I always had a passion for Arcade Games as long as I can remember. As a small boy growing up in Maine there was truly nothing like the a well laid out Arcade. The sights, the sounds, the smells.... There was truly a new world awaiting each and every drop of the quarter. The presence of a 6 foot tall Arcade Game towering over a small town boy from Maine left a permanent impression on me. For many reasons I was unable to start collecting until 2004. After serving 8 Years in the Air Force I was honorably discharged and became a Government Contractor working for Computer Science Corporation. I was 26 at the time. My wife Christina and I had a new home built here in Lister Estates with a finished basement. Once we had the space for an Arcade the rest just unfolded by itself.
Our game room is located in the basement of our house and is approximately 700 square feet. Right now there are 23 Arcade games a few of which are deluxe sized and take up much more room than a regular stand up game. I would say it's a comfortable layout at the moment, we could fit more games in the room but would sacrifice the overall integrity of the setup. All 23 games are currently in my game room which is known as "Riddler's Realm."
There is a natural progression in collecting Arcade Games. When we first started we grabbed any game in sight. We bought and sold quite a bit. It took about 2 years to finally figure out what I truly wanted to collect. For me, the game has to have a special memory associated with it to stay in Riddler's Realm. Every once in a while something I have never played before finds it's way in and stays such as Track and Field. This is a game anyone can play and is a lot of fun so it's a very popular games among collectors. I have reached the point now where I pretty much know exactly which games are left to collect and try to find the nicest example I can without breaking the bank.
My favorite game to play and one that I will keep forever is without question Punch Out. My family and I took a trip across country when I was very young. Along the way we stayed at KOA campgrounds and each one had an Arcade. I was always able to drag my dad into the Arcades with me and one day we heard those faithful words booming across the room... "Body Blow" "Body Blow" "Uppercut!!" My dad took an interest and tossed me a quarter to try the machine. I had never played the game but the fact he was showing an interest was more than enough to give it a try. Punch Out is a unique cabinet in the fact that it has 2 monitors and a big blue knockout button on the control panel. The first time I successfully landed an Uppercut Punch we both laughed and cheered. Punch Out is a very popular game among collectors.
Another game I plan to keep forever is my Spy Hunter Cockpit. This was a game I rarely got to play growing up. The game was in every Arcade I went to but it was always taken and there was a line to play it. I only got a few tries and always left wanting more. Well, in 2006 there was one located in Maine in close location to my relatives. I gave my Mom a call and jokingly asked if she wanted to buy me an early birthday present. Without a hesitation she smiled and said sure no problem, I'd be happy to. It was almost surreal at the time. The purchase was made and the game actually stayed in Maine for a year before I was able to have it delivered to me here in Maryland where we currently live. However it was well worth the wait and because of the memories and the lengths I went through to finally own one, I plan to keep this machine forever. A heartfelt thanks to my Mom for supporting my hobby and helping me acquire this game.
My Wife Christina's favorites are Dr. Mario and Ms. Pacman, she is quite good at both. She is by far my biggest fan in this hobby and I would not have been able to do this without her constant love and support.
One of the most surprising facts about my Arcade is that the games only come on a couple times a month. When people hear that, they find it hard to believe. Part of the experience of the Arcade growing up was only being able to go once or twice a month. It was a BIG deal and very exciting when we eventually made the trip into town to the local movie theatre with a fairly large in-house Arcade. The Arcade was located at the State Street Cinema 5 plex in Augusta, ME and was a very magical place for a 5 year old. I am very proud that my daughter Alexis and son Connor will have a chance to grow up with an Arcade in their household. I smile every time I see their faces light up at the sight of the game room. Even my Jack Russel Terrier seems to have fun running around throughout the maze of games.
We have small gatherings once in a while, mostly friends come over a few at a time. I do plan on throwing a fairly large party for my 30th birthday this year and expect to have around 50 people there. It's going to be crowded, but then again the Arcades always were... As far as calling it a Game Room or Garagecade, officially my Game Room is known as Riddler's Realm. Long story short after the movie Ace Ventura came out a lot of people told me I acted and sounded like Jim Carrey. Then the movie Batman Forever was released in which he played the Riddler. The rest is pretty much history. I have had Riddler on my license plate since High School and Riddler's Realm seemed only appropriate as the name. To the average Joe I just call it the Arcade.
