Left Yourself a Wicked Hahd Half-Worcester? Then You're Bowling Candlepin, Our Game and the Greatest Bowling Of
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Left yourself a wicked hahd half-Worcester? Then you’re bowling candlepin, our game and the greatest bowling of all he International Candlepin to look for it. And if you want to bowl in Bowling Association put it best: candlepin’s hometown, there’s only one T“Many great things have come place to look. DayTripper out of Worcester, Massachusetts, but “I’m the only one left in Worcester,” surely one of the greatest is Candlepin said Nick Andresen, the owner of Emily Bowling.” Colonial Bowling Center on Mill Street. Roche Yet unlike the smiley face, Abbie “I’m the last of the Mohicans!” Hoffman and space suits, candlepin Colonial is the real candlepin deal. downtown streets were a living, bowling didn’t make it that far outside This is no retrofitted, hipster hangout breathing hub of activity filled with of New England—up to the Maritimes in thinly disguised as a bowling alley: you shops, restaurants and movie theaters. Canada and that was about it. But who won’t find any pool tables, video games, There were also a lot of cares. We all know candlepin is the or swanky bar to distract bowling alleys that were best. It’s a million times harder you. In fact, once inside built into the pre-existing than ten pin—to date, no you’ll find things buildings that dotted the one has bowled a perfect pretty much as downtown landscape. candlepin game—and they were on These alleys were small a zillion times more opening day and cramped—most fun. Candlepin balls back in March had just six or eight roll with a sense of of 1960. lanes—and relied on a urgency and finesse Sure, you lot of labor to keep them their larger cousins get a blank running. Scoring wasn’t lack and hit their s c o r e c a r d the only manual part thin targets with and a pencil of the game back then. a sharp, satisfying to help you Bowling alley owners crack instead of the keep track of had to rely on pinsetter toneless, heavy thud of each game, the boys, also called pin ten pin. It’’s got it’s own equipment has been boys, to set up the lanes set of rules with the lingo to upgraded over the years after each player’s turn. match (ever pick up a and the original, They stood at the back Half Worcester or make rock maple ‘I’m the only one left of the lanes and well, I’ll a Hi-Low-Jackpot?). wooden pins were in Worcester,’ said Nick let Nick pick it up from Thousands of viewers replaced with here: tuned into Channel 5’s Andresen, the owner of plastic ones years “[The pin boys] “Candlepin Bowling” Colonial Bowling Center ago, but the main were the young kids of the day, a lot of broadcast every week attraction was and on Mill Street. ‘I’m the them had grown up in the Depression,” from 1958 to 1996 and is the 24 spotless last of the Mohicans!’ Nick said. “That was backbreaking job: the show’s popularity lanes stocked with up and down, up and down, send the made eight-time world candlepins, just balls back, set up the pins, then you champion Stasia Czernicki of Webster, waiting to be knocked down. had to go back down again, do that for and Tommy Olszta of Southbridge, “the two hours. … If a pin or a ball went Larry Bird of Candlepin,” practically Candlepin history ... flying sometimes it would hit [them], household names. A Worcester native, Nick attended sometimes it wouldn’t. You wouldn’t get Even though we hold on to this Clark University and received his MBA a guy 80 years old setting up pins, he’d game with a fierce, regional pride, from Cornell in 1953. His family had never get up!” candlepin lanes are not as common as owned several restaurants in the area Because of the nature of the job, they once were. Because manufacturers and instilled in him the strong desire to sometimes the pinsetters wouldn’t show don’t make the equipment anymore own his own business. A few years after up for work, which could throw a major you aren’t likely to find any new lanes graduation he started to set his sights on wrench in an alley’s business. opening up soon, and the alleys of my opening his own business in the form of youth either don’t exist or have gone all a new bowling alley for the city. … and its revolution ten pin. If you want candlepin, you have Before World War II, Worcester’s After World War II times and Central Mass Magazine April 2008 7 