By Dan Shine
Voice Columnist
This week we are pleased to present the first-hand recollections of Jim Spina, who spent decades as an educator in West Haven, and whose family labored at old Savin Rock from 1910 until the amusement park’s demise in 1967-
“The Art and Creativity of the Savin Rock Concessionaires ”
By “Little Jim Spina” WHHS ‘56
Part One… Art
Take a close look at this post WW 2 picture taken about 1950 just before the landmark amusement park known as Savin Rock began to decay.
The concessionaire, “Big Jim Spina” is handing out a prize to a winner at the Coke Bottle game of skill. Look closely at the wide range of prizes that artfully “flash” the stand.* Find the shiny sailboat clocks, golden horse clocks, French bed dolls, lamps, high class kitchen dishes , chrome bowling ball whiskey shot holders, and other charms of the fifties. As the visitors strolled by, he would call out, “Ring one-take one! Six rings for a quarter… Come on in!” And they did.
(*Also known by the game operators as “the joint.” New phrases were born. When it was time to close, the boss shouted, “slough the joint!” Translation: lower and lock the folding wood shutters.
Since the photo of the Coke Game of skill was taken in 1950, you may wonder what the “joints” were like before World War Two. Well, they didn’t provide homes for just games of skill. Here’s a photo of one of the most popular games loved by people looking to win money and not just prizes.
“It’s a “Money Wheel”, beautifully hand painted by a local West Haven resident. She was a woman of Indian heritage, but her name has been lost over time. Place a dime on the number layout shown below, the wheel spins and if you’re lucky, you win a dollar on the Red!
It was not regarded as a strong wheel. Since it only had eight numbers, you may guess that it was not popular with stand operators. It had too many winners at 8 to 1 odds. Money wheels were in operation up to the end of WW 2 when they were outlawed. Why, may you ask?
The reasons: Well, the war ended about 80 years ago and the focus of the returning battlefield men was on the beginning of a new and peaceful family life. 1945 and 1946 were overflowing with new business ideas and educational opportunities.
However, the changes in workplace cultures and the lack of jobs caught the attention of the veterans. They discovered that the old jobs they once held had disappeared. Factory jobs paid, if available, $25.00 a week. Shortages of food, and other everyday products after the war, were still hard to find and more difficult to pay for.
Fortunately, parts of New England, and some other states and towns, offered money making, seasonal amusement park jobs along the Atlantic coast. West Haven was housing such a place called Savin Rock.
It was founded long ago in the late 1880s and was one of the first amusement parks to have Edison’s electric lights. It was named after the hill called the savin rock overlooking the sound. It still stands today and little savin trees still grow there. Veterans, looking for work found it at “The Rock” and began to operate its games of chance. During the season from Memorial Day to Labor Day an operator could earn more than a year’s factory pay.
All was going well with the “Spin the Wheel” game until small groups of people complained that the games represented evil gambling and were no longer welcome in their pure cities and towns. The wheels disappeared when the laws changed and they caused a major financial blow to the war heroes.
There are 24 bottles to a case, and each one was made in a different state. If you throw hundreds of rings, you will probably win several times. The prizes were things that the players of those days really wanted. Anyone have a quarter?