A League of Their Own

Young at Heart Bowling League provides camaraderie and competition for people 55+

Bob Bruhl, 87, throws a bowling ball down the lane during the Young at Heart Bowling League at Jackson Lanes in Jackson. Originally from Chicago, Bruhl says he moved to Jackson in 1996 and has been a member of the league since.Ben Matthews - bmatthews@semissourian.com

Jim Long, resident of Jackson, began bowling while attending high school in Ferguson, Missouri. Although he says he didn’t enjoy school because he wrote words backward and in those days, teachers didn’t know how to help students who struggled in this way, there was a bowling alley called Weber Lanes across the street from his high school. While working at McDonnell Douglas building the F-4 Phantom II aircrafts flown during the Vietnam War and working at a motorcycle shop as a mechanic, that was where he learned to bowl.

Jean Rice, left, laughs with Jerry Morton while changing out of their bowling shoes after playing in the Young at Heart Bowling League at Jackson Lanes in Jackson. Ben Matthews - bmatthews@semissourian.com

Although Long moved around throughout his childhood due to his father’s job with an oil company, he moved to Jackson 48 years ago because he fell in love with a woman from Southeast Missouri. The couple was married for nearly five decades before she passed away in July 2019. A heavy bracelet full of charms he bought her throughout those 48 years documents their life together.

Korean War veteran Sam Conrad, 88, steps to bowl a frame during a meeting of the Young at Heart Bowling League at Jackson Lanes in Jackson. Ben Matthews - bmatthews@semissourian.com

Bowling was an activity the two enjoyed participating in together; this was how Long joined the Young at Heart Bowling League at Jackson Lanes in Jackson. It’s a league dedicated to people who are 55 years old or older with any amount of bowling experience.

“You talk to everybody; we’re like a big family. Everybody has a good time, and that’s what the main thing is,” Long says of the league. “It’s just enjoyable.”

It’s a league that has been a staple of the bowling alley for so long no one quite knows when it first began. Eddie Craft, owner of Jackson Lanes, who first began bowling at the alley in Jackson when he was 14 years old and remembers the Young at Heart Bowling League taking place then, estimates the league has been going on since the early 1970s. Craft, who has owned Jackson Lanes for three years and is a fan of Oldies music, plays the Oldies station for the Young at Heart bowlers each Wednesday when they bowl. He jokes a few of them get “a little carried away” when he plays Elvis.

Craft’s care for each of the bowlers is apparent in the way he jokingly interacts with them and then imparts interesting details about each person’s life when they get back to bowling.

“I’ve always enjoyed people. I’m a people person, and I’ve always enjoyed working with this group here,” Craft says. “I’m a big fan of just bowling in general, so to me, this helps them number one, [have] camaraderie, number two, [get] exercise, and number three, it makes them live. It just gives them something to do, get them out of the house, and they enjoy each other. That makes me happy.”

There are currently 11 four-person teams in the league, which meets each Wednesday at 1 p.m. for 31 weeks, beginning the third week of August. At the end of the league each year, the organization holds a banquet at which the prize money is given out to the best bowlers of the year.

“We just have lots of fun, and it doesn’t make any difference if you bowl good or not, your teammates will rag ya like me, but your teammates will [also] encourage you,” says Marilyn Landewee, who has been a part of the Young at Heart Bowling League for three years and is currently the president of the league. She plays on a team called the Alleycats. “And if you want help, ask your teammates, or they’ll get somebody who can help you.”

Sam Conrad is one of those people who could help new bowlers improve their game. Conrad, resident of Cape Girardeau, says at 88 years old, he is one of the oldest bowlers in the league. Although he has never bowled a perfect game, he once bowled a score of 298, just two points away from a perfect 300.

“When I got up there the tenth frame, I could not see. I took deep breaths. Everyone told me take your time, but I left two pins,” he recalls.

Conrad says he always stands in the same spot when he bowls and has “stood there for years:” five boards off center, throwing the ball over the second dart on the right hand side of the lane.

“It’s a good sport,” Conrad says. “And when you’re by yourself, you’ve got something to do and people to be with, and everyone has fun.”

---

Interested in joining a bowling league for seniors?

The Young at Heart Bowling League meets every Wednesday for 31 weeks beginning the third week of August at 1 p.m. at Jackson Lanes, 304 East Monroe Street in Jackson. Three games are played for $10 each week. For more information or to sign up, contact Jackson Lanes owner Eddie Craft at (573) 243-2303. Although the league has already started, new teams and bowlers are welcome to join at any time.

West Park Lanes at 354 South Silver Springs Road #6386 in Cape Girardeau hosts The Senior Lunch and Bowl each Monday year-round at 11:30 a.m., for people aged 50+. The event costs $4 for a lunch of a hamburger, french fries and a drink and $7 for two games of individual bowling. The second Monday of each month, lunch is complimentary. Bowlers do not have to attend each week to be part of this event.

West Park Lanes also hosts The OWLS (Older, Wiser, Livelier Seniors) Senior League on Thursdays at 1 p.m. for 30 weeks beginning the last week of August. This league is for teams of four whose members are aged 50+. For more information about Lunch and Bowl or The OWLS, or to sign up for The OWLS, contact West Park Lanes manager Darryl James at (573) 334-1047.