On April 3, 1981, Philip & I purchased a juke box from Ford Amusements, 23 Howard Avenue, for $350. The receipt identifies the juke as a Rockola 432. The receipt appears to identify the salesman as Gene Fuchs (NOTE: In Philip's comment he has identified this person as Gene Fulton). The 340 Club Juke Box served well for years at 340 West King, 338 West King, 48 Seymour, and - after I purchased all shares of ownership of the box - at 47 Glen Oak Drive. Sadly, in its retirement years it now finds itself quite limited but still alive. The 432s were made by Rockola in the late 60s so the Juke Box, almost 37 years in my possession is close to 50 years old. The picture below depicts the Juke Box as it currently stands proudly in my living room.
As a moneymaker the Juke Box was shortlived but paid for itself. It debuted at a party on the day we bought it (could have been April 10th but I can't imagine we waited a week). The juke box was set to need coins to play and three plays cost a quarter. That first evening Phil & I netted $12.10 (or 48 quarters and some drunken loose change). The Juke Box was a fixture for 16 months as a pay for play attraction and more as a novelty - though earning the occasional quarter after that - for the remainder of its life. The last recorded net earnings figure was $771.28 as of 10/10/82.
Here are the top grossing Juke Box Days of all-time
1. Fan Appreciation Day $20.40
2. July 3, 1981 $20.17
3. May 23, 1981 $18.10
4. May Day,1981 $16.30
5. Daylight Savings Time, 1982 $15.80
6. Sheryl's Birthday, 1982 $14.70
7. Valentine's Day, 1982 $13.65
8. Reunion, 1982 $12.60
9. Boycott $12.40
10. May 22, 1981 $12.30
NOTES: On Fan Appreciation Day Phil & I invested $35.32 in beer and/or foodstuff from Juke Box profits; as it turned out - after that nights revenues - it was a $14.92 net investment. F.A.D. held the Saturday record. The July 3rd nite was the Friday record. The Sunday record was $11.15 for a party known as Masada. It coincided with the debut of an ABC TV mini-series about the siege of Masada. Apparently it was self-explanatory and hearing the sound was not too important. To put some of these numbers in perspective and to illustrate how many people came in and out of the 340 on a party nite - the $20.40 found in the Juke after the F.A.D. represented 81 quarters or 243 songs at 3 minutes per song it equates to 12 hours and 9 minutes. Now, assuming 8 hours of sleep (generous I know) leaves 16 waking hours. On that day, the Juke Box was playing a song for 76.5% of all possible waking hours. Nuff ced!!!
THAT POST APPEARED LAST JANUARY AND IS REPOSTED TODAY BECAUSE TONIGHT - March 29, 2009 - IS THE FIRST NIGHT SINCE APRIL 3, 1981 IN MY HOUSE WITHOUT THE JUKE BOX. THE UNDERTAKER PICKED UP THE FAITHFUL FRIEND, THE STURDY SHELTER, ABOUT THREE HOURS AGO. IT DIED IN ITS SLEEP THE OTHER DAY. THE JUKE BOX DEPARTED MY HOUSE STILL HOLDING THE PICTURES OF THE BONNIE PARKER BAND AND THE 340 CLUB PICNIC. I HOPE TO GET THEM BACK AFTER THE AUTOPSY. I ALSO HOPE TO REPLACE THE JUKE BOX SOON.
RIP MY FRIEND. GOD BLESS THE 340! GOD BLESS THE ROCKOLA!