fortunes changed. Families started be there: kids, grandparents, hard-core Here are some of the other candlepin leaving cities for life in the suburbs, league members, casual bowlers like bowling centers in Central Mass. The everyone started buying cars, buses me, and two candlepin bowling novices, number of lanes is in parentheses, and trolleys became less frequent, and professors Joseph Lawrence and Andrea downtown Worcester started its slow Borghini from Holy Cross’s philosophy ACTON BOWLADROME (16) decline. Even though fewer and fewer department. Everyone had a blast and 257 Main St., Acton people went downtown to fill their leisure bowled string after string until closing. 978-263-7638 time, the area’s love of bowling hadn’t I’m no great bowler, but I like to think AMERICAN LANES (16) dwindled. By this time change also came I did my hometown proud. 123 North St., Southbridge to candlepin by ways of the automatic As for Professor Lawrence, he may 508-764-6004 pinsetter machine, which was introduced be on to a whole new career. While he to the game in the late forties. attributes his natural bowling skill to BAYBERRY BOWLING CTR. (16) “The automatic pinsetter machine a phenomenologist’s facility for pure 326 Main St., Spencer revolutionized the industry,” Nick said. eidetic intuition, it might have more to 508-885-4876 The established downtown lanes do with all the horseshoes he threw while that remained open had installed the growing up on a farm in Kentucky. And BRIAN’S BOWLAWAY (14) 123 Main St., Gardner machines, but they weren’t exactly although Professor Borghini’s training in 978-632-9710 the most welcoming places for family analytic philosophy made him a genius bowling outings. Enter Colonial Bowling manual scorekeeper, it didn’t really help HARVARD BOWLING LANES (14) Center. Nick realized the city lacked him bowl any strikes. He did, however, 204 Ayer Road, Harvard a modern candlepin facility where have the best description of what it’s like 978-456-9631 people from all walks of life would feel to bowl at Colonial: comfortable and welcome, so he decided “It’s like being in a movie.” MASON BOWLING CENTER (24) to design and build one. The location he 640 North Main St., Leominster found on Mill Street was easy to get to If You Go 978-537-7064 and had ample parking. The pinsetter Colonial Bowling Center, 248 Mill MOHEGAN BOWL-A-DROME (20) machine allowed him to build a large Street in Worcester, is open seven days 51 Thompson Road, Webster facility with multiple lanes, a lobby, and a week: Monday through Saturday from 508-943-2280 a lounge area. He also decided to limit 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sundays from 10 a.m. his business to candlepin bowling and to 10 p.m. Prices are Monday through PUTNAM STREET LANES (10) discouraged people from just hanging Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., $3.00 a 14 Putnam St., Fitchburg around the place at all hours: no pool string; after 5 and on Saturdays, Sundays, 978-343-9664 sharks or video game jocks allowed. and holidays, $3.30 a string. Prices are the same for adults and children and they SAWYER’S BOWLADROME (5) 13 Blake St., Northboro accept cash only: no credit or debit cards 48 Years and Still Going Strong 508-393-8032 Fads come and go, but classics accepted. There’s a senior citizen special such as the Colonial are always in style. Mondays through Fridays, from 9 a.m. SPARETIME LANES (12) Most of the elements inside the facility— to 5 p.m., seniors 65 and older bowl for 117 Church St., Whitinsville the orange, grey and blue chairs, the $2.40 a string. Bowling shoe rental is 508-234-2077 lounge tables dotted with the gold- $1.90 per person. For more information, crown Brunswick logos, and the simple call 508-754-7645. l scorekeeping tables—are originals. Over [email protected] the years bowling equipment salesmen tried to get him to follow suit with the rest of the country and go ten pin, but Nick never strayed from his hometown roots. Thanks to that decision and the unique formula he invented at Colonial, he’s still going strong after 48 years while other alleys that opened around the same time, such as Lincoln Lanes (my old haunt), are no more, ten pin or not. I recently experienced this winning formula and can attest that Colonial Lanes is for everyone. When I visited an entire cross-section of the city seemed to 8 Central Mass Magazine April 2008.