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I think one of the neat things about Raymond’s
site that makes it so interesting is the personal twist where the detailed
coin-op history stands along side some wonderful history of Galveston Texas
where he grew up, so you get a little more flavor of the times having these
two interests framed together as they are.
As I read through his pages again recently, this
connection prompted me to write him again, and just as I hoped he shared a
little more inormation with us:
Danny,
In my teen years here in Galveston the
town was wide open. There were slot machines in virtually all businesses
from mom and pop stores, restaurants, drive-ins, pool halls,
taverns--everywhere. The pinball games were the one-ball horserace
themed machines like my Grandstand which paid automatically.
Growing up in this environment, playing them was what many
people did. My high school gang sort of got hooked and stayed broke
because of them.
I always was curious as to how they worked. So, later
in life when I could afford a toy or two, I bought some to satisfy my
curiosity.
When I came out of the Navy in '57 I put a few arcade
machines on the beachfront at a kiddieland. The machines were
destroyed in a storm, but I still had to pay for them. I was
fascinated with a machine that would work for me while I slept!
I became interested in some of the carnival games that were
used at the kiddieland and ran a few myself as a part time job (I worked
regularly for the Santa Fe Railway). Thus the interest in H C Evans
catalogs that I publish on my site.
Thanks for your inquiry. Answering your email
brought back some pleasant memories.
Ray
Not to many days after this, Ray
wrote to me again and I love these next emails: Apparently his site is so
precise in detail and history, that a family member of a former H.C. Evans
manager reached out to him thinking he must have worked there himself or
knew someone that did:
(editted)
Your posting on the internet about H C Evans is very
accurate and has my family curious because we have a relationship with
Evans,
You must be related to the family or had someone in your
family that worked there? My name is Ray (Bud)
Giegerich. My father-in-law was general manager of H C Evans for many
years until he passed away in 1954. “Uncle” Dick Hood along with his
wife, Bess, were the owners. My father-in-law was Rex
Shriver and I married his daughter, Lois in 1949. Dick Hood’s
daughter Esther, and only surviving child, and I are still in contact
with each other.
Now about your question regarding a photograph of a mechanism
or anything about the product....I am sorry, but I can’t be of any
help. As mentioned in the story the plant closed in 1954 or 55.
The last president was their son, Dick Hood, Esther’s
brother. He too has passed on.
I would like very much to learn who you are so I can tell
Esther and her daughter, Patricia, about your interest and
who you are. I am sure they would enjoy knowing.
I hope to hear from you.
Ray Giegerich
And this folks
is a Great Example of the power of sharing and the wonderful reach and
scope of the Internet. At no other point in time have we had the ability to
openly share our interests as Raymond and so many other’s are doing and to
be to stumble across, research, share, meet others, and build the knowledge
pools we are today.
This is one of the reasons I am here
and hope you write – Our opportuntiy to work together in tandem to capture
and record some rather elsuive history that otherwise, might just slip away
forever!
Raymond’s response to Ray
Hello Ray –
Thank you for writing.
No, I am not related to, nor have I ever
known anyone who worked at Evans.
My hometown of Galveston
was open gambling in the 40’s and early 50’s which were my teen
years. Slot machines were everywhere, and one of the most popular machine
in numbers was the Evans Bangtails Winter Book. This was followed by
Bally one ball pins and console machines, and in rural areas the mechanical
Mills machines were exhibited. I loved playing these machines.
I had a fascination with coin machines.
I always liked the idea of a machine working and earning while its owner
was asleep!
Galveston began
closing down beginning in 1951. The automatic payout machines
disappeared and the Bally bingo pins were introduced as their replacement.
My Navy years of 1953-1957 took me to Japan
where I was a court reporter for General Courts Martial. I found in
the evidence files of cases tried before I got there a series of catalogs
from the K C Card Co and O C Novelty Co, sellers of marked cards and
“advantage” dice.
Home from the Navy I met the owner of an
amusement park, Luke Jones. He had a copy of a catalog from the Evans Park
and Carnival
Device Corporation. I asked Luke about the various games ane how they
worked. I bought a Bee Hive and ran that through the summer part time
(I worked regularly for Santa Fe Railroad). Later I bought a razzle
from Evans. Thus was my introduction to Evans.
I always wanted a Evans horserace
machine. I was curious as to how they worked. When the internet
expanded I finally found one. Later I added a few other machines that
I played as a youth, again with curiosity of how they operated, the odds,
etc.
I cobbled together my web site as an
information place for others who may be interested in old slot machines or
who may have an interest in outdoor amusements. The information I
aggregated about Evans comes from various books I have on slot machines
such as those authored by Bueschel and Fey. Many photos of machines I
took from eBay auctions over several years.
Evidently others are interested in Evans
also. The Wikipedia article,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._C._Evans,
is not my authorship although they refer to my website several times.
Again, thank you for writing. I
would appreciate corrections if anything I have written is incorrect.
Also, if you have any stories about the company, I would be pleased to have
them to post on my web site. I have inquiries about these machines
and products from all over the world.
Ray Watts
– Galveston,
TX
What more needs to be said – “Yeah,
this historian gets a Who’s Who page!”
~ Thank you Ray
~
You’re definitely one of the Bingo Kings!
Raymond’s
Bingo Links:
Silver
Sails Movie – Oh Yeah, this really rocks!
His Silver Sails -
Operator's
Price Lists -
A United Bingo Picture Gallery -
How
to Cheat at Bingo -
Raymond's Home
-
His Broadway -
Index
of his graphics, fylers, and goodies -
Price
History Link - A
page on Phil Hooper's site - Maintained by Mr. Watts
Bally Bright Lights – Don’t be fooled, go
ahead and read through this one!
Raymond’s Main Page:
Ray's Home Page
– Check out the name of the URL when you get here – Hmmm!
This page last update 3-25-2008
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