Nimbly passing billiard
balls in and out of a cup, plucking coins from the air, and
multiplying sponge balls are easy for Ernest J. "Red"
Partington, who has amazed and amused folks with magic
"tricks" for over 50 years. "I worked for West
Penn just for fun," he tells an audience, tossing out a pair
of crooked dice. "Here's how I really make my money."
Red, who retired in 1979 as superintendent of
Connellsville Stores, performed close-up shows free for 22
linemen training school banquets and a host of other company
functions during 44 years of service.
"My mother took me to see the great Blackstone, the country's leading magician, when I was 12," Red recalls. "I tried to imitate him, but had no money to buy 'tricks.' Finally, I got enough together to buy a book and I learned from it." Since then, he has accumulated a magic "library", which he has read and uses to refresh his memory.
"Magic takes patience. It's hard to learn from books, but I eventually mastered a routine. I was 16 when I gave my first 'show'," he says. "I made a lighted cigarette disappear into a hankie. My hosts admitted they hunted the house over but never found the cigarette."
Red has done everything from stand-up shows for banquets to kid shows, but his present favorite entertainment is sleight of hand, or "close-up magic," limited to audiences of under 25.
"Trade shows are like old-time carnivals and ideal for my type of work," he says. "I bring up the tip (attract a crowd) for the business people to hand out their literature. I also like hospitality rooms and restaurant lounges where I can 'table hop' doing about four tricks while the diners await their food, then move on.
"There is a myth about magicians always having something up their sleeve, and it just isn't so. I don't need sleeves. My jacket is strictly to carry props.
"I sit down with patrons, if invited, but I must also be able to do my stuff standing, so everything I need is on my person," he says, pulling a deck of cards, some rope, sponge balls, coins, and silk handkerchiefs from his pockets.
Magic is not just doing tricks," Red explains, "it's also entertaining. To help build up the suspense, I talk all the while and add a little humor but never embarrass anyone or tell off color stories.
"Magic is a good way to meet people," he continues. "It's surprising how well they remember me, call me by name, and it has opened doors for me. They also expect me to remember them, too, but I'm not a memory expert like some magicians."
Wherever Red goes he carries a pack of cards or he'll borrow a deck from his hosts. "I don't use trick cards," he says. "It would destroy the demonstration when I show people how gamblers cheat. In New York City, for instance, there are reported to be more than 100 "Three-card Monte" men who cheat people on street corners. They use three cards, two of one color and get people to bet on the location of the odd colored card.
Red never misses a day of practice. "I have to keep my fingers nimble," he explains. "I couldn't work with stiff, sore, or callused fingers. That's why my wife, Cora, does all the carpentry," he laughs. "And she's good at it, too.
"Close-up magic takes more
practice because my audience is right up against me on both sides
and often looking over my shoulder. I like that. The closer 
they are to me,
the better I work.
"If my audience is mostly women, 1 do tricks they like with sponge balls, a ring on a rope, or silks. I do more card and gambling tricks for men. Because children honestly believe in magic they are easily bored with adult tricks so I have a few things geared especially for them, too.
"If I'm working with cards, I make sure more than one person knows the chosen card because not everyone plays cards. There isn't anything that can spoil a trick faster than someone who can't remember the chosen card.
"My favorite trick, and the best for all-around audience entertainment, is with sponge balls," he decides. "I also favor a couple of card tricks. The cup and ball gets the best reaction from audiences and is the one that is requested most often.
"The night before a show, I make up a program, lay out all of my materials, and practice my routine. If I'm working a club or restaurant, I carry a black pad to put on the tables, which often have spilled liquids on them. If I get my cards wet, I'm done," he says.
Red wears out about 20 decks of cards a year. "There are new plastic-coated cards that wear longer, but if I switch from the old familiar 'Bicycle' brand, people think they are trick cards.
"Sponge balls last forever, and I buy especially soft rope so knots tie easily," he says.
Red has been a continuous member ofI.B..H.M. (International Brotherhood of Magicians) for over 25 years, and so belongs to the "Order of Merlin."
"If I make 50 years," he muses, "I'll belong to the 'Order of Excalibur'." He's been president of the Uniontown "Ring" about five times and I.B.M. territorial representative four times. He presently belongs to Greensburg Ring 158.
"Members of I.B.M. can go anywhere in the world and attend meetings by showing their membership card," Red says. "I've never met an unfriendly magician. Some members will also house visiting magicians.
"Magicians have a common interest," he continues. "They show each other tricks and learn from each other. I've been fooled a few times and seen some tricks I couldn't master, but I do some that others can't, too. Magic's an interesting hobby.
"We also teach young people who are genuinely interested in magic," he says. "I believe that what I teach is good. It helps keep them out of trouble.
"Everything I get from magic, I put back in tricks or books. Magic books never were cheap and have become very expensive $70 is a common price. In magic there is much to learn – always new tricks coming out. There is no end to what can be done.
"There are only a certain number of basic things that can happen in magic," he summarizes. "We can produce, change (enlarge or make smaller), or make things vanish.
"My advice to anyone attending a magic show is simply sit back and enjoy it. Don't try to figure out how it's done;" Red says. "Magic is meant to be entertaining, not an exercise in logistics."
