By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
This week we’re celebrating the sounds of the Erie County Fair.
The sound of an over-modulated PA system, and a guy sitting on a stool grumbling out the numbers of I GOT IT! is a tradition at Western New York lawn fetes, carnivals, and of course the Erie County Fair.
I Got It! was created when a change in state law banned bingo from firehalls.
Orrin “Peck” Catlin took matters into his own hands, building the first eight “I Got It!” units in his Blasdell garage for use at the Big Tree Volunteer fire company.
It was enough like the game of chance bingo to be attractive to the ladies who lined up to play bingo, but also added an element of skill– making it a legal amusement.
That was more than 50 years ago, and we’ve been laying down our quarters to toss those little red rubber balls ever since.
Yelling I GOT IT!… one of the great sounds of the Erie County Fair.
