In less than two weeks Sparetime Bowling will be no more. The longtime Bonnyville bowling centre will be closing its doors on April 19, after 25 years in business.
Owners Joanne and Marty Michaud have been trying to sell the business for the last four years, without much luck. They recently received and accepted an offer to sell the building and the land.
“There weren't too many bidders (over the last few years). We just about sold it once, but it didn't work out,” said Marty. “We are happy we sold it, but it is too bad that it is not continuing on as a bowling centre.”
The Michauds tried to sell the business and keep a bowling centre in Bonnyville, even approaching town council to see if the Centennial Centre was interested in taking it over, the town was unwilling to pay the price required to keep the bowling business going.
The new owners are expected to turn it into office space.
“The business has been very good to us. We just want to retire,” said Joanne. “We have been here 25 years, it is time for younger people to do it. We were young 25 years ago, we are not young now.”
“It is bittersweet,” she added. “We are glad to be closing because we need to retire. We have missed so many family functions, birthdays and anniversaries because we had to be here. When it is holidays the employees want their holidays, so we are here.”
They said they realize there will be many people in Bonnyville and the surrounding communities who will miss Sparetime Bowling, as many have called the centre home over the years.
“We have met a lot of good people here,” said Marty.
“Really good people. All of the people in the recreational bowling industry and area, all of the centres are good people,” added Joanne. “We ran tournaments all of the time. We have had our bowlers go to provincials, nationals and tournaments all over Alberta. Our bowlers themselves did well.”
After owning and operating the business for a quarter of a century, the two have quite a few good memories.
“We were just talking about how we used to run two leagues every night, seven days a week,” said Joanne. “Marty and I, the first year, coached 77 kids by ourselves, running two leagues and he was an owner/operator of Denmar at the time. So we had a big load when we started and it is still a big load.”
One milestone that Sparetime didn't reach was having someone bowl a perfect game.
“The only bad thing is that we never had a perfect game here,” said Marty. “We thought in 25 years that somebody would have bowled one. I think 428 is the highest score we had and a prefect game is 450, it was close.”
The Michauds have been clearing the place out over the past few weeks, selling items like the pinball machine and donating their play equipment to the Lakeland Autistic Society. The place has to be completely cleared out by the end of the month.
“The people have been wonderful,” said Joanne. “We have had some people who have been with us all 25 years and they're the ones who are really going to miss it. Our Special Olympics people are really going to miss it. The seniors will miss it. The town will miss it, they just don't know they will miss it until it is gone.”
The Youth Bowling Club set up a demonstration outside the Bonnyville Nouvelle and Mr. Mike's buildings on April 3, with members of the club and other local bowlers showing support for Bonnyville's only bowling centre, which is likely to be turned into office space.
Christena Martin, a grandparent of youth bowlers and a bowler of more than 25 years herself, helped organize the demonstration.
“There are so many groups that use the bowling centre,” said Martin. “This came out of nowhere. People have been telling me they did not even know the bowling centre was closing.
“We understand it's a business, but what are the bowlers in the area going to do?”
She said the youth bowling club also set up a petition last Tuesday, with nearly two dozens signatures in support of having a bowling centre in town. More signatures were added during the demonstration Thursday.
Martin acknowledged the petition and demonstration might not bring back the old bowling centre, but it will “bring attention to something that is important to a lot of people and groups in the area.”
With files from the Nouvelle's editor/reporter Brandon MacLeod
