Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
I want to thank all of you for posting your memories of Allied Model Trains in Culver City, California. I hope others will keep doing so. There is one thing I should point out. There were two of us named George working in the Lionel Trains/LGB section when I worked there (November 1990 to March 1995). The other George was George Spelmeier. He had worked there for years as a salesman and a repairman. There wasn't anything he couldn't fix. George Spelmeier always went fishing on his days off, Fridays and Sundays. On the other hand, I couldn't fix a thing. But I could wire a Lionel train layout using contactors or relays so you could have a great automatic train layout. I never did that for Allied customers, but I've always done that with my home layouts -- Lionel, HO, or N. I always enjoyed taking time to build my layouts with nice scenery and structures, too. George Spelmeier had a mustache; I didn't. And, I was the thinner of the two. I think George Spelmeier still works at the new store across the street from the old one. Today, I would bet that I'm the heavier of the two! How does that happen? I'll have to stop by to find out who is the heavier. I could sell Lionel and LGB trains effortlessly. Selling came easy for me. I sold men's clothing when I was in college at Silverwood's in Santa Barbara and Baskin's in downtown Chicago. I didn't know squat about LGB when I started, but I soon learned. I also had to learn about Lionel's new products and I had a lot to learn about prewar and postwar Lionel. The customers made it fun to work at Allied, at least for me. Sure, there were plenty of celebrities, and I enjoyed meeting and selling to them. But there were far more regular folks like you and me. One of my first customers lived only a block away from Allied. It turned out he had grown up in my hometown, Berwyn, just west of Chicago. It also turned out that Allen Drucker's father, Steve, had lived in Berwyn in the early 1930s. When he told me he rented a room in a home on Riverside Drive, I knew exactly where it was. I met a number of people from Berwyn while I worked there. One was a woman about my age (I turned 50 in September 1990). She came in on a busy day just before Christmas. I noticed her staring at me as I waited on different customers. Finally, she walked over to me and asked, "By any chance are you from Berwyn, Illinois, did you go to Morton High School -- and are you George Spink?" I said, "Yes!" She surprised the hell out of me! It turned out we dated a few times during our senior year. She was still very attractive -- and happily married. I apologized for not recognizing her, but more than 30 years had passed since we last saw one another. Another time a beautiful young woman in her 20's came in. I helped her pick out a Playmobil train set and some accessories for her young son. She told me she worked with her parents down the street at Villa Italiana, an Italian restaurant and pizzeria. I told her I grew with great pizzerias back in Chicago. "Where did you live in Chicago," she asked. "Berwyn, a suburb just west of Chicago," I said. "That's where my father is from!" she said. She invited me to stop by to meet her folks. I did so a few days later. No wonder there pizza was -- and is -- so good! It remains one of my favorite pizzerias around my home here in L.A. On another time, I noticed a man about my age staring at me from the N-scale section as I checked out one of my customers. I had seen him in the N-scale section often. When I walked backed to the Lionel/LGB section, he followed me. When I went behind the counter, he walked over and asked me, "Did you go to St. Leonard's in Berwyn, Illinois and graduate in 1954?" I smiled and said, "Yes." "So did I," he said. "My name is John Hejka, and we were classmates." In the months that followed, John told me that he had been a Christian Brother for many years, living at a Christian Brothers home in Woodland Hills. A few years earlier, he left the order. He said he worked for a small company in L.A. After I left Allied Model Trains in March 1995, I never saw John again. When my classmates and I planned our 50th Reunion in June 2004, we learned that John had died in 1997. I will always be grateful that John Hejka and I had the chance to renew our childhood friendship while I worked at Allied. I am sorry that John did not live long enough to attend our 50th Reunion, which was without a doubt one of the best experiences of my life. [8D] George Spink - Los Angeles Email: georgespink@gmail.com
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag

Update Reply

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Model Railroader Newsletter See all

Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!

Subscriber & Member Login

Edit post

Post Body

Tags (Optional)

Subscriber & Member Login

Users Online

Search the Community