A Brief History of Ring 158 – "Wizards of the North" Ring 158, like many rings of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, has had times of great activity and membership as well as those of struggle and disinterest. This short history, while not comprehensive, will provide you with a sense of the spirit of a great bunch of men and women who come together to perform, share and perpetuate the art of magic. Ring 158 was chartered in 1957. Some of the original members were E.J. "Red" Partington and In the mid-1970’s with the then small magic shop within a hobby shop, a group of
magicians began to hang around together. This small magic shop was essentially a couple of
display cases, which grew over the years to become the Collector’s Magic Studio. The
owner, William DeFalco, became unintentionally the nucleus of what was to become the
present day Ring 158. Amongst those magicians who resurrected the Ring were E.J. "Red" Partington, R.G. "Russ" Smith,
Lanny Wingrove, Lenny McGuire, "the amazing" Jay Watson, Brad Simon,
Dave Sudia, By the late 70’s the Ring was reactivated and became known as a Ring where you were always welcome, magic was number one and politics did not exist. Ring would meet in the local Moose for the "formal" meeting and then adjourn to a local pub, Mr. Toad’s, for performances for the clientele. A deal was struck with the pub owners that as long as members performed for the customers, the magician could drink for free. Needless to say, that this incentive encouraged some creative and wonderful magic. Clients saw escapes, fire eating, floating Zombie balls, and of course, close-up cards, coins and sponge balls. This period saw frequent visits from Western Pennsylvania magicians like Paul Kozak, Michael "Doc" Dougherty, Paul Gertner and Jon Brunelle. The 1980’s saw periods of swells and ebbs in attendance and membership as well the
shift of meeting places. It felt like one of the on-going issues facing the membership was
"where are we going to meet?" But the 1980’s also saw the addition of key
members, who form the backbone today: Kenny Woodward, Jr.(deceased), Dennis McGuiggan,
Mark Durigon, Brad Rutter, Today, the Ring is vibrant and alive with new members and magic. It has kept the tradition of focusing on what is important, magic, and maintained its fun and welcoming atmosphere. For more information on what is happening today at Ring 158, Special thanks to F.G. Turner |
