League bowling arrives in Butler County in just a few weeks.

Zelie Lanes, a longtime neighborhood bowling house in Zelienople, won't be part of it.

The eight-lane house, built by Zelienople resident Charlie Miller in 1959 and owned by him through 2000, closed its doors at the conclusion of league bowling last May.

Miller sold the bowling alley to Don Beatty in December 2000. Beatty, now living in Virginia, recently sold it to a manufacturing company.

"We've picked up a few of their leagues," said Steve Durr, manager of Freeway Lanes, a 32-lane house in Zelienople. "We're trying to find a way to accommodate their Thursday night league.

"It means a little more business for us, but it's still a sad thing. We don't want to see any bowling houses close up," he added.

Ray Moyer, 67, has been bowling at Zelie Lanes since 1972, but he said his league decided to leave there even before it closed.

"I felt pretty bad when it closed," Moyer said. "Charlie kept up with things pretty good, but the other guy (Beatty) didn't know what he was getting into.

"The lane surfaces weren't maintained well and everybody's average started going downhill the past two or three years. Our team wasn't the only one disgusted.

"Leagues were starting to move out of there. … I guess he just gave it up," Moyer added.

Brad Wright, another longtime league bowler at Zelie Lanes, said his average was about 190, but it plummeted to 175 in the past 18 months there.

Wright said Miller "was getting too old to take care of the lanes and had to sell it.

"The new guy tried, but had no idea what he was getting himself into. The lanes were old, the machines were old, but Charlie did what he could to keep it running," Wright added.

Wright's average jumped to 191 once he switched to Freeway Lanes last season.

Wright referred to Zelie Lanes as "a landmark" and said a lot of people were upset when it closed.

"We all had a good time there," he said. "We were hoping Don could make a go of it. … All good things come to an end sooner or later, I guess."

"It was all friends who bowled there," Moyer said. "Everybody knew each other personally. You don't get that at a 32-lane or 50-lane house."

Meridian Lanes is the only other bowling house in Butler County with eight lanes. Mars Lanes has 10 lanes.

Tom Fry, owner of Meridian Lanes who recently bought Sherwood Lanes, bought the bowling equipment from Zelie Lanes.

"They had the same machinery we have at Sherwood," Fry said. "I bought it for spare parts.

"I'd rather see my fellow bowling proprietors thrive than see a business go down the drain. At smaller houses, you know all the customers by name. The bigger centers lose that personality.

"It's much easier keeping up with 30 or 40 bowlers than it is 300 or 400," Fry added.

Gary and Ruth Geller, owners of Mars Lanes, tried helping Beatty with Zelie Lanes before it closed.

"Gary did some work for him (Beatty)," Ruth Geller said. "I'm very saddened about Zelie Lanes. Charlie loved his business."

Mars Lanes doesn't feature automatic scoring or cosmic bowling. It does feature correct bowling, with the foul lines turned on at all times.

"We promote old-style bowling," Geller said. "That's what small houses do. We're very protective of our wood and it shows.

"If people don't know how to keep score, we teach them. We know our bowlers. We know their shoe sizes, coffee tastes … We're a friendly, happy place for someone to come to."

Zelie Lanes had that same description.

"We're all good friends in this business," Geller said. "We want to see more bowling centers coming into the area, not closing down."

"Zelie Lanes was a tough place to bowl for the last 20 years or so," Wright said. "But it was our place to bowl."