Chinook Lanes celebrates 50th Anniversary

Detail from Chinook Lanes' 50th Anniversary Cake
Danielle Radvak cake

Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice

On Sunday, September 9 Pincher Creek's Chinook Lanes held a season-opening celebration to mark their 50th anniversary.

Danielle Radvak's anniversary cake was a masterpiece. The large confection featured a grimacing bowling ball hurtling down the sugary lane towards terrified bowling pins. It was a piece of art. An incredibly tasty piece of art. 

Detail from Chinook Lanes' 50th Anniversary cake
Danielle Radvak cake

Rose Killoran has been bowling at Chinook Lanes since its inception, and she was pleased to cut the ribbon and the cake at the 50th Celebration. Mayor Ernie Olsen gave a little speech before the ribbon cutting, and Killoran was flanked by young bowlers Cheyenne Samford and Liam Vanne, who held either end of the ribbon as Olsen and Wayne Elliott stood proudly by.

Rose Killoran cuts anniversary ribbon
Cheyenne Samford, Wayne Elliott, Rose Killoran, Mayor Olsen, Liam Vannee
C. Davis photos

"We pay our own way," said Chinook Lanes YBC President Wayne Elliott, explaining that bowling was self-sustaining in Pincher Creek. "We're here and thriving."

Bowler Qwynn Almond

Elliot said the Chinook Lanes membership was consistently around 100 people every year.

"Most of our members are seniors and youth," he continued, explaining that many of the bowlers learned from their parents, who in turn learned from their parents. "Parents teach their kids, and then their kids grow up and teach their kids," he said. "My family alone is in its fifth generation of bowling in Pincher."

"My dad was maintenance and bowled in the old building downtown, when it was open. I hung around there, and that's how I got my start. I've been bowling in this facility since it opened in '86."

"Anybody can do it. It's a sport you learn for forever."

"We do have our casinos.. that we get every three years. You can spend so much of your casino money on youth and seniors... (allowing for) a lot of repairs and upgrades. This year we just had our ceiling repaired and stippled, with a fresh paint job."

"We're fortunate to have Denise (Somerville) as our Manager and general know-it-all," Elliott said. "When she was on the Board of Directors for the Bowling Proprietors Association of Alberta there would be people from all over the province asking her perspective on things, from her general knowledge and bank of information."

Ron Brown

Elliott said the one drawback to the 1986 change of location was losing the store frontage onto Main Street, which he said lowered the public awareness of the alley.

Chinook Lanes opened on September 10, 1962. Local businessman Ron Brown built a business block on Main Street, which now houses Home Hardware and other enterprises, with the focal point a six lane bowling alley that quickly expanded to 8 lanes. Brown owned Chinook Lanes for 11 years. Due to the building on Main Street being sold and re purposed, Chinook Lanes moved to the then-new Town Recreation Facility adjacent to the Golf Course, where it is still located today, officially opening on October 1, 1986.

Ron Brown made a surprise appearance at the anniversary celebrations, giving him a chance to see firsthand the legacy he had created.

"The only way I could get the money to finance it was I had rental stores across the front and sides," Brown said.

Rose Killoran cuts the cake
C. Davis photos

"I built it for about 100,000 dollars, I financed it through the IDB and it was 11,000 square feet in that building. Brunswick came in and put in 6 lanes and I had room for two more. The first two years was fantastic because people didn't know bowling at all. Bowling really went over because it was the first time they'd ever had bowling in Pincher Creek. In the second year the curling rink burned down and that helped us out too. The stupidest mistake I ever made, after two years it was going so good I put two more lanes in. We had 8 lanes there. I got too far into debt, but I suffered it out. In the third, fourth, and fifth years things really slowed down. I mean, I really had to work to keep the leagues going and everything, and I had massive payments. $100,000 was a lot of money in those days. There was 13 bathrooms in that building, so think of the plumbing that went into it."

"We had it down there from 1962 to '73, and then we bought Holiday Bowl in Lethbridge," Brown concluded.

Chinook Lanes has reopened for the season.  Visit their website at www.chinooklanes.org for more information.

For more on the history of Chinook Lanes, read KBPV Curator Farley Wuth's write-up at the Chinook Lanes website (click here). Some of the information in this article has been sourced or fact-checked from Wuth's write-up.