When I was in high school, Rock-n-Bowl at Plaza Lanes was the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights. It was less about the bowl and more about the social scene, but that didn’t mean we weren’t lacing up the rental shoes and scouring the racks for a ball that fit our hand. Preferably one that didn’t have “Butch” engraved in it.
Yes, I have fond memories of the crashing pins, colored lights and teenage angst. And those memories all came rushing back when I stepped into the center on Wednesday.
Of course, the center itself has changed a lot since those days in the late 80s and early 90s. Brian Quanne, who bought the center in 2003, has done a significant remodel. New carpeting, a fresh paint job, colorful murals and automatic scoring have given the 49-year-old center a cleaner, more modern look.
General Manager Mark Ewen has helped bring about that change. He said the facility’s facelift has helped focus the business back on families and kids and both open bowling and birthday parties have increased.
That’s not to say that those casual bowlers are replacing league bowling. Leagues remain important, said Mark. In contrast to most of the country’s centers, Plaza Lanes has actually seen an increase in its league bowling over the last four years.
I caught up with Mark while he was checking in bowlers for one of those leagues, the center’s Wednesday afternoon senior doubles program. We chatted casually with the league members, collected weekly bowling fees and answered questions about changes to the league schedule for the Thanksgiving holiday.
I was shadowing Mark, who was pulling double duty as front desk and mechanic for the 18-team league. I was secretly hoping for some serious lane problems, so I could get a good look at the behind-the-scenes portion of the center. Unfortunately for me (but good for the bowlers), Plaza Lanes doesn’t have that many lane problems. And the reason why, was standing beside me.
Although Mark has been in bowling for a long time, he’s not your typical OBG (old bowing guy). For one, he’s not old. He just started out really young.
Mark’s story is a little different than most you hear about guys who have grown up in the bowling industry. Normally they start as avid bowlers, who end up taking jobs to give them an excuse to spend more time in a bowling center. For Mark, it wasn’t the game that got him hooked, but the machines.
Mark recalled the first time he ever saw the back end of a bowling alley. He was 10 years old when Ken Scott, one-time owner of the center on Brown Avenue, took him behind the machines to get some old pins.
“I was amazed,” said Mark. He started spending more and more time at the center, and Scott let him tag along, “shadowing” him as he worked on the pinsetters. Over the summers, when the bowling alley was closed, Mark would take the manuals home.
“I read them cover to cover,” he said.
Mark never grew out of his fascination with bowling equipment and has made it his career.
