sound of Road Runner, Panzer Attack, Flying Tigers, Midway Gangbusters, Twin Rifle, Dune Buggy, Atari Jaws, Space Race (green fiberglass cabinet), Pong, and a color pong called Wimbledon, Fire Truck, Air Hockey, and numerous pinballs sprang to life. Most of all was full attendance on Atari's Indy 800 Purchased at the astonishing 1975 price of $10,000.00 It made it's money back over time.
So when I saw that Eric had scored the Monte Carlo it took me back to an incredible time that I was very fortunate to be part of. It also reminded me of another incredible time that I was fortunate to be part of. The Museum of Pinball was for me a walk down memory lane, and also a chance for me to meet and work with a most incredible bunch of dedicated lovers of the MAGIC of Pinball and Video, and Mechanical Arcade games. We are a lucky lot and many people will never know that "MAGIC" I enjoyed all of my time working with the volunteer techs and the Weeks family, collaborating with the crew on everything from EM and solid state pins to video games dance machines and even the aforementioned Monte Carlo.
Yes I would drive the 109 miles from my home and volunteer my time again in a heartbeat just for the satisfaction of bringing "that game" any game back to life so that someone could experience the things I had.
So, from me I give a huge THANK YOU! Mr. John Weeks for gathering all these machines and helping to keep this amazing invention alive for those who didn't get to enjoy it in it's heyday.
I'd just like to say that 10 or 15 years ago, Pinball was a fading force, video games were losing out to Xbox, Playstation, CounterStrike, and many other PC Games and diversions. My original arcade, Family Fun Arcade in Granada Hills Ca, was nearing the end of it's almost 40 year run, being held together on the strength of Street Fighter competition and Dance and music games. Arcade games in general had fallen flat and there was barely a beginning of a nostalgia driven collector community or movement. Fast forward to today and it's now a bona fide force to be reckoned with.
I credit John Weeks and ALL those who contributed to the Museum of Pinball with filling that gap between the last gasp of arcades and the new emergence of this community. Many of the games sold here would have been lost forever years ago had they not been at the Museum during that period of lack of interest. John, you made that happen. Thank You for letting me play at your house. I will be eternally grateful.
So go out and support those people who are doing this in other places Tim Arnold PHOF, Steve Young Pinball Resource, Michael Schiess Pacific Pinball Museum, Nico Volta Roanoke Pinball Museum, Calif Extreme, Golden State Pinball Fest, TPF, etc. etc. you know, you fill in the blanks, or maybe, HEY WHAT THE HELL, GET BUSY, GO OUT AND BUILD YOUR OWN DAMN MUSEUM. I'll even volunteer to help.
