Ringgold County IAGenWeb Project ~ Lucky Lanes, Mount Ayr

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, June 04, 2009

That was the name of the bowling alley in Mount Ayr many years ago and that's the name that will be resurrected along with the bowling alley on the square in Mount Ayr.

A non-profit group, the Ringgold County Bowling Association, has been organized and is accepting tax-deductible donations for the costs to purchase the property, fix up the building and get the bowling lanes back in operation.

The bowling alley in Mount ayr has been closed for two years and backers of the project feel that the facility is something that will add to the recreational offerings of the community.

It is estimated that it will cost between $90,000 to $110,000 to get the building purchased, put on a new roof, renovate the interior and upgrade the land and equipment, providing automatic scoring as part of the project.

Once the initial money is raised to get the facility back in action, funds will be raised to upgrade the exterior and an endowment fund will be started to provide some operational funds for the facility each year for a total cost of $150,000 to $180,000.

The group hopes to get the facility back in operation by September in time for bowling leagues.

A meeting was held Thursday, May 28, to talk about fall leagues and future plans for the renovations of the bowling lanes. More than 20 people attended to learn more about the project.

It is hoped to get mens, womens and couples bowling leagues organized. A volunteer has also been found to help organize youth bowling leagues as well. Getting the bowling facility open will also mean that the Mount Ayr Community school bowling teams may continue. A vote to drop the program unless the local bowling alley is reopened was made at a recent school board meeting.

As well as seeking donations from the public toward the project, the group is applying for a number of grants to help the project move forward.

It is hoped that as the project continues a manager can be hired to run the facility.

Anyone can become a member of the Ringgold County Bowling Association for a $5 fee.

Support of fund-raisers by the group will also be appreciated. A raffle will be help and a half a beef processed and ready to go, donated by Craig and Susan WINEMILLER, given away in a drawing at Ayr Days.

Larger tax-deductible contributions made out to the Ringgold County Community Foundation can be given to Jim PEDERSEN or Steve FETTY in Mount Ayr. Donations of $100 or more will receive a brik with the donars names engraved in the sidewalk in front of the bowling alley.

Most of the work on renovating the interior of the building will be by volunteers, so people who can help in this way are also being sought. Volunteers to help with the building renovation can contact Rick FOX.

Old carpet will be removed and replaced, the building interior repainted and other work done to upgrade the facility.

Using the bowling alley once it is reopened by joining leagues or coming for open bowling will also be needed.

With a good deal of community, support, the area will be "lucky" to have Lucky Lanes reopened as the bowling alley on the Mount Ayr square.

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, August 27, 2009

While the Princess Theater was celebrating its first year in business after being remodeled, another Mount Ayr recreational opportunity was getting ready to celebrate is resurrection.

Lucky Lanes is the old name that is coming back to life in its location on the east side of the square in Mount Ayr where the bowling balls will soon be rolling in earnest.

Lucky Lanes was the name for the bowling alley when it was first opened in 1960 in Mount Ayr on the first floor of the IOOF building by the lodge. It was soon sold to private hands.

The bowling alley was moved to the location on the east side of the square in the 1990s and operated there until being closed two years ago. Having it come back better than ever is another feather in the hat of community improvements going on around the square.

It isn't a grand opening yet, but the public is invited to stop in and see the new facility even if they are not bowlers.

It's been a lot of work by many volunteers to put Mount Ayr back on the bowling map. The check list of things accomplished is a long one.

The bowling alley had been closed and roof problems meant that there waas a lot of work to be done to bring the alley back to life.

The project began with organizing the Ringgold County Bowling Association, a non-profit group which will run the bowling alley much like the non-profit boards running the Princess Theater, the Upper Limits Teen Center and the Senior Citizen Activity Center, -- all other examples of community groups binding together to meet a need and getting things accomplished.

Officers of that group are Rick FOX, president; Jim HYMBAUGH, vice-president; Steve FETTY, treasurer; and Deb AYRES, secretary. Ron SICKELS is the fifth person on the board.

A lifetime membership in the bowling association goes for just $5, with the group looking for as many people as possible to help support the project.

The building was officially purchased on May 11 and in just three short months the changes have been amazing.

One of the first items to get accomplished was putting a new roof on the building. Then work began on the inside.

The bowling lanes were resurfaced, the bowling machines repaired and new pins purchased. Electronic scoring machines which keep track of the scores of bowlers were added to bring the alley up to date.

New ceiling tile was installed in the whole building and with the help of Podium Ink and Debbie MURPHY, a plan for the new interior decoration of the building was put together.

Maroons, greens, tans, blacks and a little purple decorate the room and a "Fabulous Lucky Lanes" logo was designed by Podium Ink.

All the old carpeting was torn out and replaced and a completely new food and drink service area (above left) was built.

Podium Ink designers Brad ELLIOTT and Burton MURPHY let their imaginations run wild withthe oversized pictures from movies of the past which line the walls.

John Wayne with his cowboy bowling ball? The first bowling ball on the moon? (A small step forman, a bowling strike for mankind?) How about Marilyn Monroe with bowling pin earrings? They're all part of the Lucky Lanes decor.

One of the projects of Rick FOX, who managed much of the reconstruction work, was to take the old bowling lockers, clean them up and repaint them with a shiny black finish.

Some new bowling balls were added to the repertoire already in the building with new racks to hold them.

Steve FETTY found the old bowling league record holder, which has a place of honor on the wall and will soon have new plastic sleeves through which bowling league statistics can be followed.

There is a large screen television and a juke box will soon join the items in the refreshment area in the front of the building.

