“Andy taught himself” – Andy’s Pinball obsession
The Petersen Road house in Knoxville is where Pinball started for Andy. (See Blake interview) Fast forward to when Andy moved back home into the basement and Pinball repair became a family affair. Len was an old school craftsman. Len could work a metal lathe. Len could literally make parts. Len said that common Andy questions during that time were “Hey Dad, do you think we can we fix this, can you help me?” Len recalls the extensive work they both did on a Dr. Who Pinball play field mechanism. “I really enjoyed doing this because it brought us so much closer together. I always wanted him to be able to know how to use complex tools and to use the lathe.” One day Andy shared with his dad that he thought he should make and sell Pinball shooter rods for extra cash. What he really meant was that Len should help him do it. Len agreed and went online to find the right parts. After some time searching he discovered the correct brass knobs at McMaster Carr, a parts supply house focused on manufacturing facilities. Andy found and then ordered the rod blanks from a pinball supply place. Len showed Andy how to work a tap and Andy would tap the rods in prep for adding the brass knob ends. They even sold a bunch of them – in fact they sold every one they made. Len said “Andy really enjoyed doing this with me I could tell he was happy to do it as a team.” As Len said, if they weren’t building pinball parts together, they would have been in the same room but Len would be in the tool area and Andy would be watching TV – pinball, it seems even brought Andy and his own family together.
Pinball collecting had its downsides in the Henderson household as well. As Len tells it “We originally did not have a walkway down to the basement During that time, I was always worried about dropping the machine on the way down that steep hillside.” I asked Len what it was like down in the basement when a new machine was brought home. He said “Andy’s routine was always open it up, level it, check all the major components. Look for potential problems with wiring/coils, etc. Andy taught himself how to work on Pinballs and the electronics. He would spend hours online to better understand how to repair Pinballs.”
Token Game Tavern
It was 11:00 am on Sunday afternoon October 21st 2018. I was at Token Game Tavern to meet Chad for 2 reasons. First to complete an interview for this story and then to take a look at Andy’s “T2” Pinball machine which he had on route there when he passed away. The game had quit about a week prior and Len has asked if I would check it out. I said “of course”. Chad and I had a look at the T2 and within 10 minutes had the issue diagnosed. The gun launcher cherry switch was bad and same for one of the ball trough switches (switch #17). Both would need replacements so I wrote an order with Marco on the spot using my tablet.
Token is a wonderful place owned by Chris and Courtney Barry and is located in Knoxville TN. They were playing putt-putt golf and discussion with friends about how cool it would be to have a place where they could play games – all kinds of games. So in July of 2016 the Token Gaming Tavern concept was hatched in a parking lot. Today, Token is a reality. It has a great selection of upright Arcade cabinet games(more than a dozen), Pinball and Board Games. They are family friendly, serve great food and drinks and are open 7 days a week.It’s extremely clean, lots of fun, and to hear Chris and Courtney tell it – successful in a large part due to one Andrew Henderson.
With the T2 diagnosed, it was time to open my laptop and start the interview. Chad’s wife Ashley was nearby playing Pinball and looked unsure about her role. I quickly invited her into the interview and she was thrilled to participate and was able to add some keen insights to the discussion. About a minute later Chad shared that both Chris and Courtney (the owner of Token) would join us. I was thrilled because they were on the interview list but had yet to be scheduled. Courtney got us all some drinks and the interview began.
“Can we trust him?” – Chris and Courtney meet Andy
We met Andy because we were discussing the concept of opening a barcade for at least a year before we actually opened Token. According to Courtney “Andy knew my sister for years before we ever met him”. Andy was always on the lookout to connect with folks or help in some way and one day he saw some Facebook discussion that Courtney’s sister had commented upon surrounding her sister and brother-in-law opening a barcade. Andy reached out to Courtney and then Chris as well. Andy was curious as to whether they had considered offering a couple of pinball machines in the new place. Chris knew nothing about them but it sure seemed like Andy did. He showed interest in helping to get Token running and he kept asking if he could help out. Chris and Courtney were skeptical of why a stranger would care so much. At this point neither had ever met Andy face to face. Courtney kept saying over and over “Who is this guy?” “Can we trust him?” Well … they did trust him and as you’ll see they both eventually came to love him like a brother.
