Stella Klebba, 85, oldest in the Green Meadows ladies' league in Sebewaing, rolls her first shot like a pro.
Bowling in Unionville and Sebewaing
Is Old Home Week & King of the Hill
Jordon Gruehn Greets at Green Meadows, Scot Spiekerman at the Legion
January 17, 2008
By: Dave Rogers
It's old home week almost every night at Green Meadows Lanes on M-25 in Sebewaing and at the American Legion bowling alley in Unionville.
At Green Meadows, Amy Gruehn and her son Jordon Gruehn bustle about beginning at 5:30 p.m. to get ready for the bowlers to start rolling in about 6:00 p.m.
Longtime Sebewaing newspaper sage Walt Rummel, 89, points out that Gruehn means Green in German, thus the Green Meadows Lanes.
Scot Spiekerman, left, manager of the American Legion bowling alley in Unionville, shares a laugh with Bob Myers after his strike in the mens' Wednesday night league.
(MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)
Jordon is running the Brunswick machine that cleans the lanes automatically, swooshing up and down on an electronic tether, making the eight-lane alleys even more spotless than they were to begin with.
"He's a bowler so he makes sure the lanes are good," says Amy, pointing to her son. "This place is his dream and it will be his some day. He started here when he was 19 and now he's 26 so we've been here over six years."
The alleys look slick as glass and one can imagine the ball sliding neatly into the pocket for a strike. At least a guy whose best game was 210 as a 14-year-old at the old Alert Lanes on Center Avenue in Bay City can dream, can't he?
It's the Wednesday night ladies' league and first in the door is the oldest bowler, Stella Klebba, 85, perky as can be.
"Milford Carpenter, 'Carpie,' he's older than I am," says Stella. "And he bowled a 212 recently," chimes in Amy, rustling up drinks behind the bar for the early-comers.
Checking the team lineup at Green Meadows are, from left, Josi Brooks, Vicki Story and Jill Schmidt.
(MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)
"Everyone here is like family," says Stella. "It runs like Cheers in Boston, you remember the TV show," Amy exclaims. "If something needs to be done on the lanes, one of the customers will watch the bar. That's the kind of place it is."
Stella, whose late husband Edmund was a dentist in Sebewaing for 48 years, is proud of her family, three boys and two girls. The kids include three physicians and a nurse/physician's assistant and a human resources director. "They all have done very well and I have 13 grandchildren ranging in age for 4 to 25," she exclaims.
Stella reminisces with the visitors, recalling how she met her husband in a bowling alley in Detroit. "He always said he picked me up in an alley," she laughs. The couple moved to Sebewaing in 1952.
Jordon is done with the lanes and the ladies are checking in for the night's fun. Chatter fills the alleys and the latest gossip is exchanged along with bowling forms, last week's results and other information only ladies know about.
Life is humming around the place as the thump of bowling balls hitting the alleys and the familiar crack of the ball on pins is drawing cheers or groans as the case may be.
Bowling is, after all, a very social sport as a visit to Green Meadows Lanes confirms. For more information call Green Meadows at 989-883-2602 or Jordon at 989-977-0339.
Over in Unionville, in the basement of the American Legion hall, Scot Spiekerman is congratulating Bob Myers on a strike that was late in coming after it looked like the 10 pin was going to stand alone.
Myers beams and gets ready for his next shot, drawing a round of applause from a raucous crowd of men, some in bowling shirts and others in hunting shirts or work duds.
"Don Sakon, over there, he threw a 290, highest game ever thrown here," says Scot, noting about four or five Sakons and other groups of brothers awaiting their turns in the lanes.
"We're always looking for bowlers and if you want to have a good time bowling you're welcome here," says Scot, who manages the lanes for the American Legion, the main meeting place in town.
"We have four three-man teams Wednesdays, four teams Wednesday nights, six teams Thursday nights, a Tuesday night women's league with five teams of four each, about 90 bowlers in all," said Spiekerman.
Bowlers at the American Legion in Unionville have a good time while doing some serious bowling.
(MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)
"Then every other week on Sunday night we have the Good Timers, a mixed league," he adds. "Everybody seems to like coming here and seeing how good they can do."
Wednesday and Thursday leagues run 32 weeks and wind up in April, he said.
For more information on bowling at the the American Legion in Unionville call Scot Spiekerman at 989-674-2115 or 989-615-6979.
The hall and alleys are located on Cass Street next to the Mini-Mart on the corner of M-25 and Cass.
Green Meadows in Sebewaing is open seven days a week, including Friday afternoon for seniors, Saturday morning and night and Sunday night.
"During the day we have lots of school groups, Cub Scouts and other youth bowlers," says Amy. "We had a junior bowler, Matt Sakon from Unionville, who is 16 and bowled a 601 last Saturday.
King of the Hill is Jordon Gruehn's baby, "something he's worked on," said Amy. "We get bowlers from all over the state once a month. There are prizes and for 300 games, 299, 11 strikes in a row we have a block on the wall in honor of those bowlers."
Flyers, postcards and word of mouth advertising reaches to North Branch, Saginaw, Bad Axe, Harbor Beach, even Detroit area bowlers show up, she said. "There is one shift and they bowl four games. It's competitive and they like that. These are good bowlers and the scores are sometimes in the 800s and 900s."
Since the King of the Hill Tournament is sanctioned by the U.S. Bowling Congress, there are money prizes and official awards for high scores.
The next King of the Hill is Saturday, Jan. 19, followed by one on Feb. 16. the $500 Prize March Tournament is slated for March 15 and bowlers must have bowled in one other tournament during the season to qualify for the March event.
Start time for King of the Hill is 6 p.m. Cost is $25, you bowl four games; top five move to roll-offs, ties are broken by one ball roll-off, high score wins, draw for lanes. Roll-offs are held approximately at 9 p.m. Sign up 30 minutes before the start of the tournament. Call Jordon at 989-883-2602 for questions.
For More Information on Local Bowling
Visit One of the Following Links
http://www.Baycitybowling.com
The Bay City USBC Association Website
http://www.mistatebowl.com
The MI State USBC Association Website
http://www.msyaba.com
The MI State USBC Youth Association Website
http://www.michwba.com
The MI State USBC Women's Association Website
http://www.tcycl.com
Tri City Youth Classic League Website
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