 |
 |
Funworld September 2010
REMEMBRANCE: Harold Chance, ride design and manufacturing pioneer, died July 10, 2010. He was 88. Chance was born September 25, 1921, in Wichita, Kansas. He graduated from Wichita North High School in 1939. Chance was a welder
|
and tool and die maker for the defense industry until 1944, when he joined the U.S. Army, serving in the South Pacific. Upon returning to the States in 1946, he began working for a train manufacturer building small trains operated in amusement parks. He soon met his future wife, Marge, and they were married in October 1946. Within 10 years, they had five children. Chance’s career continued in the amusement park and carnival industries for the next several years; then in 1960, he founded Chance Manufacturing. He is considered by most as the most prolific amusement ride builder in U.S. history, having introduced at least one new ride a year for more than two decades. He was the first manufacturer to mass produce rides and was among the first ride builders to trailer mount portable rides. Through his personal financial assistance, his participation, and his influence, in 1972 he created what is now considered the world’s largest annual amusement ride safety seminar, now run by the Amusement Industry Manufacturing & Suppliers International. The reach of his influence is so wide that he remains the only person who has been installed into the top three amusement industry major halls of fame: International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, Outdoor Amusement Business Association, and Amusement Industry Manufacturers and Suppliers Association. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Wichita for 20 years, and he belonged to the Rolling Hills Country Club since 1963. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie; son Richard; daughters Susan, Judy, and Nancy; sister Mary; 13 grandchildren; and 11 great—grandchildren.
Nelson was born June 24, 1923, in Mount Vernon, New York. After being honorably discharged following World War II, during which he was a navigator in the CBI theatre, he moved to Wichita to attend Wichita State University. He began his career in amusement parks selling tickets at Joyland Park’s “Dodgem” car ride. His future wife, Margaret, was working at the Skeeball game. They were married for 59 years and operated the park together for 50 years. During his career, Nelson played a critical role in developing industry safety standards, and he served as president of IAAPA in 1972. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; sons, Roger and Steve; daughters Valorie and Barbara; 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. 
J&J Snack Foods has announced that its subsidiary company, J&J Snack Foods Corp. of California, has acquired the assets of California Churros, a manufacturer of churros in Colton, California, with sales of $11 million in 2009. J&J said members of the Martinez family, which founded California Churros, will stay on board to serve the company, which will remain in Colton. 
RECOGNITION: Christie Digital Systems, a global visual technologies company, received several industry awards in the first half of 2010, including honors from major technology magazines for its large venue projectors. The company also received the Janus de l’Industrie Award from the French Institute of Design for outstanding creative products in the field of industrial design for its MicroTiles display technology. Christie was also named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers by MediaCorp for achieving an 82 percent waste diversion rate at its Canadian manufacturing facility and a 41 percent reduction in natural gas usage. 
CUDDLY PRIZES: Domo, the brown, saw-toothed character that is the popular mascot for NHK television (Japan Broadcasting Company) in Japan, is now available as a prize for crane machines. Coast-to-Coast Entertainment is offering crane machine mixes of 20 percent, 50 percent, or 100 percent Domo products. The remaining items in the 20 percent and 50 percent mixes are generic. 
ADVANCED MOTION CAPTURE:
Animazoo UK Ltd has announced the release of its latest professional motion capture system, the Gypsy 7. The company describes the system as “state-of-the-art exo-skeletal gyroscopic hybrid technology.” The Gypsy 7 is ideal for the motion capture environment because it utilizes military-grade gyroscopes and no-lag, no-noise joint sensors. The standard Gypsy 7 includes Animazoo’s unified Version 10 operating software, which combines the necessary tools for system calibration, online streaming, multi-actor synching, key frame editing, and dynamic capture. 
GAMING RELAY: The new GAM GO-LITE Remote Relay has been introduced by GAMPRODUCTS, Inc. to handle loads of up to 4,000 watts. Users can select AC or DC relays at 120 volts or 230 volts. The Remote Relay is operated from the GAM GO-LITE low-voltage controller. It’s housed in a sturdy steel enclosure and can be hung or mounted to a flat surface. Indicator lights let users know when power is available to the Relay, when the control signal is present, and if the Relay has been activated.