Pinheads

WASILLA — It’s Friday night and the dark, icy parking lot outside North Bowl is full.

Inside, the well-lit bowling alley is static with energy, movement and noise. The sound of white maple pins crashing into each other echoes. The composite bowling balls speed down well-oiled wooden planks and explode into the pins while bowlers hoot, yell, chide and good-naturedly needle each other. Dale’s Diner, which sits across from the stacks of black, glittery pink, orange and a rainbow of bowling balls, serves up plates of greasy diner fare.

For the serious competitor to the casual participant, this is bowling in the Mat-Su Valley.

A couple waves to another across the bowling alley lobby then joins in with friends. A man fills his son’s small hands with quarters and nods, a silent “go hit the video games, you know where to find us.” The boy nods back and runs off to the video games glowing by the entrance.

American author Sanford Hansell once wrote, “The bowling alley is the poor man’s country club.” Country club or not, Friday night at North Bowl brings together local people who normally may not mix outside its doors.

Dale and Kathy Merkt, the new owners of North Bowl in Wasilla, have a mission.

“We would like to build this place up and make it more family oriented,” Dale Merkt said.

With the couple also operating Dale’s Diner located above the lanes and the adjoining bingo hall next door, the Merkts have their hands full. They plan on installing more arcade games and revamping the building’s party room to cater to birthday parties.

Since 1985, North Bowl has led the way for family entertainment in the Valley. From renting the typical bowling shoes that could rival those of most professional clowns, to choosing the right ball, the perfect lane and performing the proper body English after a ball is tossed, bowling is a very involved activity.

Friday night is mixed-team league night at North Bowl, and the Razor Blades are in 21st place in the team standings, two spots ahead of last place. For this team of four (two women and two men), placement doesn’t matter. This team of parents and grandparents is out to have a good time.

“At least we’re consistent,” quipped Russ Greer, drying his hands in the ball return’s air blower.

Greer and wife Dani, along with Jill and Danny Conner, make up the Razor Blades. Named for Dani Greer’s hair salon, the Razor Blades have matching black shirts and keeping spirits high even if the team’s scores are low. Regardless, the Razor Blades cut to the point.

“We’re getting out of the house and doing things, which is good for us,” Dani Greer said. “When you get older, it seems like there’s less to do, and we’re not doing a whole lot. Bowling fills that gap up nicely. Plus, you find muscles you never knew you had.”

In its first year as a team, the Razor Blades claim they will climb the ladder eventually, but for now will enjoy the moment without the pressure to perform.

The Hammer Heads, playing against the Razor Blades on Friday, have a slight advantage on the score. Red X’s line the score screen as C.J. Cooks high-fives his team.

“I love it,” Cooks said. “I signed up [for the bowling league] last year when I moved out here. I just didn’t know there was something like this.”

Darcel Tucker, another Hammer Head, said following up a long week of work at the bowling alley can be therapeutic.

“It’s a stress reliever,” Tucker said. “Anything you come in here mad at, you can take it out on the pins. I love the social aspect, meeting other bowlers and letting loose.”

Away from the action of league night at the quiet end of the lanes, Dana Bachner is fiddling with the score pad at lane 26.

“This thing is all messed up,” Bachner mumbles, adjusting his black wrist brace.

A Valley resident since 1992, Bachner is no stranger to the bowling scene. He prides himself on being Anchorage’s only high school bowling coach and a regular at Center Bowl there, one of the oldest established alleys in Alaska. He has won tournaments, trophies, titles and is in the Anchorage Bowling Hall of Fame, along with Alaska’s own Professional Bowlers Association members Sean Rash and Dave Voss. Bachner maintains a high average — 250 — and nearly made a career of the sport. He hesitated when he saw the financial realities of being a professional bowler.

“I like what I do, so this will forever be my hobby, first and foremost,” Bachner said.

Bachner’s long passion for bowling began in the 1960s when he would sneak over to Center Bowl and check out the professional and league players as a kid. He was wowed by the sights and smells of the bowling alley, as well as the ball to pin precision that was music to his ears.

“I used to sneak out of Sunday church in Anchorage and go watch the bowlers,” Bachner said. “I never got caught, which is amazing. Now I’m sneaking out of bowling to get to church. I’m a pastor now in Palmer.”

Thanks to Dale and Kathy Merkt, North Bowl’s lanes are cleaner, better manager and better equipped for practice, Bachner said.

Dale Merkt North Bowl needed a facelift.

“We want to build business back up, get the family back into bowling,” he said.

A $23,000 automatic oiling machine, which protects the wooden lanes with about 18 milliliters of oil, was fixed up from overuse.

For Robbie Hunt, North Bowl has become more than a place to pass the time, it has become her life. Robbie’s Slaves, a mixed league team made up of Hunt, Steve Erhart, Tracy Adams and Tom Martin, is No. 1 on the league’s scorecard and plans on staying there.

“We’re good, what can I say,” Hunt said. “I used to come here four nights a week, now I’m down to two.”

Hunt and Adams will travel to Reno, Nev., next week to put their years of practice and work to the test as they compete in a women’s national tournament, competing for big bucks — $100,000 in cash.

“My average is 289, and it’s because of places like this that we’re able to do things we love and still have a blast doing it,” Hunt said.

When asked if Robbie’s Slaves would ever slip out of the No. 1 mixed team league spot, Hunt replied, “Highly unlikely, but if they beat us, they beat us.”

North Bowl has preserved an entertainment tradition in the Mat-Su Valley, and Dale and Kathy Merkt see more potential in the business. To change the atmosphere to one of being family friendly, the Merkts have taken out the bar and the bowling alley is alcohol-free.

“With the bar gone, and with it the drama, we’re still the only bowling establishment in town,” Merkt said. “We’re just now more family oriented and hopefully still a good time hang out.”