Adirondack Lanes in Barneveld closing after 33 yrs

[Clipper]

lite987.com/where-you-felt-at-home-central-new-york-business-to-close-after-33-years/

This place holds a special place in my heart and Kathy's. It is where we met 24 yrs ago when she subbed on a league for my ex-wife when she had injured her knee. Two years later it was the site of our first date as a couple. 22yrs later Kathy and I are still together and still bowl.

Fitz Hardiman and his wife Millie are two of the nicest and hardest working people that I have ever known. Quite often Fitz would be found working all day between the diner and maintaining the bowling pinsetters, conditioning the lanes, and taking care of all the maintenance chores connected to running a bar, restaurant, and bowling center. There were leagues bowling every night of the week, a couple of morning leagues, as well as an active youth league that Fitz himself had started and grew. It was not uncommon for him to closing the bar at 2 am, cleaning up, and to be back cooking breakfast in the diner section at 6 am.

Kathy and I bowled there on a league for years, and were part of a traveling team that bowled in little sweeper tournaments at other bowling alleys, sponsored by the bowling proprietors group. I ate breakfast there before work on many occasions and we went there for Friday night fish fries often. The parking lot was always full as were the stools and tables in the restaurant. It has always been a great small town gathering place where everyone knew everyone else and friends and neighbors gathered to bowl, chat over coffee or have a cold beer.

I wish Fitz and Millie a long, well deserved, happy and relaxing retirement.

[BHU]

We used to enjoy going to Thurston's in Frankfort. We'd bowl a couple games then grab a table at the bar, maybe have a couple beers & order a pizza or what have you. Those days are gone as it closed down a few years ago. We'd also hit Riverside Lanes in Marcy which is also now closed. They made a great fish fry & even if we weren't bowling we'd go there just for that or order a couple for take out if the place was busy which it often was.

[Clipper]

I loved Thurstons. They made the best pizza in the valley. We bowled a couple of charity tournaments there years ago. We used to bowl at Riverside quite often. Steve Lewandrowski was a friend and a fellow member of the Moose Lodge in Marcy. Kathy used to bowl on a woman's league at Sunset. I bowled on base at Griffiss on a league and we bowled a summer league at Mohawk Lanes in Rome and a Saturday night league at Kingpin before moving here.

I have been an avid bowler since I was in my thirties. I used to bowl on the same lanes that are at Adirondack Lanes when they were at the Pioneer Inn in Newport. A guy named Carl Biamonte ran it. He lived on the corner of Rt233 and South Street in Clarks Mills. I am not sure but I think he may have been the one that built the building where Adirondack Lanes is. the Pioneer Inn burned and the alleys and pinsetters were moved to Adirondack. Kathy and I used to check out a local bowling alley just about every weekend somewhere. Many times there were sweeper tournaments at one place or another on weekends and we would sign up and bowl. We have bowled in Canastota, both of the two bowling alleys that used to be in Oneida, the little Clinton bowling alley that used to be behind the arena, Booneville Lanes, Ilion, Herkimer, Yorkville (I bowled on a late night league at Vista when I worked at the OD), as well as in every bowling alley that was in Utica when I was a teen. The Madison, the Royal, the Palace Lanes, Pin-o-rama, Sunset, Orchard Hall in Sauquoit, and Gene's in Sylvan Beach.

When we moved here we signed up for a Sunday night mixed league. That grew into us both bowling on Tuesday night and Thursday night with her on a woman's league and me on a men's. At one time I was bowling Monday nights, Tuesday nights, subbing on Wednesday nights, bowling on Thursday nights, and subbing on Friday nights. I was on the board of directors for the Bristol USBC bowling association and president for 6 or 7 yrs. I slowed down when I fell on the slippery snow in the back yard and separated my shoulder and tore my rotator cuff, and was out for 6 months. Then I had my knees replaced and lost an entire season between the two separate surgeries. After my heart attack the doctor wouldn't clear me to bowl for about 3 months. Now we just bowl on a co-ed league on Thursday nights.

