It’s not hard to imagine the lure of the scene, really. Aside from golf, there may be no other sporting venue that so easily lends itself to camaraderie and chumminess. But on the golf course, one finds no layer of
It’s not hard to imagine the lure of the scene, really. Aside from golf, there may be no other sporting venue that so easily lends itself to camaraderie and chumminess.
But on the golf course, one finds no layer of smoke hung up against the ceiling. Or such a place of peace for the skilled or the unskilled, where the beer comes in pitchers rather than exotic bottles.
Nope, there’s a unique environment for sale at the bowling alley.
And a many-faced one, as well.
While the painted picture above may call to mind every bowling movie ever made, every scene ever seen, the Lihu’e Lanes is called on to serve all of the island’s Kingpin needs.
From it’s youth leagues on Saturday mornings, to the seniors on Friday nights to more a competitive mixed league on Monday evening, the only facility on Kaua’i does its part to serve a full compliment of eager bowlers.
Of course, if one asked Joseph Young, he might say the island is fortunate to have any lanes at all.
At 55, Young, who has worked in law enforcement on Kaua’i for the past 29 years, has seen the highs and lows of bowling on his island, the strikes and gutter balls, so to speak. With his above-average skill, and consistent presence on the scene, he also may be the most appropriate spokesman for the sport that Kaua’i has at its disposal.
“The first time I came into contact with bowling was at the Nawiliwili Bowl back in the early 1960s,” Young said. “It was a 12-lane house. I didn’t know how to bowl, but I liked what I saw so I just hung out there.
“They shut that down and opened the Ala Moana Lanes in Lihu’e in the mid or late 60s. It was a 16-lane house, and that’s where I learned to bowl.”
Young said there also was an alley in Eleele in the late 60s, “but they shut that down after not too long, just leaving the Ala Moana.” It was at Ala Moana that Young hit his scoring-average peak. “I carried a 218-220 average — out of a possible 300 — back then.
Those glory days last until “around 1979 or ’80,” Young said, before they shut it down. Kaua’i then suffered a 10-year bowling drought. There was no outlet on the island.
“We used to have to go to Honolulu to stay on top of our game,” Young said. “Then there was this revolution in bowling, be it equipment or whatever, and we weren’t seeing it here on the island.”
Finally, in “1989 or ’90,” Lihu’e Lanes came to life, and has been charging ahead ever since. And Young has been right there with it, balancing his life of law enforcement with his life at the lanes.
“From the day the lane opened up to three years ago, I’ve been working there in some fashion,” Young said. “Whether it was drilling balls or working in the pro shop.”
Young now simply serves as Kaua’i’s unofficial Ambassador of Bowling. On most Sundays, one can find him at the airport early in the morning, preparing to set flight for Honolulu and a TV League that’s quite popular there.
The league pits bowlers from around the state in one-on-one settings throughout the day. By Sunday evening, the top five from the day’s competition duke it out on a cable television station not carried on Kaua’i.
“I’ve gotten second in the competition many times,” Young said. “It’s kind of neat to have guys calling you from other islands saying ‘Hey, I saw you on TV.'”
During the week, Young takes his 205 average to Lihu’e Lanes for Monday and Wednesday night league action. He admits that while there’s a core of good bowlers on the island, the scene is not nearly as vibrant as it once was.
“I think the economy has a lot to do with it,” Young said. “A lot of people have lost there jobs with the sugar mills and some have just moved off the island.
“There used to be a 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. crew for the Monday league,” Young continued. “Now there’s just the 6 o’clock crew.”
But with the consistent presence of Young and others, along with the energy of the Lanes’ manager of operations, Darryl Izumo, who has been running the show for two years, a push for resurgence is being made.
Some sort of league is offered seven days a week, and Izumo said he’s got over 600 adults, 140 seniors and 60 juniors involved.
“I’ve got about a dozen men that are over a 200 average right now, keeping things somewhat competitive,” Izumo said.
“On the women’s side we have five in the 180-190 range.”
Izumo said there have been four 300 games bowled on the island this year, the first of which came on January 4.
“Johnny Pongasi bowled that game. “He was the second 300 in the state for the new millennium.”
In addition, Izumo, who played on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour, has again landed a professional event for the island. The 2nd Annual Rice Shopping Center PBA Western Regional is a two-day event scheduled for April 23-24 at Lihu’e Lanes. Last year’s first-place prize was $3,000.
“We’re doing our best to make improvements to the bowling scene,” Izumo said. “We’ve got training for those who want to learn more about the sport itself, though bowling is basically a social scene.”
staff photo by dennis fujimoto
Veteran Kaua’i bowler Joe Young completes a toss at the Lihu’e Lanes last week. Young has seen bowling through its many stages on the island, from the days when there were two centers, to the more recent crisis of having no outlet on the island whatsoever.
