The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Bowlers happy to be rolling again
On the day Berks County goes to the green phase, local bowling lanes reopen
The scores were a little lower, the aches and pains nagged a little more, but Irv Danner rarely felt better.
He and other bowlers throughout Berks were back on the alleys in Berks Lanes as the county got the green light Friday to resume indoor activities after a more than threemonth layoff.
“I got tired,” said Danner, a 66-year-old Exeter Township resident. “I could see my last game I missed some shots. I was clean the first two games. I made all my shots.”
Danner rolled a 613 series in the Friday AM
Doubles League, about 35 pins under his average. But like all the other bowlers who returned to Berks Lanes, Hiester Lanes and Limerick Bowl, he hadn’t bowled since March 16 when bowling alleys were ordered closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“My body’s telling me I’m older,” Danner said. “I enjoy bowling. This is my pastime. This is what I do for fun.”
Danner, who bowls in three leagues a week at Berks Lanes, was part of a slow but enthusiastic opening Friday morning. Berks County entered the green phase, the least restrictive in Gov. Tom Wolf’s coronavirus recovery plan.
“Generally on a Friday I don’t have a lot of league bowling,” said Brad Bixler, general manager at Berks Lanes. “It’s not like we were mobbed or anything.”
Despite being tired, Danner stayed to bowl two more games with 56-year-old Rich Nicholson of Exeter Township and 67-year-old Dave Perry of Reading.
“It’s a social event,” Danner said. “I’ve been bowling with these guys for years.”
Activity picked up Friday night with a No-Tap Singles Tournament and open bowling.
Nicholas Diggan, a 23-year-old U.S. Postal Service worker from Sinking Spring, was one of the first bowlers waiting for the tournament to begin.
“It’s thrilling,” Diggan said. “I love being back.”
A few bowlers wore masks while they were bowling, but most didn’t. People were asked to wear masks when they moved throughout the building away from the lanes.
Perry, who said he suffered a heart attack less than a year ago, decided to keep his mask on while bowling.
“Just to protect me a little bit I’ll wear it,” Perry said. “It doesn’t bother me. I don’t see any difference. It’s a little warmer.”
Bowlers were more concerned with how they would fare after being away from the sport they love for so long.
“It’s hard to transition back into it because you’ve been off for so long,” Diggan said. “Getting back into it for the first time without practice, it’s a little challenging. “I usually won’t go into a tournament without a lot of practice, but this is one of those exceptions.”