Bowling is just one more thing that is affected by aging and arthritis. I guess we all slow with age. I bowled a 200+ average when I was in my early 50's. Then I broke my back and dropped to about 180. Then came the shoulder injury that forced me to bowl with a lighter ball, resulting in less pin action and an even lower average in the 170's. Now I just enjoy the comradery and go to have fun. My present average is only in the 160's and the ball is 2lbs lighter than what I used to bowl with. I have all I can do to get the 14lb ball out onto the lane and I used to have great ball speed with a 16 lb ball.

We don't do the beer anymore but we enjoy going to Perkin's Pancake Restaurant after bowling with a group of 8 or 10 people every week. I bowled when there were drink holders in the scoring tables as well as an ashtray. Back when we kept score with pencils and paper. Now we put our names in the computer console on the lane and it automatically enters our handicap, keeps the score, tally's the three game total, and even tells you your ball speed and whether you are bowling above or below your average on a graph that you can bring up on the monitor. the computer does most of the work that used to be done by the league secretary. It maintains all the league scores and data, adjusts each individuals handicap and average so when you bowl the next time your accurate data is up on the screen. It even calculates all the team scores and tells us what place the teams are in.

Do you ever bowl anymore BHU? I guess the only places left in the area to bowl are Pin-o-rama, Vista, and Kingpin in Rome.

Adirondack Lanes is the only bowling center between Utica or Rome, and Boonville. I hope someone buys it and opens it back up. There has always been an active bowling community with leagues just about every night. It is a sad day for North Country bowlers as well as the regular breakfast and lunch patrons that have eaten there for years.

[BHU]

I was never much of a bowler but I do enjoy the sport. We haven't bowled in a couple years & I mentioned to the other half last winter that we should go to Pin O Rama one of these nights just to get out, then Covid hit & that was the end of that idea. I kinda wish I had got into the sport more in my younger days because even though I would only go occasionaly I wasen't that bad at it. And you're right there ain't many alleys left around here. It's a shame that Thurston's & Riverside closed. When I lived in east utica years ago, we had a crew that would head to Madison once in a while, get smashed & bowl until they threw us out at closing time. Lol. Those were the days! I think they had a fire there?

[clarencebunsen]

Barb & I were bowlers for years. We were not good but it meant we had a scheduled night when we had a baby sitter and spent the evening together. Now my hands and knees would not stand the abuse and her surgically repaired shoulder would not let her throw even one ball.

[Clipper]

Oct 1, 2020 23:06:19 GMT -5 clarencebunsen said:

Barb & I were bowlers for years. We were not good but it meant we had a scheduled night when we had a baby sitter and spent the evening together. Now my hands and knees would not stand the abuse and her surgically repaired shoulder would not let her throw even one ball.

That one night when we can get out and have fun is what it has boiled down to for Kathy and I too CB. For many years it was a combination of the fun combined with a real competitive desire to strive for victory and prize money. Now we just look forward to being with friends and treasure the fellowship we experience with our little group while socializing at Perkin's after bowling as much if not more than the bowling itself.

The sanctioned leagues have grown to be expensive. When I bowled on Tuesday nights the cost was $15 a night. That added up to $480 total for the 32 week season. Our little Thursday night league is just a fun league. We don't pay USBC a sanction fee, there is only 6 three person teams, and there is no significant prize money involved. We bowl for 18 weeks and it costs us $150. That comes to less than $9 a night. Instead of bowling a 32 week full season like the sanctioned leagues, we bowl the 18 weeks and then go to having small tournaments among ourselves every other week for the rest of the year where we can bowl if we want and if we don't we don't pay. It is $10 for those of us that show up to bowl and thus far it has proven to be almost the entire group who comes out for those little fun nights. After bowling competitively for so many years with the pressure of competing for some serious prize money and the feeling of letting the team down if you have a bad night and don't bowl well, it is just relaxing to go bowling and just get out and enjoy the socialization without any significant blood thirsty need to beat the opposing team.

I have grown to think that the competitive league bowling is more for the young. You go bowl three games and go home. If you win your elated. If you lose you are depressed. 3 hours from beginning to end. Our entire group for the most part goes to Perkins so our Thursday night out usually lasts from 6:45 until we leave Perkins after 10pm having spent 3 1/2 hours or so with great friends.