Pinhawk Club restores vintage pinball machines

WINONA, Minn. (WKBT) -- Matthew Wagner spent the last seven years as an art and work based learning teacher at the Winona Area Learning Center, helping high schoolers develop career skills and have a little fun along the way.

He's also something of a pinball aficionado, a title he picked up four years ago when a friend bought a dilapidated pinball machine.

"We didn't have a place to put it, so we put it in my garage to fix it up," said Wagner.

Thus, an idea was born.

"People donate boats or cars to technical colleges to work on them and use them as an educational tool. I thought pinball would be a great way to do that as well," said Wagner.

And the Pinhawk Club was born.

The first year, club members refurbished a Beatles-themed machine. This year they're taking on a 1976 Williams Space Mission Machine.

"What's great about these old machines is for the most part, they don't need a whole lot of new parts they just need a lot of cleaning," said Wagner.

During their meetings, students dive into the schematics that show how the machines work, along with detailed manual readings.

"It's stuff that students can apply well after high school, just in anything not just pinball," said Wagner.

And while the technology is old, students are still getting the feeling of bringing something back.

"It's easy to dispose of something and just buy it new," said Wagner.

For some, it's the technical side of the things that grab their attention.

"It's educational in a different sense. I usually don't get this type education. I really like how it's an alternative way of teaching," said Collin Corcoran club member.

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