BEARZ Wrote:
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> Bleekers Bowl in Evergreen Park is very much
> open.
> My husband and I have owned the place since 97.
> Though the outside is pretty much the way it's
> looked since the 50's, we gutted the
> inside,brightened it up, added a beer garden and
> most recently a grill. If you are still in the
> area, stop in, mention this site and have lunch
> and a couple games on me!
> I'm 51 and I grew up in Back of the Yards. I
> bowled with my daddy at Miami and then again there
> with my sister where I was league secretary. Oh,
> how I miss keeping score with pencil and paper!
> When I was younger, my dad also bowled at Jay Bee
> on 51st and Damen and then it burned down. Lots of
> stuff tended to burn down in the old hood! I
> remember when he had to climb to the charred
> second floor to get his ball out of the locker.
> I also remember the day Gage Park Bowl burned. I
> lived on 53rd and Hermitage and still it was hard
> to see in my house the smoke was so bad.Yecch.
> Miami was my favorite. When we got Bleekers, I
> hoped we could maintain the beautiful wood lanes
> like that. You can keep our corporate competition,
> Brunswick Zone (the old Arena) and their synthetic
> lanes and their cosmic bowl nonsense.(And the fact
> they have to close at ten because of gangs is
> pretty scary, too.)
> My daddy's average hovered around 195. He bowled
> for 45 years.
> My average was in the high 150's. I would say it's
> the Pollack in us that made us somewhat decent
> bowlers.
> But my older sister's average was 89. haha
> Anyway, it was a nice surprise to see our
> livelihood mentioned here!Kathe
Where did you live on 53rd & Hermitage? I knew everybody there and married a girl from that block.