BUTLER TWP — Selling shoes didn't cut it for Joe Caparosa Sr.

If it did, Family Bowlaway might never have come into existence. And the Caparosa family name certainly wouldn't be synonymous with bowling.

"I had just gotten back from serving in the Army in World War II and I was trying to build some type of career," recalled Caparosa, 85. "I found out I couldn't make much money selling shoes."

A league bowler at Penn Lanes in downtown Butler, Caparosa was talked into buying the facility from owner Lee Carney.

That was in 1951. In the years since, Caparosa has owned as many as four bowling facilities at one time, and Family Bowlaway is in its fourth location since its Penn Lanes origin.

Now retired, Caparosa watches his sons, Kevin and Joe Caparosa Jr., run Family Bowlaway.

"I'm fortunate I have two sons I can entrust things to so I can sit back and relax a little bit," Caparosa said.

That relaxation is long overdue.

Butler County bowling legends Ralph and Ray Henry were once pin boys at Penn Lanes, but Caparosa wanted to expand the 10-lane house, so he moved it to Hansen Ave. in 1956, turning it into a 16-lane facility.

In 1983, the lease ran out and Penn Lanes moved again — this time to Route 8, just north of Butler — where a new bowling house was built where Ghost Riders now sits.

The facility was renamed Family Lanes and it expanded by 12 more lanes. By 1984, both of Caparosa's sons were involved with the business.

The Caparosa family hauled those 12 additional lanes from Columbus, Neb., in 1988 on three tractor-trailers."Bon Aire had the first automatic pin-setters in Butler County in 1955," Joe Caparosa Jr. said. "We first got them in 1956."In 1984, we installed the first automatic scoring machines in the county."Family Lanes existed until 1992, when the Caparosa family saw an opportunity to move to its current site and expand its operation to the present 40 lanes."Family Lanes existed when bowling was 50 cents a game and people were lined up outside the door at 2 a.m. waiting to bowl," Kevin Caparosa said. "It's not like that anymore."The elder Caparosa once owned Penn Lanes, the Bowling Annex, up the road from it, Roblin Lanes (then known as Paul and Ann's) and Shenango Bowlaway near New Castle."It wasn't easy," Caparosa said of operating four bowling houses. "It was a little crazy, actually."Family Bowlaway serves as a family entertainment center today, offering laser tag, party facilities, video games and glow-in-the-dark bowling in addition to regular bowling."Bowling has changed and we've changed with it," the younger Caparosa said.Yet Joe Caparosa Sr. fondly recalls the sport's glory years, when 200-games were uncommon and bowlers had to "earn" everything they got."It's almost fake bowling today, the way lanes are set up," he said. "I know a guy averaging 218. … It'd be impossible to average 218 years ago."Ron Brandon was the first bowler in Butler County to average 200 and he used to throw 15 games of practice every day to be that good," he added."Nobody's bowling 15 games in a week anymore," Joe Caparosa Jr. admitted.While Family Bowlaway maintains its bowling appeal, housing a Special Olympics program for 40 years and hosting more than 200 youth bowlers each weekend, it recognized a need to offer more."Since I entered the business, we've gone from being a bowling alley to a bowling center to a family entertainment center," Kevin Caparosa said."We've watched kids grow up in this place, then watched their kids do the same thing."Patrons from as far away as Erie, Altoona and Clarion make use of Family Bowlaway's party facilities.One thing hasn't changed: League bowlers remain the backbone of the sport."The number of league bowlers has slacked off because it's hard to find people to commit that time," Family Bowlaway manager Andy Hevesy said. "But league bowlers continue to provide the bulk of the business."When you can't get league bowlers, you have to find other ways to fill the lanes. That's where glow bowling and parties come in."As far as Joe Caparosa Jr. is concerned, Family Bowlaway is aptly named."This is the one sport where grandparents, adults, kids — they can all participate," he said. "No one has to sit around and watch somebody else do it. In a sense, bowling sells itself that way."