
Finally solved a music mystery from the wonder years of my Arlington boyhood.
The setting was National Pawnbrokers, the forbidding but enduring local business that has operated conspicuously at the Lyon Village intersection since 1963, when I was on the cusp of teenagedom.
Few 10-year-olds comprehend how a pawn shop makes money, how it differs from a bank, etc. (Not that we knew about banks, either.) But this mattered little at the time. That’s because what captivated me was the pawnshop’s window displays: Curvy electric guitars, sparkling drum sets and macho-man amplifiers – all the vitamins and minerals a Beatles-crazed kid in the ‘60s would normally need to take.
I drooled over the objects at an age when trendy equipment trumped both talent and discipline in rehearsal habits. And though my bandmates and I grew familiar with professional brands such as Fender, Gibson and Mosrite, we were satisfied with the bird-in-hand discount brands our parents favored, such as E.W. Kent and Sears Silvertone.
And besides, who were we to gainsay the music experts at the pawn shop?
Flash forward to 2012. I finally raised the gumption to walk into National Pawnbrokers and determine once and for all whether this article of faith was true.
Actually, I’d exercised this adult prerogative before, having purchased sentimentally, three years ago, a Vox mini-amplifier evoking the Fab Four.
Today, the shop’s merchandise and loan window cashiers look orderly and prosperous. Signs tout gold, watches, jewelry, diamonds, firearms and tools. There’s a framed 1977 clipping from The Washington Star profiling the business launched in 1939 by the Chelec family in Rosslyn (which until the 1950s was practically the pawnshop/storefront loan capital of the Eastern seaboard).
There’s an interview with longtime manager Joseph Horowitz, who helped move National Pawnbrokers to its present site. The owners got a raw deal on the move, 10 cents on the dollar, I’m told by current manager Paul Cohen. He pulls out an early ‘60s photo showing the apartments across the street. In the foreground is a vacant lot that is now home to the Pawnbrokers and the Tarbouch Mediterranean grill.
“The music guy” at the modern store is Rico Amero, a working musician and a former sound engineer for the county. He shows me his range of Carvin, Marshall and Traynor amps, guitar straps and stands, and non-rock instruments such as clarinets. A few are new, such as the blue Percussion Plus drum kit.
Most are traded in, sold or hocked by people who need a loan, Amero says. He repairs some, “but if they’re not in good shape, they won’t make it into the store,” he says, except occasional vintage items.
Customers include kids and teens – one began coming in at age 12 – and Amero is proud to think he helped him get in the Berklee College of Music. But most customers “come here to get a good deal,” he says. National Pawnbrokers deals with professional musicians, for prices that can top $2,000, he says. Fearing doing a disservice, he’s not a huge fan of selling entry-level instruments.
That was me back in 1964.
So I asked manager Cohen the $64 question. He was hired 35 years ago “because he could reach the guitar,” he says. Back in the day, the salesmen “didn’t play instruments. All they did then was make money.”
Charlie Clark may be e-mailed at cclarkjedd@aol.com
Our Man in Arlington
FCNP.com
Finally solved a music mystery from the wonder years of my Arlington boyhood.
The setting was National Pawnbrokers, the forbidding but enduring local business that has operated conspicuously at the Lyon Village intersection since 1963, when I was on the cusp of teenagedom.
Few 10-year-olds comprehend how a pawn shop makes money, how it differs from a bank, etc. (Not that we knew about banks, either.) But this mattered little at the time. That’s because what captivated me was the pawnshop’s window displays: Curvy electric guitars, sparkling drum sets and macho-man amplifiers – all the vitamins and minerals a Beatles-crazed kid in the ‘60s would normally need to take.
I drooled over the objects at an age when trendy equipment trumped both talent and discipline in rehearsal habits. And though my bandmates and I grew familiar with professional brands such as Fender, Gibson and Mosrite, we were satisfied with the bird-in-hand discount brands our parents favored, such as E.W. Kent and Sears Silvertone.
