After departing the Electric Game Company in 1965, James Prentice continued his brilliantly inventive ways in the next 30-year chapter of his life.
The year was 1976, and James Prentice was 11 years removed from the Electric Game Company, which he, his father, George M. Prentice, and his uncle, Arthur J. Dougherty, had established some 42 years earlier.
James Prentice was a lifelong creator, and in 1976, he unveiled his latest game, King Pin Bowling. The indoor game was devised after many consultations with bowlers. The hollow ball and pins were sufficiently heavy and proportionately weighted to those of an actual bowling alley, yet would not damage furniture and walls. The product was initially made available in a pharmacy in Holyoke and one in South Hadley.
In 1988, a news article reported that the Electric Baseball Game was an exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
In 1993, James Prentice received the first annual Abbot Award from the American Game Collectors Association for his contributions to the game industry.
Mr. Prentice was not finished. One month shy of age 85 in 1994, he invented a new golf tee that consistently placed a golf ball at the same height at tee-off. The product was named the Bontempo Golf Tee after a well-known area golf professional and Mt. Holyoke College golf coach, Bob Bontempo. Mr. Bontempo had provided Mr. Prentice with the tee-off height, which was used in designing the tee. The tees were sold under the name Bontempo Tee Company.
In 1994, he ran Prentice Laminating Company with his wife, Elizabeth (Warren) Prentice, until her death that year. The company manufactured disposable laminated adult bibs for use in nursing homes and other care facilities under the trade name Prenco. Mr. Prentice, ever the industrial pioneer, designed the machinery to manufacture the bibs and packaging.
The story of James Mason Prentice was genuinely impressive. Whether it was his perpetually creative mind, which produced over 40 educational and fun-filled games, or his philanthropy with organizations such as the Holyoke Boys Club and generosity to children at holiday time, he was a humble icon of his era.
After selling his home on Florida Drive in 1999, he resided at Holyoke Towers at 582 Pleasant Street for the remainder of his years. One of my favorite take-away quotes of his was, "I was not a businessman. It never seemed to dawn on me to try to make money." That was Jim Prentice, the day-dreaming inventor.
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
No comments:
Post a Comment