Hi everyone,
Years ago, when I first started with the IPDB, I ran across a website for ball and puck bowlers that listed the bowlers, their manufacturers, the dates of manufacture, and pictures. I really liked that website. Then, one day, it was gone. I didn't know what happened to it. In the years following, I had regret that I had never contacted the site owner to introduce myself and to express my appreciation for his efforts. Every now and then I would think about it and kick myself, because, if anything, I could have offered to take over his site so that everyone can continue to enjoy the work he had put into it. I wasn't sure how I would find the time in addition to the IPDB or if my pinball partner and webmaster Christopher Wolf would feel put-upon to make it happen but, if the choice was that or nothing, I'd figure something out to get it back online. I'd have to, I felt.
But that conversation could never take place because I did not know who the owner was. Heck, I could not even recall the URL it was under and I had never bookmarked it. I had nothing but a receding memory of it. It was hard to ask people, "Hey, do you recall a really good ball and puck bowler website from years ago? But I have no other information!"
After a forgotten number of years went by, it was a few years ago, in deciding to renew my efforts to ask around, I happened to be talking to my friend Cal Smith, an old-time operator and collector (who is coming to my house tomorrow to get running a Keeney "Sweet Shawnee" for me) and he DID recall this website and said I should probably ask Phil Hooper about it. So, I contacted Phil who surprised himself by remembering that far back and he gave me the name of the site owner and an old email address for him, and I saw it had a French extension. His name is Bernard Margelin, he allows me to say here.
So, now I had a name and a direction. This was in 2019. I posted a query on the French pinball forum flipjuke asking how I can reach Bernard. They replied he had not been to their site since 2015 but someone there figured out a possible street mailing address for him which, long story short, did not pan out.
And there it sat. Until last month when I received an email from Bernard saying that he had heard someone named Jay Stafford had been looking for him about bowling but he said nothing more. I told him I was looking for the site owner and I got excited and let it all out and told him all the parts about liking the site, missing it, regretting no contact, and had been looking for the owner off and on for years with nothing to go on. I ended the message saying if that person was not him, at least he might enjoy my story.
He wrote back to say he was that person and I had come knocking on the right door! We then started talking about the IPDB taking over his site. He was amenable to that but, in the course of our email discussion, he realized that he would like to give it another go himself! I was all for that, as my hope was just to see it back online!
So, with Bernard's permission, after all of these years, I am pleased to present the brand new URL for the BOWLER DATABASE, now online:
bowlerdb.org
At this time, what you will see is what he has resurrected from his earlier incarnation. The photos there are from years ago and are low-res but we hope more will now come in. He welcomes submissions of photos, game information, and manufacturer documentation such as manuals, schematics, etc. You can do this by emailing him at the email address that he displays on his site.
Let me pause the story to say that the IPDB has enjoyed the help and efforts of people in the pinball hobby over the years who email me with the URLs of games they see on ebay, craigslist, auction sites, and the like, of games that they see the IPDB could benefit in having those pictures. I then contact the seller for permission to show their pictures on the site. These helpful people scouting for the IPDB have made a conspicuous difference in improving what the IPDB has to offer.
May I now please invite anybody to do the same scouting for the Bowler Database? Bernard is open to this. If you see bowling machine pictures anywhere online that could help Bernard's site grow, including games he does not list on his site, please email him with the URL of where you saw them. As done for me, please in the email Subject line indicate the manufacturer and name of game. It helps greatly to add to the Subject line the single word "ebay" or "craigslist" or "leboncoin" to also indicate when there is a time deadline involved.
He is prepared to get to work so I hope anyone can assist him to get the momentum going!
I am happy for Bernard and look forward to enjoying his Bowler Database.
Thank you.
Cincinnati, OH