And besides, who were we to gainsay the music experts at the pawn shop?
Flash forward to 2012. I finally raised the gumption to walk into National Pawnbrokers and determine once and for all whether this article of faith was true.
Actually, I’d exercised this adult prerogative before, having purchased sentimentally, three years ago, a Vox mini-amplifier evoking the Fab Four.
Today, the shop’s merchandise and loan window cashiers look orderly and prosperous. Signs tout gold, watches, jewelry, diamonds, firearms and tools. There’s a framed 1977 clipping from The Washington Star profiling the business launched in 1939 by the Chelec family in Rosslyn (which until the 1950s was practically the pawnshop/storefront loan capital of the Eastern seaboard).
There’s an interview with longtime manager Joseph Horowitz, who helped move National Pawnbrokers to its present site. The owners got a raw deal on the move, 10 cents on the dollar, I’m told by current manager Paul Cohen. He pulls out an early ‘60s photo showing the apartments across the street. In the foreground is a vacant lot that is now home to the Pawnbrokers and the Tarbouch Mediterranean grill.
“The music guy” at the modern store is Rico Amero, a working musician and a former sound engineer for the county. He shows me his range of Carvin, Marshall and Traynor amps, guitar straps and stands, and non-rock instruments such as clarinets. A few are new, such as the blue Percussion Plus drum kit.
Most are traded in, sold or hocked by people who need a loan, Amero says. He repairs some, “but if they’re not in good shape, they won’t make it into the store,” he says, except occasional vintage items.
Customers include kids and teens – one began coming in at age 12 – and Amero is proud to think he helped him get in the Berklee College of Music. But most customers “come here to get a good deal,” he says. National Pawnbrokers deals with professional musicians, for prices that can top $2,000, he says. Fearing doing a disservice, he’s not a huge fan of selling entry-level instruments.
That was me back in 1964.
So I asked manager Cohen the $64 question. He was hired 35 years ago “because he could reach the guitar,” he says. Back in the day, the salesmen “didn’t play instruments. All they did then was make money.”
Charlie Clark may be e-mailed at cclarkjedd@aol.com
Recent News
Spanberger Pledges to Protect Virginians’ Fundamental Rights, Reproductive Freedoms
**DOWNLOADABLE VIDEO: Spanberger Urges Virginians to Vote to Protect Reproductive Rights This November** Spanberger: “My Opponent Has Made Clear That
CBC LWV How To Become a Candidate Forum
Running for office has always been a key facet of our democratic system of government but, in these fraught times,
Warner Unveils Latest Legislation in Push to Make Housing More Affordable for Virginians
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) has introduced two new pieces of bipartisan legislation to encourage new development, expand
Warner, Young, Colleagues Push Trump Administration to Fill Sudan Special Envoy Position as Civil War Continues
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN) wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to
Judge Giles Rejects Trump Administration Forum Shopping In Badar Khan Suri Case
Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) today issued the following statement welcoming a ruling by Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles rejecting the Trump Administration’s attempts
Virginia Delegation Blasts Trump Administration’s Attacks On CDC Programs That Address America’s Maternal Health Crisis
Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Mark R.
Stories that may interest you
Spanberger Pledges to Protect Virginians’ Fundamental Rights, Reproductive Freedoms
**DOWNLOADABLE VIDEO: Spanberger Urges Virginians to Vote to Protect Reproductive Rights This November** Spanberger: “My Opponent Has Made Clear That She Would Put Further Restrictions On a Woman’s Access to
CBC LWV How To Become a Candidate Forum
Running for office has always been a key facet of our democratic system of government but, in these fraught times, it looms more important than ever. With this in mind
Warner Unveils Latest Legislation in Push to Make Housing More Affordable for Virginians
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) has introduced two new pieces of bipartisan legislation to encourage new development, expand supply, and make housing more affordable for Virginians. “In communities
Warner, Young, Colleagues Push Trump Administration to Fill Sudan Special Envoy Position as Civil War Continues
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN) wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to work with President Trump to appoint a new Special Envoy