And people can find the "Kingpin" and "Queenpin" restroom facilities that are part of the new decor as well.

League bowling is scheduled to begin the second weekin September with a sanctioned mixed league on Sunday nights, women's league on Tuesday nights, and men's league on Thursday nights.

Once the sanctioned leagues get off the ground, the bowling alley is opening to organize some recreational leagues and a youth league.

The bowling alley will also be used by school physical education classes, the high school bowling teams and groups like Ringgold County Supportive Services.

The bowling alley will be available for renting out for parties as well. A group from Graceland University has already been over to try out the new lanes and were very impressed.

Managing the bowling alley will be Scott MYER and Travis HARTMAN, who will be co-managers. Several others are helping out as needed.

Now that the inside of the building has been completed, the rest of the work planned will be on the building exterior.

Still planned for this fall is insulating and covering the north wall of the building to help with heating and cooling costs.

There is a plan for remodeling the front of the building, featuring the new Lucky Lanes logo in a style fitting in with some of the other storefronts around the square.

To date some $91,000 has been spent to get the bowling alley up and running again.

Of that total, about one third or $22,000 has been raised in the sale of bricks for the sidewalk outside the building, a raffle, bake sale and other fund raisers. The project has also received some $9,000 in grants from the Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative fund and the South Central Iowa Community Foundation.

"We have borrowed the rest of the money that we needed to get the building this far and we hope to raise the funds through donations to pay off the building expenses," FETTY said. One of the sources of the borrowing has been the city of Mount Ayr's revolving loan fund to help businesses around the square upgrade their facilities.

The money we raise from use of the building will go to the bowling alley operations," FETTY noted.

That means that much more fund-raising will need to be done over the coming months.

"We hope that when people see the building open and how nice of a facility it is that they will want, to make contributions to make sure that we have this kind of facility for years to come," FETTY said.

Funds beyond the $91,000 already spent will also be needed to do the exterior work that is needed. It is hoped that donations will come in at such a pace that work on the front of the building can be done next year.

Once the money for the remodeling of the building is raised, the association will work on raising an endowment fund that will provide money for the operations of the bowling alley each year.

"We have an endowment fund already set up, but first we want to finish raising the funds for the building remodeling and upgrading," FETTY said.

Contributions to the bowling alley can be made through the brick or by contacting any of the association bowling officers.

"Lucky Lanes is just one more piece of the puzzle of improving the opportunities in many areas for Ringgold county citizens through non-profit and cooperative efforts," FOX said.

This week's picture was taken by David PUGH in 1966. He was editor of the newspapers at Afton and Diagonal before his unexpected passing in February 2006.

David share his Mount Ayr photos with me in 2005 and this week's photo appeared in the 2013 Historic Mount Ayr calendar I put together for the Mount Ayr Depot Museum.

I was motivated to write this article when I came across an item in a 1937 Record-News stating S. W. HOLLAND had recently purchased the bowling alleys in Mount Ayr. Mr. HOLLAND had hired his brother Kenneth to manage his new enterprise. This is the only information I have of a bowling alley prior to the Odd Fellows construction of Lucky Lanes in 1960.

A meeing was held September 2, 1960 to organized leagues and team sponsors. Officers for the men's league were Kenneth WILSON, Wilber wAGENKNECHT, Bill MONAGHAN, Junior REYNOLDS and Elmo ROE. Officers for the women's league were Athena STRANGE, Dorothy WURSTER, Peggy WAGENKNECHT, Mrs. Junior REYNOLDS and Edna SICKELS.

Lucky Lanes, owned and operated by Mount Ayr Lodge 169, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, opened September 10th. The new four-lane alley was located at 103 East Madison.

At some point, Albert and Mary BAGLEY became owners of Lucky Lanes and they sold it to Jake DAILEY July 28, 1966. Jake sold it to Bud and Hazel MATHEWS in 1973, but bought it back April 1, 1977 along with his partner, Keith BASTOW. I lose track of the bowling alley after that.

Bib and Maxine COMBS built a six-lane bowling alley at 110 South Taylor in 1994. Bib's Lanes opened the first week of September. Bib and Maxine, along with their son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Gloria COMBS, were the operators.

The bowling alley was sold to Lonnie and Diane HUNTSMAN and the name was changed to Majestic Lanes. The newly named facility had its grand opening April 21, 2001.

With new owners, the lanes were remodeled and renamed, Lucky Lanes in 2010. I believe Lucky Lanes opened in early 2011.

Mount Ayr Record News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, November 07, 2013

Dear Editor:
. . . Mike Avitt's article about the town bowling alleys over the years caught my eye. I began bowling at Lucky Lanes a few moths after [my daughter] Mitiz was born in 1960. Would you believe the Tuesday evening women's Blue Grass League had three sessions? Checked with several of my bowling companions (Darlene Irving, Helen Schardein, Margaret Bishop) and we can't recall exactly the start time of the late, late shif but am certain it ws nearly midnight and well after midnight when we finished. (In hindsight, who with good sense gets up in the dead of winter at midnight to go bowling?)

Also, I recollect big Ted Perlenfein ran the alley along with Albert Bagley. Probably my highlight of that time was winning the Iowa Women's State Bowling Class C championship in 1967 with my partner, Margaret Bishop. We scored a total of 1,098 pins -- she bowling a scratch 630 series on an average of the 150's and I a 468 series on an average in the 140's.

Also, I don't believe Bib and Maxine Combs built and owned Bib's Place but rather only managed it. (Could check the County Recorder's office if you are so inclined.)

Sincerely,
Mari McGeehee
Mount Ayr