All of my kids, my hubby and I had the day off from school and work on Friday. They were wondering around the house like lost souls. They didn't know what to do with their time. So I dragged them to our local bowling alley. I mean literally dragged them there, they whined, complained, wanted to bring friends so they would "actually have fun". My hubby even said, "I'll just stay home." I wanted 2 hours of their time and I took it. I took them bowling. And I brought my camera long for the ride. Bowling is something we never do and we had a ball!
(Pun intended.)
Just look at the assortment of bowling balls to chose from. This white one with the name Betty carved into it, was so heavy I could barely lift it. Betty must have been a powerhouse!
I don't know who Lisa is but she had bold taste in colors! This one reminded me of the 70's color scheme.
This purple bowling ball had a bowling pin inside of it. My kids took turns rolling this heavy monster down the lane "Granny Style" because it must have weighted 20 lbs. It looked cool how the pin teetered down the lane inside the ball.
The proprietor of the bowling alley said it was built in 1937. The lanes were updated in 1943. Seriously, that was the last update, except for some 1980's carpet and paneling.
The ball return and the lanes are dated 1943.
They all work and all have those amazing vintage colors. Reds, blues and beige.
Even the score keeping machine was original. It looks like "Wall-E" according to my kids. You use a transparent scoring sheet and it projects it on the bulk head above the lane. My kids used it to make shadow puppets.
The whole adventure cost us $15 for 6 of us to play. They even set up bumpers in a lane for Sophie to play on. She thought it was the "coolest thing ever". We played one game and it took us an hour and a half. We are all terrible at bowling. {I actually won with a score of 72! Joe was so embarrassed!} I have not seen my family (especially my teens) laugh and enjoy each other in so long. Technology, friends, school, sports and work take so much of our time, it was so nice to slow down and enjoy them. Afterwards, we went to Subway for dinner (kids choice). It was perfect!
But I have to tell you, the best part was.....
The shoes!
These are mine. {My feet look huge in them!} My oldest daughter asked if we could buy them.
Aren't they fabulous?
When was the last time you went bowling? Do you have a vintage bowling alley in your town? I highly recommend it.
~Danylle
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Too much fun! I have to confess, I only took my children bowling one time -- on a summer day when we all needed a change of venue -- and we had a blast!
ReplyDeleteVery cool post. Love the vintage bowling alley!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great blog post. It brings me back to the days when I was a kid and we would go bowling. There are not many old lanes like that left, hopefully they keep it going as it would be a shame to let that history go.
ReplyDeleteOh, what fun! I haven't been bowling for 12 years! Prior to my moving up the mountain, the local bowling alley collapsed in a snow storm and they never rebuilt it. The li'l bungalow my mom and I moved did, however, come with a lovely assortment of bowling balls ~ sans the cute shoes!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are having a beautiful week! Thank you for "liking" The Little Red Shop!
: )
Julie M.
Nice photos! I just happened to spot this pic of a 2 lane alley in Antarctica. Seems they have the same ball returns but their pin setters are manual.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.alltombowling.nu/galleri/displayimage.php?album=18&pos=5
As a bowling history geek, I can tell that most of the equipment in this alley dates from the 1940's. However, the masks--the decorative panels over the pins--are of the Brunswick Gold Crown variety. This style was introduced in 1959 and manufactured throughout the 1960's.
ReplyDeleteJim Hutter
Columbus, Ohio