6/13/2005
Man Turns Pinball Hobby Into Perfect Basement Hangout
DANA BORICK Associated Press
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Time should have stopped in the 1950s.
If it did, Bob Brague Jr. of Loyalsock Township would have the perfect place to hang out: "Bobby's Diner."
Brague turned his basement into an authentic replica of a '50s diner, complete with black-and-white tile floor, a Coca-Cola soda machine, pinball machines, a jukebox and candy machines.
It all began when Brague began repairing and restoring pinball machines as a hobby.
"I played these machines as a kid," he said, referring to the games he played as an 8-year-old at the ABC Bowling Alley on Park Avenue.
"I am a coin-op addict," he said. "Back then, when the machines 'knocked,' people knew you were a pro and called you a pinball wizard."
Brague said repairing pinball machines is not a quick fix.
"It can take 40 to 50 hours for one machine," he added.
Brague said he is self-taught, learning the repair trade from dealers, "old timers" and the Internet.
He attends pinball machine shows in York and Allentown twice a year, he said, where he often finds a good deal.
"No one wants them when they're not working," he said.
When he gets a machine running, the sound reminds him of the games at Knoebels Grove Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pa.
One of his favorite machines is the Bally "Beauty Contest," once dubbed as the "fastest moneymaker ever built."
He was pleased to discover that he and Elvis Presley had the same taste in pinball games. During a trip to Graceland he saw a 1975 "Knockout" game that he also owns.
Up until the 1960s, machine manufacturers used wood rails on the side until switching to metal in 1961, Brague said.
"It's amazing some of the old machines don't have cigarette burns," his wife, LeAnn, said of the machines with wood rails. Brague said people used to smoke and use the rails as their ashtrays until some pinball machine companies started putting cigarette holders on them.
Brague said people used to carve their initials on the machines - but "I never did it."
"Some guys like to go hunting, but I'm not into that," he said.
Brague said this is his only vice - he's not into sports, he's not a couch potato and he's not into movies or television shows.
He doesn't want to sell his collection - "it's priceless to me" - but he's hoping to pass it on to his children.
His wife supports his hobby. She said she has no problem with him investing time and money into it. "It keeps the kids home," she said. "We have parties with ice cream and pizza."
Brague agreed.
"When my kids come down here, they go nuts ... their friends light up like a bulb."
After a bad day at work Brague said he likes to go downstairs, play the pinball machines and relax.
"That world is a headache," he said, gesturing upstairs. "I'd rather do this than work."
His wife agreed.
"His mind literally is in the '50s," she said.
And being stuck in the 1950s is a bit unusual, considering Brague wasn't born until 1963.
Brague has a paper soda jerk Coca-Cola hat made in 1941 in Japan, which is extremely rare, he said.
"This is when things had style and class."
He built the diner countertop and booth table with a boomerang-speckled top and chrome on the sides to be completely authentic.
"I'm not into reproductions," he said.
The jukebox, a green 1955JL Seeberg high fidelity model, only plays the "real stuff," according to Brague. It has a lot of oldies and goodies from artists such as Patsy Cline, his favorite female artist, and Elvis, the "ultimate male artist," along with tunes from Skyliners, Richie Valens, Chuck Berry and The Platters, just to name a few.
Brague said the "L" in the model number stands for "lime" because the color green was once considered a jinx.
The jukebox tunes can be selected from a 'Wall-O-Matic' wall box on the bar and booth. The music, when played through his United Artist speakers on the ceiling, provides an early version of surround sound.
Looking up, old car hubcaps from Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge and Buick are artistically arranged on the ceiling.
Brague said he has a 1958 Coca-Cola machine that he restored and rewired so the light works without the compressor running. He even found Coke bottles with caps from the 1950s to stock it for an authentic look. The room includes such details as the sugar cookie-scented candle he lights for guests, the fake doughnuts for sale on the diner counter, and the shade of green paint he painted the walls to be reminiscent of Woolworth's and L.L. Sterns.
He has a display of license plates from 1950 to 1958 lining one wall in blue and orange.
"They always replaced the plates in March," he said, so police could tell what year the plate was registered just by the color, blue one year, orange the next.
His Topper bubble gum machine and 1947 cash register both work, along with his 1938 slot machine.
When Peg and Bill's Diner on West Fourth Street closed, he bought their coffee cups, which line the bar, and an old coffee machine, which sits in the corner.
Growing up, Brague remembers his parents giving him $2.50 to spend Saturdays at ABC Bowling Alley. He said $2 would go toward bowling and the 50 cents would go to the pinball machines.
"I would starve myself bowling all day just to play the machines," he said. "I would hide when my mom came to pick me up."
He's especially pleased with the restoration work he did on the "Home Run" baseball game machine. He bought it at a pinball show because it was a game he remembered playing in Knoebels Grove and Hills Department Store. But when he first bought it, the game wouldn't even turn on. Now it works perfectly, he said.
Brague said he also remembers his father playing the "Shoot A Line" bingo pinball machine at the Uptown Coffee Shop on Fourth Street in the mid-1970s.
"Being a minor, I wasn't allowed to play the bingo pinball machines back then," he said. "Bingo pinballs were supposed to be for amusement only back then, but some places would secretly pay out in
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Time should have stopped in the 1950s.