As Chris tells it “deciding to allow Andy into our lives had a profound effect on the success of Token.” Simply put – they were a startup company with a fixed budget and no idea how they were going to fill this new barcade with entertainment. They were even talking about hosting an event to raise money to purchase the Arcades and Pinballs. Andy knew just what to do. He counseled the Token team about a nearby arcade auction where used machines could be acquired at a quarter of their new in box price. Andy went so far as to meet them at the Arcade auction, introduce them to key people, and help them buy the machines they needed to make Token a first class gaming tavern. Chris was thrilled with the result. “The arcade auction prices helped by giving us financial flexibility in other areas.” One of those areas that needed attention was the Pinball side. As Courtney tells it “Shortly before we opened we had just 2 pinball machines and we needed more, so Andy talked to Darin and together they worked it out to route some of Darin’s pinball machines from his personal collection.” Darin quickly added 4 more games to the roster. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving the Token team was finally ready. There was a soft opening party for friends and family. Andy presented Tami and I our tickets and we were excited to attend. Andy was in his element at the event. He was beaming at the success of the night. I did not “get it” that night because I was unaware of the whole story, but the success of that night was, in part, because of Andy and his care for people. He wanted Token to succeed and he did his part. Token officially opened for business the 29th of November the following week.
Since opening, there has been a steady growth in the interest in Pinball. There is now a league. Courtney went on to say “I think the variety and number of games we have was the catalyst in getting the pinball league moving and that achievement was 100% Andy’s”. People have joined league even though they have never physically met Andrew but can feel the loss and impact of Andy and are passionately connected to the game. With a great Pinball offering in hand, comes a great need to repair them. It was decided that Andy would join Token as the official Pin-Tech and as he shared with me on many occasions, it was something he truly enjoyed. When working on a game anyone within earshot was going to get a hello, from Andy. If they approached him to ask about what he was doing, he was never bothered because he always took the time to stop and talk to people. Most would be focused on fixing but Andy would care about people first. He still took the role very seriously. Andy was “all-in” on anything Pinball. To show the level of his commitment, it was not unusual for Andy to face time from the hospital to help fix pinball machines. “You couldn’t stop him” Courtney said. He wanted so desperately to help.
Courtney put a final point on Andy’s impact at Token. “Andy reached out because he had so much joy and love for Pinball and specifically what it did for people. He wanted to share that love” and she closed with this “Andy was the first non-family member we told of our dream to open Token. We strongly feel that Andy is still part of this place, he’s responsible for its success.”
I’m pretty sure it was part of Andy’s dream too.
“Contagious, positive vibe” – Chad and Ashley meet Andy
Chad started “We met Andy because we came to Token to eat lunch and play Pinball around 11am every day. Courtney interrupted “hey, in the early days of Token, Chad and Ashley were our lunch crowd!” Chad continued “I really got into Pinball and shared that interest with Chris.” Chris said I needed to meet Andy” Chris called Andy, and a meeting was arranged. Then a pinball was purchased followed by (in rapid succession) 6 more. Andy’s enthusiasm for Pinball was contagious. As Chad put it “He was that special kind of dude” “You know, I don’t have a lot of close friends outside of work life but Andy became part of my family almost overnight.” “He was always so chill, so nice, and so positive about everything.” Because of Andy my new favorite hat is the Boston Scally hat! (Note: Andy wore that hat almost 24/7. You can see a photo of him wearing it in this story. The Boston Scally can be had in at least 4 major configurations if you’re considering one. The original Scally, The Scrapper, The Kenmore and The Bruiser)
Ashley felt that Andy had a “very contagious positive vibe and wanted to make everything better.” It made you just want to be around him. She sounded a little disappointed “I only knew him for 6 months before he went in the hospital.” She remembered “He visited on Saturday before Easter and then came back later to work on a machine with Chad. It was around this time they had turned my dining room into a workshop” Chad talked to him on Easter Sunday and Andy was going to take Ida for Easter egg hunt. But, early that week Andy went to get blood tests at UT and was immediately admitted.
Weeks and then months passed. Then Andy called Chad “just to talk”, but Chad could tell that Andy wanted some company “I could tell by the urgency in his voice that we needed to leave tomorrow – that it was important to Andy.” So we drove to Nashville that next day and visited Andy at Vanderbilt. We talked and talked as he was doing laps around room saying that he had to get in shape for the transplant. While there Andy was so proud to show off his new gaming platform to play pinball. He had a laptop gaming computer – Blake had helped him get it. Andy was never about “things” but he said that the TV channels were terrible, he had literally watched everything on Netflix there was to see and needed something more to occupy his time. It was boredom and loneliness that Andy was chasing away. Special praise to Chad and Ashley for bringing joy to him when he needed it most.
Page back Click to continue to part 5 – Andy’s Says Goodbye
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