DUPONT — Barbara Shock was never a big fan of bowling and said she used to play the role of cheerleader during the Pittston Active Adult Center annual bowling league.
“I filled in for someone three years ago for two weeks and the highest I bowled in those two weeks was a 49,” the 62-year-old Shock said.
The Duryea resident said she was coerced into joining the league this year, and during the league’s first day on Jan. 12, she bowled two strikes in a row.
“I was in shock,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it. They asked me if I remembered what I did (to bowl the first strike) and I said ‘No, it was just luck.’”
According to Connie Kokinda, director of the Pittston Active Adult Center, the 14-week bowling league has been a tradition with the center for the past 10 years.
The league consists of six teams with four members on each team. Members are allowed to select who will be on their team and their team name.
The members bowl at 1 p.m. every Thursday at Elko & Sons Bowling Lanes on Main Street in Dupont.
There are currently 22 members signed up, but two more bowlers are needed . Bowlers are not required to be a member of the Pittston Active Adult Center, but they must be at least 60 years of age.
This is John Lampman’s fifth year with the bowling league and the first day was off to a rough start for him.
“I’m not doing too well,” the 78-year-old Avoca resident said with a laugh.
Lampman said he generally aces 160 points a game and usually gets better as the season goes on.
His favorite part about the league is the people he meets every year.
“We have a lot of fun and I’ve met a lot of nice people,” he said. “It’s unfortunate we can’t expand the league because they only have six lanes (at Elko & Sons Bowling Lanes.)”
As the afternoon progressed, members of the league began noticing progress in themselves and some, like Victoria Meckalavage, 81, even bowled a few strikes.
“That’s dumb luck,” the Exeter resident said of her accomplishment.
Lucky or not, Meckalavage said she’s been an avid bowler most of her life and a member of the Pittston Active Adult Center’s bowling league for all but one year since it began.
Her favorite part is enjoying the time she spends with other members and the competitiveness among everyone.
“You see someone bowling real good and you try to bowl as good as they are,” she said.
According to Kokinda, there are no trophies or prizes given at the end of the season because the friendly competition is reward enough for the bowlers.
“Oh, there’s competition,” she said. “There’s a lot of competition. But, it’s more of a relaxed league. At the end of the season, all I do is throw them a bowling banquet. They’re not playing for high stakes; it’s just a fun league.”
