Penny Lane in the 1970's

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Back in the 70's Penny Lane was located at the corner of Ash & Macarthur.

At Penny Lane Various products were sold to, how do I put this, were sold to, enhance, that's the word, to enhance the 70's experience. Penny Lane sold such items as cigarette papers for those just too cheap to go out and buy a pack down at the Thrifty's Drug Store (now an auto parts store located at the corner of Cherry and Macarthur). Also, at Penny Lane, could be found an interesting variety of beautifully handcrafted smoking pipes that were far more stylistic than the corn cobb variety dad used to smoke his apple scented tobacco - always a great stocking stuffer.

The real thrill for my buddies, and I, were the of pinball machines!

Enhanced pinball. It seemed very very interesting at the time. Communing with the pinball machine, was similar to becoming a cybernetic organism. One connected to the ball through the plate of glass sometimes through slight movements of one's wrist, other times by picking the machines up and dropping them down, sometimes by gentle nudges, other times by kicking into the machines.

The magic of taking a single quarter, and turning it into twenty games or more was overpowering.

Tilt, and the occassional threat of being kicked out for the evening were the only words we feared - or perhaps it was respect.

When on occassion we did get tossed out of Penny Lane it was just a quick walk over to the Bowling Alley off Macarthur & Outer Park - there we learned to control our passions, and not curse the machines, or nudge them with such intensity. Penny Lane was a fun place to hang out back then. I remember that one of my friends fell into dispair when he was banned from entering Penny Lane for several months after he broke their plate glass window.

Penny lane is in my ears and in my eyes.