Punching the Clock: Days of Our Lanes
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.
Over the years he has served as head mechanic, traveled to other centers to help resolve mechanical issues, installed equipment and done lane resurfacing, the highly precise process of sanding down bowling lanes and applying new finish.
Mark started working at Plaza Lanes in 1984. He was head mechanic when Brian took over the center. Brian promoted him to general manager in 2006.
As GM, Mark is responsible for the day to day operation of the business, but he is still heavily involved with the mechanical side of things. He keeps a close eye on how the pinsetters are running, especially during leagues, which ensures that problems are fixed as soon as they raise their ugly heads.
We got our first call of the day on Lane 17. Our task? To “respot a 5 pin.” I dutifully followed Mark down the walkway beside the lane to the back.
My first impression? Wow, was it loud. And the machines are big. For a game that seems pretty straight forward from the bowlers’ end, there is an awful lot going on behind the scenes. I felt thoroughly privileged to be getting a look at it. According to Mark, they don’t do a lot of tours.
While resetting the pin, Mark identified the true problem. One half of the 5 pin’s “scissors,” the grips that close around the neck of the pin to pick it up while the machine is cycling between the first and second ball of each frame, were broken. If the problem wasn’t fixed, the bowlers would continue to have problems.
After a quick consult with the bowlers to let them know what was going on, Mark climbed in. The two teams bowling on that pair were waiting to resume their game and time was of the essence, so I just watched. And to tell you the truth, I wasn’t too keen on climbing up and over the mammoth machines. There are a lot of moving parts and I can fully comprehend why state labor laws prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from working on pinsetters. We’ve already got two broken feet in the office, and Jeff would kill me if I added a third.
I still got a chance to get my hands dirty. Well, not really dirty. After the seniors had bowled their three game series, Mark put me to work getting the lanes ready for the evening league.
Every day, the center’s 28 lanes are cleaned and oiled. The days when this process was done by hand are long gone. Today, Plaza Lanes uses a high-tech lane machine. Their is several years old, but current models run between $20,000 and $30,000.
The piece of equipment is a lot like a big ink-jet printer. As it moves down the lane it distributes a predetermined pattern of oil on the surface of the lane.
This coating accomplishes two things. It protects the lane from the impact of bowling balls and it also creates a surface for the ball to skid through. When the ball hits the cleaned un-oiled surface at the end of the pattern, it starts to roll. Weight blocks in the ball itself determine how the ball will react. If you’ve watched any professional bowlers, you’ve seen the “hook” this makes possible.
There is a complicated science to the pattern, the oil and the ball, which thank goodness Mark didn’t try to explain to me. But I do have a new appreciation for what goes on behind the scenes. It’s made me want to dust off my old bowling ball, lace up my bowling shoes and hit the lanes. See you at Rock-n-Bowl!
For hours of operation and pricing information, contact Plaza Lanes at 334-2725.
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.
Over the years he has served as head mechanic, traveled to other centers to help resolve mechanical issues, installed equipment and done lane resurfacing, the highly precise process of sanding down bowling lanes and applying new finish.
Mark started working at Plaza Lanes in 1984. He was head mechanic when Brian took over the center. Brian promoted him to general manager in 2006.
As GM, Mark is responsible for the day to day operation of the business, but he is still heavily involved with the mechanical side of things. He keeps a close eye on how the pinsetters are running, especially during leagues, which ensures that problems are fixed as soon as they raise their ugly heads.
We got our first call of the day on Lane 17. Our task? To “respot a 5 pin.” I dutifully followed Mark down the walkway beside the lane to the back.
My first impression? Wow, was it loud. And the machines are big. For a game that seems pretty straight forward from the bowlers’ end, there is an awful lot going on behind the scenes. I felt thoroughly privileged to be getting a look at it. According to Mark, they don’t do a lot of tours.
While resetting the pin, Mark identified the true problem. One half of the 5 pin’s “scissors,” the grips that close around the neck of the pin to pick it up while the machine is cycling between the first and second ball of each frame, were broken. If the problem wasn’t fixed, the bowlers would continue to have problems.
After a quick consult with the bowlers to let them know what was going on, Mark climbed in. The two teams bowling on that pair were waiting to resume their game and time was of the essence, so I just watched. And to tell you the truth, I wasn’t too keen on climbing up and over the mammoth machines. There are a lot of moving parts and I can fully comprehend why state labor laws prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from working on pinsetters. We’ve already got two broken feet in the office, and Jeff would kill me if I added a third.
I still got a chance to get my hands dirty. Well, not really dirty. After the seniors had bowled their three game series, Mark put me to work getting the lanes ready for the evening league.
Every day, the center’s 28 lanes are cleaned and oiled. The days when this process was done by hand are long gone. Today, Plaza Lanes uses a high-tech lane machine. Their is several years old, but current models run between $20,000 and $30,000.
The piece of equipment is a lot like a big ink-jet printer. As it moves down the lane it distributes a predetermined pattern of oil on the surface of the lane.
This coating accomplishes two things. It protects the lane from the impact of bowling balls and it also creates a surface for the ball to skid through. When the ball hits the cleaned un-oiled surface at the end of the pattern, it starts to roll. Weight blocks in the ball itself determine how the ball will react. If you’ve watched any professional bowlers, you’ve seen the “hook” this makes possible.
There is a complicated science to the pattern, the oil and the ball, which thank goodness Mark didn’t try to explain to me. But I do have a new appreciation for what goes on behind the scenes. It’s made me want to dust off my old bowling ball, lace up my bowling shoes and hit the lanes. See you at Rock-n-Bowl!
For hours of operation and pricing information, contact Plaza Lanes at 334-2725.
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