I LISTENING POST I
I BEST OF EVERYTHING I
MOW
Thanksgiving
Holiday Buffet
s.
$16.95
per person
11:30 to 5:30
Thursday, November 22
$8.95
Enjoy your Thanksgiving in our
Grand Atrium and Jacques
Demers Restaurant.
children
under 12
Our holiday table includes carved
turkey, ham and roast beef, an ar-
ray of salads, as well as a sumptuous
dessert table.
Bring the entire family and enjoy a
holiday tradition at EMBASSY
SUITES!
Gs
0 4/ktes Zekfters
S AURANT & LOUNGE
MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS
NOW!
NW/ de
350-2000
EMBASSY
SUITES
28100 Franklin Road, Southfield, Michigan 48034
-5.
•
I I
PIZ z t+
31646 Northwestern Hwy., West of Middlebelt, Farmington Hills
85 5-4600
00
OFF
ANY LARGE PIZZA
or LARGE ANTIPASTO
Of LARGE GREEK SALAD
• Coupon Must Be Presented When Ordering
• Not Good With Any Other Discounts or Coupons
JN
• Expires 11-22-90
onteok?' more
DEL SI
32030 PLYMOUTH RD., WEST OF MERRIMAN 422-0770
Experience Freshly-Made Dishes Of
Veal, Fresh Seafood, Pasta, Etc. . . . Created by
Chef/Owner LUCIANO, Chef de Cuisine Mark Jordan
Also Featuring Fresh Game & A Health Smart Dish Of The Day
DINNER FOR TWO — MON. THRU THURS.
$14.95
VEAL PARMIGIANA
CHICKEN PICCATA
ORANGE ROUGHY
$14.95
$15.95
THESE DISHES ALSO INCLUDE: SOUP OR SALAD, PASTA OF THE DAY,
VEGETABLE & BREAD BASKET
$11.95
HOMEMADE LASAGNA
INCLUDES SOUP OR SALAD AND BREAD BASKET
LIVE JAZZ By Dolphin Dance
EVERY WED. 7 to 10
72
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1990
PIANO STYLINGS
FRI. & SAT.
Please Present Cott ton
Before Ordering
2 Per lithle
Expires II- )1-90
Gimmicks, Gags And Videos
Wow Marvin's Visitors
DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
T
hey call him "The
King of Shtick" . . .
and you'd readily see
why after viewing his collec-
tion of gimmicks, gags, video
machines, overhead airplanes
on a track, puppet shows,
games galore from
yesteryears and today.
All are amassed under one
huge roof in back of F & M at
Hunters Square, Orchard
Lake Road south of 14 Mile,
where Marvin Yagoda's in-
terests and activities have
become one of the highlights
in entertainment for parents
and grandparents taking
their children to a place
where they, too, can have
some fun.
It's his Marvin's Marvelous
Mechanical Museum . . . fill-
ed with a collection that dates
back to 1887 with a
quarterscope that you look in-
to and see old movies . . . and
I'm not so sure you won't find
things there that are even
older.
Marvin's collection of over
30 years is one big doozy of
fun . . . Hanging on the ceil-
ing is probably the world's
•largest pair of overalls . . . a
size 72 waist . . . There's even
a searchlight from Alcatraz
. . . a 1930 Coca Cola ice box
. . . rare Lionel trains . . . gyro
fans a la the Rube Goldberg
type, among the most seldom
found . . . 30 full-scale remote
airplanes, 40 feet up on a con-
veyor chain . . . Coney Island
machines, Neisner sign, ferris
wheel, old-time gas pumps.
Every inch of the 5,500
square feet at Marvin's
Marvelous Mechanical
Museum is used . . . with all
700 electrical outlets in
operation.
It looks like a huge recrea-
tion room chock full of fun .. .
Most of the things he has
were in private collections
that people never got to see
. . . So many that bring back
much youthful memories
from Edgewater Beach, Con-
ey Island, New York; River-
view Park in Chicago; Euclid
Beach in Cleveland;
Eastwood Park; Walled Lake
Amusement Park, etc.
