pinball

The back room

A page for pinball

My personal pinball collecting, restorations, repair, and lots of fun

I started my pinball passion when I was an kid. In the summer I spent a lot of time in Weirs Beach, NH, which at one time was the place to be if you love the game. In the 80's and all the way up until the mid 90's there were close to 300 machines within just a few miles of each other. It has dwindled considerably in recent years, but there are still quite a few. Whether they were on Lakeside avenue in beach and boardwalk arcades or in the famous Funspot entertainment center, there was quite a selection. I think I probably stumbled upon my love of pinball by accident. Before that I saw Space Invaders, and Pac Man, and before that the kiddie rides that had been there so long, that my parents had once used them. Behind all these new video games were always a row of pinball or two. I passed right by them on my way to the skee ball lanes that has also been there for ages. It wasn't until I heard this bellowing, larger than life sound startle me at just the right time. Almost as if it sensed me walking by, a sleek black rectangular table shouted at me. BLACKOUT! It had not yet been put into position and was pulled out a bit on a dolly. One guy was testing it. I looked it over. At first I saw the large home stereo speaker sitting on top which was added by the arcade owner. I thought that was really cool. At that moment I really didn't pay attention to what was underneath it, just in the fact that it scared the crap out of me and got my attention. I watched as it was moved into place and then set down in a place it would remain for almost 20 years. The guy gave it one last look and then took his dolly and walked away. I was curious so I went to the machine and looked it over. I knew what a pinball was but I had never really given them much thought before. I examined the artwork a moment then gave it a quarter. After fumbling a few moments on trying to figure out how to start this thing I pressed on probably the last button I hadn't tried. LAUNCH MISSION! My game lasted probably under a minute, with my limited skill of pressing both flipper buttons at the same time when the ball got to them but I liked it. After feeding this machine it's first ever quarter I was forever intreagued by the silver ball after that. Once and a while a video game would interest me, but it was the wonder of keeping a ball moving through what I consider an artform that caught me on that one early July day in 1980. That machine is long gone now and hopefully in the hands of a collector. But it introduced me to fun, excitement, artwork, and a timeless sensation in a wooden box decorated with fancy art, and littered with switches, lights, bumpers and a whole mess of wires. I still look fondly at the chrome steel ball even after 25 years and now living thousands of miles away in the Seattle, WA area. I hope it never goes away.

It may be an obsession, but at the very least, it's a hobby...