Elmira History: The history of bowling in Elmira and the surrounding areas

I grew up watching “Syracuse Bowls” on WSYR on Sunday afternoons with host Joel Mareiniss in the 1960’s. Once in a while, an Elmiran would be on.

I learned exotic-sounding towns around Syracuse, such as Baldwinsville, Camillus, Solvay, Dewitt and Mattydale. There were no bowlers in my family, so I can’t explain my fascination with the sport. I think I’ve gone bowling maybe three times in my life, and the last time, I bowled a 71. I don’t think that was a good number.

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The first mention of bowling as a sport in our area was in the Elmira Gazette on Feb. 17, 1842. The article explained the finer points of the game, and that one could really study another’s character at the bowling alley. The author spoke of “the way a man measures the alley with his eye,” and how “a man’s game of life has been the same as his game of ten pins.”

In the early days, bowling was an outdoor summer sport.

In 1893, the Glen Springs Hotel in Watkins Glen had a bowling alley. Corning had an alley in the Windsor Hotel. Elmira had lanes in the Singerhoff building on East Water Street. Waverly had one in the YMCA. Elmira Heights had one in 1896.

Col. D.C. Robinson had one at his home on Maple Avenue. The Armory, next to City Hall on East Church Street, installed a bowling alley in 1898.

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The Kanaweola Bicycle Club installed an alley in their clubhouse on East Church Street in 1899. Stancliff bowling alleys on State Street opened in 1911.

The sport lost favor for a little while in the 1910’s and ’20s, but by the 1930’s, many Elmirans played. Factories, businesses and churches all had their own teams: in a 1932 newspaper, the DL&W (Delaware Lackawanna & Western Railroad) Engineers vs. Yard Dept. Passenger Station vs. Round House, Car Dept vs. Maintenance. The Eclipse factory on upper College Avenue had the Grays vs. the Colonels, and the Barons vs. the Senators. The City League had Coca-Cola vs. Cadillac Car, and the Polish Americans vs. BPOE (the Elks Club). In the Industrial League, we had Kennedy Valve vs. Phoebe Snow, Thatcher Glass vs. Kennedy Hydrants, LaFrance vs. Willys-Knight. In the Church League, it was the Synagogue vs. Centenary Methodist.

Also, in the 1930’s, the Recreation Bowling Alley at 114 State St. was sold and repaired. The Stancliff Bowling Alley on Baldwin Street was still going strong.

In 1936, Tony Rossi built an alley behind his bakery on West Washington Avenue. Elmira City Council heard from many neighbors about the possibility of too much noise coming from the establishment. Still, in the end, the council sided with Rossi, and his alley opened in August 1936. The Oakwood Bowling Alley also opened in 1936.

The Star-Gazette reported on Aug 12, 1938, that Dixie Bowling Alley opened with the idea to encourage “women bowlers.” At their establishment, “women will find a private lounging room where they can rest and change into their bowling togs.” Local clothing and shoe stores did a rousing business in bowling shirts and shoes.

In the 1940’s, many (under-aged) Elmirans found jobs as pinsetters, as the old alleys were not mechanized. Most were employed without the knowledge of their schools or parents. Truancy was a big issue. It was reported that four out of five pin boys in New York state were working illegally under child labor laws. Fifty-three percent of Elmira’s pin boys were underage.

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Automated alleys came into fashion around 1944, but Elmira’s alleys didn’t get up to speed until the 1950’s. Dixie automated in 1956. Paramount Lanes opened in 1957.

In 1961, the Brunswick Corp., the maker of the automated bowling pinsetters, requested that the term “bowling alleys” be retired and changed to “bowling lanes.”

The year 1962 was Elmira’s heyday of bowling. A new bowling alley opened on the Southside — the Elmira Bowling Center boasted 52 automated lanes. It was reported that 2,039 women bowlers were registered in local leagues.

Some excellent bowlers in Elmira’s history are Frank Carey, Tony Rossi, Seth Winner, Don Reidy, Lynn Hamlin, Debra Drabinski, Ted Nickerson and many hundred more.

Interest in the sport waned, and in July 1993, Elmira Bowling Center closed. Paramount Lanes closed recently due to the coronavirus.

Dixie Lanes and Rossi Lanes are expected to open soon at the governor’s discretion.

Diane Janowski is the Elmira city historian. Her column appears monthly.

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