As fate would have it, Iola would lose its only bowling alley on National Bowling Day. Country Lanes officially closed its doors on Saturday, giving patrons one last chance to bowl a game or purchase some memorabilia.
Bowling pins were going 10 for $30, while bowling balls were going for $5 apiece.
Everything was for sale, but nobody could snag the memories that several of the regulars shared on this afternoon.
Elsie Weast, 78, of Iola had been a regular since 1977. She was inducted into the Country Lanes Hall of Fame back in 2014.
Mitch Valentine and Elsie Weast of Iola, share memories at the closing of Country Lanes bowling alley Saturday. Weast has been a regular at the bowling alley since 1977. REGISTER/ERIC SPRUILL
?I have a lot of great memories here. My husband passed away in 1993 and I had actually started competing in the national tournament back in 1991. I had a group of about five girls I would bowl with every week out here and I would go to the tournaments with them. This game and these friends took me a lot of places that I never would have gone had it not been for this place here,? Weast said. ?I played in two leagues on Wednesday nights for many years here. Made a lot of memories with the people here.?
Anna Whittley and her mother, Phylis Nelson, took in the sights and bowled much of the afternoon together.
?I started bringing her here on Saturday mornings when she was just a little girl. Saturday mornings used to be big days for the kids. These lanes would be filled,? Phylis said.
?I think I was around 10 years old when I started coming here and then we started competing in tournaments,? Anna added.
Owner Jim Valentine, who sold the building to Harvest Baptist Church last month, said league numbers had begun to dwindle.
?The heart and soul of this place was always the bowling leagues. The numbers started dropping around five years ago. It made it a struggle to stay open when we lost them. It made it where we had to rely on public play,? Valentine said. ?They (league members) were our regulars, but a lot of them started getting up there in age.?
Coyt Whittley, age 4, lifts a bowling ball half his size.