Overall it's a great hobby and very rewarding, we wanted to preserve a bit of the past and share it with our kids. That alone has made this whole venture worth while. My entire collection can be seen online at my website listed below:
By Jesse Ringgold
It all started around 1996 when a few friends of mine and I were constantly told by police that we could not skateboard on the streets of Ridgely. We were a hazard to traffic. When we took to the sidewalks to skate, we were told we could not loiter there either because we blocked the sidewalk and any pedestrians walking by. We tried the post office, IMS (now Sunrise Distributing), Ridgely Elementary School, and every other business in Ridgely that had concrete, pavement, curbs, or steps for us to skate, but again we were kicked off because no one wanted the liability of us getting hurt, or the presence of juveniles loitering on their property.
Shun as outcasts from the heart of the town infrastructure, we were forced to retreat into the sanctity of Martin Sutton Memorial Park. It was here that we found a beautiful slab of pavement left behind from the old basketball court. It was untouched and unused, and it didn’t seem to bother anyone that we were there. We built our own ramps and rails to give us some terrain, and in a week we had built our own skatepark. We left the ramps there, and it was awesome for about two weeks until we arrived one morning to find the ramps had been confiscated. Again, liability issues mandated we could not leave ramps there over night because someone might get hurt and sue the town.
As a last resort before attempting a revolution, my friends attended a town meeting and raised our concern. Since we could not build our own park, we requested that the town build one for us, fully insured and secure to alleviate any liability issues. The town commissioners agreed it was a feasible idea, but needed an initial plan to consider implementing the project. So, my friends and I organized the Ridgely Skateboard Association (RSA) and developed a plan of what ramps we wanted and where to find ramp designs. After presenting it to the Town, they agreed to start the project, and the wait began…
Two years later, like a mirage in the desert, I saw a fence had been put up around the perimeter of a newly paved slab at the park. Two weeks later, the beginning of summer 1998, a professional contractor of four workers showed up and began building what would become the Martin Sutton Memorial Skateboard Park. We did it!
The park was glorious: a 4 foot mini-ramp with adjacent 4 foot quarter-pipe, 8 foot bank, 6 foot quarter-pipe, half-pyramid with sub-box, 2 hand rails, and a 1 foot fun-box. We skated that whole summer, and the park was a beacon of light to skaters all over Delmarva and the Western-shore of Maryland. The fall of 1998 brought the very first Ridgely X-treme Games, thanks to the Town Commissioners and Officer Kevin Nagyiski of the Ridgely Police. In addition to being a great facility for skaters and an attraction to visitors, the park established a link between the Town and the youth of Ridgely. This original park of wooden ramps would provide recreation and amusement to Ridgely for seven and a half wonderful years.
In September 2005, long after my peak years of skateboarding, George Cohey, a Ridgely resident and employee of Towers Concrete in Denton, approached Commissioner Nancy Gearhart about Towers providing cement and labor to build a new concrete skatepark, FREE of charge. Commissioner Gearhart jumped at the offer and had Gary Bodine of Towers Concrete attend the next Commissioners meeting. Gary, son-in-law of Mr. & Mrs. Bill Towers, offered to help contribute to youth alternative sports by building the park himself. Additionally, Towers Concrete would donate 187 yards of concrete and materials to build the park. Construction began in January 2006, and after many months of long hours forming and pouring concrete, Gary completed the park and the Grand Opening was held on July 22, 2006.
The new concrete park is beautiful and will last for many years providing quality ramps and recreation to the skaters who use it. A special thanks goes out to George Cohey, Gary Bodine, and Mr. & Mrs. Towers of Towers Concrete for your dedicated efforts and donations in creating the new park. A sincere thank you to the Town of Ridgely Commissioners and workers, both past and present, who have contributed to accommodating the skaters of Ridgely in building and maintaining the park for us.
WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:
RSA Founding Fathers: Jimmy Lyzon, Rusty Eaton, Jesse Ringgold, Justin Durner, Miles Garrett.
Ridgely Commissioners: Lou Hayes, Dale Mumford, Jerry Wallace, Nancy Gearhart, Linda Epperly-Glover, Chuck Hunter.
Special Thanks to: Kevin Nagyiski, Rico Gestole, and Merl Evans of the Ridgely Police Department; the Durner Family; Wayne Bropst; and the people of Ridgely.
24/7 Skate Crew: Charlie Boncella, Justin Durner, John Moran, Jesse Ringgold, Buddy Bowen, Bobby Bambary, Tyler Ebling, Jordan Durner, Doug Johnston.
**To anyone else who may have contributed to, or supported the Dream City Skatepark and the skaters of Ridgely… Thank You!
Note: In return for providing the skatepark, the Town of Ridgely will enforce that you wear your helmet and keep the park clean. Respect for the Town and the skaters before you who made the park possible is a small price to pay for the awesome facility you now have.
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