If it did, Bob Brague Jr. of Loyalsock Township would have the perfect place to hang out: "Bobby's Diner."
Brague turned his basement into an authentic replica of a '50s diner, complete with black-and-white tile floor, a Coca-Cola soda machine, pinball machines, a jukebox and candy machines.
It all began when Brague began repairing and restoring pinball machines as a hobby.
"I played these machines as a kid," he said, referring to the games he played as an 8-year-old at the ABC Bowling Alley on Park Avenue.
"I am a coin-op addict," he said. "Back then, when the machines 'knocked,' people knew you were a pro and called you a pinball wizard."
Brague said repairing pinball machines is not a quick fix.
"It can take 40 to 50 hours for one machine," he added.
Brague said he is self-taught, learning the repair trade from dealers, "old timers" and the Internet.
He attends pinball machine shows in York and Allentown twice a year, he said, where he often finds a good deal.
"No one wants them when they're not working," he said.
When he gets a machine running, the sound reminds him of the games at Knoebels Grove Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pa.
One of his favorite machines is the Bally "Beauty Contest," once dubbed as the "fastest moneymaker ever built."
He was pleased to discover that he and Elvis Presley had the same taste in pinball games. During a trip to Graceland he saw a 1975 "Knockout" game that he also owns.
Up until the 1960s, machine manufacturers used wood rails on the side until switching to metal in 1961, Brague said.
"It's amazing some of the old machines don't have cigarette burns," his wife, LeAnn, said of the machines with wood rails. Brague said people used to smoke and use the rails as their ashtrays until some pinball machine companies started putting cigarette holders on them.
Brague said people used to carve their initials on the machines - but "I never did it."
"Some guys like to go hunting, but I'm not into that," he said.
Brague said this is his only vice - he's not into sports, he's not a couch potato and he's not into movies or television shows.
He doesn't want to sell his collection - "it's priceless to me" - but he's hoping to pass it on to his children.
His wife supports his hobby. She said she has no problem with him investing time and money into it. "It keeps the kids home," she said. "We have parties with ice cream and pizza."
Brague agreed.
"When my kids come down here, they go nuts ... their friends light up like a bulb."
After a bad day at work Brague said he likes to go downstairs, play the pinball machines and relax.
"That world is a headache," he said, gesturing upstairs. "I'd rather do this than work."
His wife agreed.
"His mind literally is in the '50s," she said.
And being stuck in the 1950s is a bit unusual, considering Brague wasn't born until 1963.
Brague has a paper soda jerk Coca-Cola hat made in 1941 in Japan, which is extremely rare, he said.
"This is when things had style and class."
He built the diner countertop and booth table with a boomerang-speckled top and chrome on the sides to be completely authentic.
"I'm not into reproductions," he said.
The jukebox, a green 1955JL Seeberg high fidelity model, only plays the "real stuff," according to Brague. It has a lot of oldies and goodies from artists such as Patsy Cline, his favorite female artist, and Elvis, the "ultimate male artist," along with tunes from Skyliners, Richie Valens, Chuck Berry and The Platters, just to name a few.
Brague said the "L" in the model number stands for "lime" because the color green was once considered a jinx.
The jukebox tunes can be selected from a 'Wall-O-Matic' wall box on the bar and booth. The music, when played through his United Artist speakers on the ceiling, provides an early version of surround sound.
Looking up, old car hubcaps from Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge and Buick are artistically arranged on the ceiling.
Brague said he has a 1958 Coca-Cola machine that he restored and rewired so the light works without the compressor running. He even found Coke bottles with caps from the 1950s to stock it for an authentic look. The room includes such details as the sugar cookie-scented candle he lights for guests, the fake doughnuts for sale on the diner counter, and the shade of green paint he painted the walls to be reminiscent of Woolworth's and L.L. Sterns.
He has a display of license plates from 1950 to 1958 lining one wall in blue and orange.
"They always replaced the plates in March," he said, so police could tell what year the plate was registered just by the color, blue one year, orange the next.
His Topper bubble gum machine and 1947 cash register both work, along with his 1938 slot machine.
When Peg and Bill's Diner on West Fourth Street closed, he bought their coffee cups, which line the bar, and an old coffee machine, which sits in the corner.
Growing up, Brague remembers his parents giving him $2.50 to spend Saturdays at ABC Bowling Alley. He said $2 would go toward bowling and the 50 cents would go to the pinball machines.
"I would starve myself bowling all day just to play the machines," he said. "I would hide when my mom came to pick me up."
He's especially pleased with the restoration work he did on the "Home Run" baseball game machine. He bought it at a pinball show because it was a game he remembered playing in Knoebels Grove and Hills Department Store. But when he first bought it, the game wouldn't even turn on. Now it works perfectly, he said.
Brague said he also remembers his father playing the "Shoot A Line" bingo pinball machine at the Uptown Coffee Shop on Fourth Street in the mid-1970s.
"Being a minor, I wasn't allowed to play the bingo pinball machines back then," he said. "Bingo pinballs were supposed to be for amusement only back then, but some places would secretly pay out in
