Love of the Lanes
CENTER TWP — Jim Bowser's first foray into bowling was a brief one. But his connection to bowling has lasted a lifetime.
The Butler County Bowling Association manager for 15 years and counting, Bowser, 64, has bowled in nine leagues, served as an officer in most of them, and continues to serve on the board of the Pennsylvania State Bowling Association.
Bowser was president of the state association in 2003-04 and held that position while the men's state tournament took place at Butler's Family Bowlaway and Sherwood Lanes in 2004.
“That was such a blast,” Bowser recalled of his time as president. “You were pretty much a glad-hand, greeting people at opening ceremonies of tournaments and fundraisers.
“I traveled 5,000 miles during that time, from east to west, serving the 55 associations throughout the state. I loved it.”
Bowser applies annually to maintain his lifetime membership on the board “because of the friendships I've made. It's like a family.”
His introduction to bowling came through his father, Jim, when Bowser got out of the Marine Corps after serving 13 months in Vietnam.
“I wasn't wise enough at the time to realize I should have done better in school, taken it more seriously, so I could go to college,” Bowser said.
“I enlisted in the Marines right out of high school to grow up, to prove to myself I was OK.”
Bowser turned 21 in Vietnam, where he served as a noncommissioned officer for a weapons platoon as a machine-gunner.
“There might be two weeks of boredom, then the world craps on you,” he described of his tour of duty in Vietnam. “When there was a nasty situation, they brought us in.
“I grew up a lot in Vietnam.”
Once out of the service, Bowser joined his father in a bowling league at Lyndora Lanes, an eight-lane house, for a year. But that experience was short-lived as he took a job driving a bus for Continental Trailways.
“I'd be gone for 30 days at a time, driving tour buses from New York to Los Angeles,” he said. “I held that job for nine years, so bowling in a league was done.”
Bowser quit driving the bus when his father died. At age 31, he moved to Florida to begin working for Armstrong Cable on the construction side, doing installing and trouble-shooting.
“A bunch of us joined a league down there and I've been a bowler ever since,” Bowser said.
He returned to Butler after a year and has been working as a dispatcher for Armstrong for 32 years.While staying with Armstrong, he also stayed with bowling.Bowser joined the Auto Dealers league on Thursday nights and bowled in his first tournament shortly thereafter.“The tournament was a cool experience, and I saw how much work was involved,” he said. “So I asked ... ‘Can I help?'”And his world changed.Bowser joined the Butler County Bowling Association Board of Directors and the organization began organizing an association dinner.“We wanted to start recognizing quality bowlers,” he said. “We scheduled a dinner and invited the high-average bowlers and most improved bowlers from each league.”Eventually, the BCBA Hall of Fame dinner was formed, and the association decided to take aim at landing the state tournament for Butler County.All of these ventures took plenty of work from plenty of people.“A bunch of us went to ABC (American Bowling Congress) headquarters in Greendale (Wisc.) to take a local association officer training course,” Bowser said. “That was in 1990, when bowling was starting to peak.“Everything took off from there.”Bowser recognized the efforts of fellow BCBA board members over the years — Hal Phillips, Charlie Kurtz and Mike Coyle among them — in helping the organization develop. All of them are in the BCBA Hall of Fame for meritorious service.The men's state tournament will be in Butler County this year for the third time. Butler also hosted the event in 1994 and 2004.“We got great support from the community when we first tried to bring the state tournament here,” Bowser recalled. “Our hospitality room at the PSBA convention (in Harrisburg) ... We spent thousands of dollars. We held fundraisers to get the money.“We had 14 of our members go to the convention. We spent our own money to go; paid for our own rooms. That's how badly we wanted this. The total community effort; the help we got from the Chamber of Commerce is something I'll never forget.”A league bowler for 35 years, Bowser has never bowled a sanctioned perfect game. His lone 300 was rolled in an unsanctioned tournament.His highest average in a season is 204. His highest series is 740 and he's rolled his high sanctioned game of 280 three times.“I'm an OK bowler,” he said. “I love the game because of the people, the camaraderie.“I like serious leagues because they force you to apply yourself and answer pressure. I like laid-back leagues because you can goof around and relax.”Bowser bowls in two leagues per week at Family Bowlaway — Strikes & Spares men's, where he is secretary, on Tuesday nights, and Magnetics mixed on Thursday nights.When it comes to bowling tips, Bowser can offer a few.“Develop a consistent delivery, adjust as the lanes change and be courteous,” he said. “Having a 10-pin ball helps. I have a separate ball just for picking up the 10-pin.“Pay attention to how other people are throwing the ball. Most important? Have fun and enjoy people.”
<B>BOWSER FILE</B><B>Name: </B>Jim Bowser<B>Address: </B>Butler<B>Employment: </B>Dispatcher, Armstrong Cable<B>Family:</B> Son, J.B. Bowser, and three grandchildren<B>Education/military service: </B>1965 Butler High School graduate; served four years in Marine Corps<B>Volunteer and community service: </B>Technical director for Butler Little Theatre, 10 years; Butler County Bowling Association manager, 15 years; officer in seven bowling leagues‘I enlisted in the military out of high school because I needed to grow up, and I grew up a lot in Vietnam.'<B>LIFE LESSONS</B>Jim Bowser, manager of the Butler County Bowling Association, offers these tips for improving the quality of life in Butler County:• Improve Main Street.<B> </B>“It's the main drive through town and should showcase our city.”• Clean up what we have. “We put in two nice bridges here. There's no need to stop there.”• Merge Butler and Butler Township. “Mainly, in terms of public services. A lot of people could be offered a lot more that way.”• Improve the quality of the roads. “We have way too many potholes. Our streets are the first thing newcomers judge an area by.”• More support for the football team. “Maybe that doesn't improve the quality of life, but it would give everybody a more positive attitude. That football stadium on a Friday night used to be the place to be. It needs to be that way again.”<B>IN THE COMMUNITY</B><B>Name:</B> Butler County Bowling Association<B>Address</B>: 117 Merry Lane, Butler, Pa., 16001<B>President</B>: Dalton “Skip” Weyand<B>Services</B>: Organize and run county tournaments, bond certified leagues, recognize honor scores and provide a consistent rule book<B>Members</B>: 1,207<B>Phone</B>: 724-285-3323<B>Website</B>: butlercountybowling.org<B>Mission</B>: To represent Butler County bowlers in the U.S. Bowling Congress, help the sport of bowling grow and keep a fair playing field<B>BUSINESS INSIGHT</B>Jim Bowser, manager of the Butler County Bowling Association, offers these tips for being a success in business:• Have a good product.• Have qualified employees.• Offer the product at a fair price.• Receive support for the product from the company.• Have a strategic marketing technique.
