On this day in 1939, the Detroit City Council voted to ban pinball machines from being played outside on the streets, concerned they were being used for gambling. While Los Angeles banned them completely, Detroit opted for a more moderate approach. And today is Gwen Frostic Day in Michigan, as proclaimed by Governor William Milliken in 1978. Born in the Michigan Thumb, Frostic’s art studio near Sleeping Bear Dunes became a nature lover's attraction. She wrote her own epitaph: “Here lies one doubly blessed. She was happy and she knew it.”
TRANSCRIPT
The year was 1939. There’ a menace on the streets of Detroit, and someone had to do something… or at least that was the concern in 1939. Pinball machines were still fairly new, and there was public concern that they were being used as gambling devices. While the city of Los Angeles went so far as to ban them completely, the Detroit City Council on this day in 1939 voted to ban all those pinball wizards from being played outside on the streets. The Council thought outright banning quote-would be unjust and unfair.
And today is Gwen Frostic Day in Michigan, as initially proclaimed by Governor William Milliken in 1978. This Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee was born in the Michigan Thumb, but her art studio about 10 miles south of the Sleeping Bear Dunes became an attraction for nature lovers. Long before her passing, Gwen Frostic wrote her own epitaph: “Here lies one doubly blessed. She was happy and she knew it.”