Penny machines, magic
machines, fortune tellers and
other vintage exhibits . . .
stone lithograph magic
posters from the '20s, side
show banners, over 100 neon
signs and clocks, more than
300 coin-operated games and
amusements.
Marvin is a pharmacist at
Sam's Drugs on Fenkell,
which was founded by his
father, Sam Yagoda, and has
been at the same location 60
years.
His wife Jean is a tour
guide at the Detroit Zoo,
which is also represented at
Marvin's Marvelous Mechan-
ical Museum . . . A back-
ground board from the zoo's
Chimpanzee Show is very
visible.
He's big on birthday parties,
up to 50 people . . . A recent
50th birthday shindig was
held there, but usually the
younger kids have it for their
own . . . with moms and pops
and grandpas and grandmas
also getting in on the fun.
Marvin has row after row of
devices and games, a nickelo-
deon of the 1906 San Fran-
cisco Earthquake next to a
Zoltan, the Seer, staring into
his fortune-reading globe .. .
Nintendo Turtles are around
too, as Marvin keeps the past
out in front but finds room for
today's hardware as well.
In the area surrounding his
snack bar and eating tables is
a juke box imbedded in the
tail of the 1957 Thunderbird
replica . . . It sits next to
another juke box molded into
the cab of a lifesize 1930
model Chevrolet Country
Classic truck.
While young children
eagerly explore the sounds
and sights with obvious glee
and determination to find out
how things work, and enjoy
themselves in the process,
parents and grandparents pa-
tiently sip a coke, or better
yet, jump into things them-
selves at a Bally table top
Space Invaders game.
Marvin himself is part of a
network of vintage amuse-
ment device specialists and
collectors . . . His insatiable
desire to collect and share
shows up with the old pup-
pets, honky tonk piano, etc.,
jammed together in a glorious
array . . . It is a genuine fun
place to take the family . At
the same time, Marvin has
his outlet for expressing a
rich creativity and endless
search for nostalgia items.
Harry Houdini posters, the
Neiser Bros. store marquee
sign, strength testers, rides,
etc., etc., etc., all add up to
what is probably America's
only no-admission-charge
museum of its type.
The steady stream of
youngsters, parents and
grandparents who visit Mar-
vin's Marvelous Mechanical
Museum enjoy the sterling
collection of memorabilia,
vintage coin machines, etc.
that reflects eras of a younger
America.
Marvin Yagoda's Marvelous
Mechanical Museum cap-
tures the feelings of fantasy
and playtime that an early
Barnum had.
In his fun palace . . . and
that it is . . . Marvin has
also saved a past from
disappearing.
IT WAS THE serious side
of Max Sosin as he celebrated
his 80th birthday at a brunch
given by wife Ruth . . . with
Size 72 overalls,
rare Lionel trains, a
searchlight from
Alcatraz, 30 full-
scale remote-
control airplanes
and Coney Island
machines help
decorate Marvin's.
fun commentaries by son
Harvey and daughter Sally
presenting a slide show of
yesteryears . . . at Congrega-
tion B'nai David.
Harvey and wife Liz had
come in from Boca Raton, Fla.
. . . Their son Randy and wife
Jillian from Los Angeles .. .
Randy danced with 6-month-
old son Sidney and Jillian
soon joined in . . . Their
daughter Lindsey at the mike
with Jodi, daughter of Sally
and Phil Newman, saying
"Happy Birthday" to a beam-
ing Grandpa Max . . .
Harvey's other two children
also flew in from California
. . . Beth, a senior at San
Diego State, and Ilise.
Morris and Tillie Brand-
wine married on his birthday
53 years ago . . . Moe recent-
ly turned 80 . . . 170 at the
brunch . . . no hall is big
enough to put in all Max's
friends . . . Leah Nichamin,
Bunny and Allan's daughter,
making folks do a double-take
. . . she looks so much like her
mom did years ago as Bunny
Woolf . . . Herman "One
Shot" Jaffee not even con-
sidering taking another pic-
ture "to make sure" . . . Max's
life story in drawings and
words presented by Hy
Shenkman . . . four genera-
tions at the mike, Max, son
Harvey, grandson Randy and
great-grandson Sidney . . .
Norman Allan with a huge
gold Chai around his neck .. .