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First Posted: 12/19/2013
DALLAS — Children at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia have a new way to play thanks to Joe Newhart.
Newhart, 46, is the owner of Newhart Insurance Agency in West Pittston. When he’s not managing that business, he owns a hobby business called PinballSTAR Amusements, which is a pinball distributor that sells new machines from pinball manufacturers.
Last week, children at St. Christopher’s received a “Wizard of Oz” pinball machine donated by Newhart’s business.
Newhart has a collection of about 140 pinball and antique arcade games in his own home. Some date back to the penny arcade machines from the 1930s.
The donation was celebrated with a ribbon cutting at the facility.
The “Wizard of Oz” game is based upon the classic movie and has a 26-inch LCD high-definition screen that displays clips, custom animation and scores.
The “Wizard of Oz” pinball machine that Newhart donated cost $8,000. He said pinball machines can go for $500 used to as high as $15,000 for rare, collectible machines.
“In today’s world of iPads and video games, a pinball machine provides a totally different experience for the kids who will play on it,” said Ben Broxterman, child life manager at St. Christopher’s in a news release.
“This state-of-the-art machine is very cool, and will get lots of use from patients and family members. We are very grateful to Joe, his company and associates for their generosity,” he said.
Broxterman said there have already been lines of children waiting to play on the new pinball machine. Crowds of children have also gathered around the machine to cheer each other on and give each other tips.
Along with being a substantial gift to the hospital, Broxterman said, the donation was also “very special and meaningful.”
Newhart added that the machine will give children the chance to socialize, pass the time and give them a new activity to enjoy, and he plans to donate more machines.
Newhart’s hobby started in 2002 as an activity with his son Taylor, 19, who has some disabilities, and his therapists suggested an activity in which he could stand to strengthen his legs.
After he was born, Taylor spent two weeks at St. Christopher’s.
With his own collection of pinball machines, Newhart thought it would be nice for the hospital to have a full-sized machine to enjoy.
His 17-year-old son, Patrick, has gotten involved in the business. Newhart said Patrick travels with him to shows all around Pennsylvania, as well as cities such as San Francisco and Chicago.
Newhart declined to mention where he would like to donate pinball machines to next, as his business has not yet formally approached any potential recipients.
He said someone from Wisconsin expressed interest to pay for half of a donation to a hospital in the state.
He said the donations would “most likely” be only to children’s hospitals.