“H
?”
JimBu um,theownerofBowladrome.“We’re
notontheInternetoranything.”
Indeed,Bowladromedoesnothaveawebsite
norapresenceonFacebook.Theadvertisingbudget iszero,
Bu umtakessummerso ,andGrinnell—which,atonelane
per900 residents, surelyhasoneof thehigherper-capita
lanecounts in thenation— isa townof fewer than 10,000
residents, located justanhoureastofDesMoines.
“This [place] is awesomebecause it’s so cheap,” saysAr-
thurRichardson,asophomoreatGrinnellCollege.“Itshould
bemorepopularthan it is. It’ssoclosetothecollege.”
Frozenpizzaistheonlyfoodo eredatthevenue,andthe
sparse furnishingsaren’tmuch fancier than theplain sign
behindthecashregisterthatreads:“Bowling,$3;Shoes,$1;
Beer,$2.25.”This isaplaceas frozen in timeas theair is in
January,when theaveragedailyhigh temperature is29de-
grees.Thewallsarecarpetedtolessenthedin.Afoosballand
pool tablecollectdust ina long-idlegameroom.APac-Man
machine, however,works justfine, asdoes the rotary-dial
phonenexttothecashregister.
Thebuildingpredatesthebowlingalley,butBu umcan’t
sayexactlywhat itwasusedforbeforepinsstartedflying in
1947,whenGrinnell, buckinga small-Midwest-town trend,
wasactuallysmallerthan it istoday.
Bu um’sfatherboughttheplace in1958andsoonadded
two lanes to createa 10-lanehouse.Hehadnoparticular
love forbowling,butheknew thataroadsiderestauranthe
ownedwouldsu ergreatlyoncenearbyInterstate80, then
justadrawing,wasbuilt.Bowlingbecamehis livelihood.
Bu umtookover intheearly1980s,afterhisfatherdied.
Oneofthebiggestchangeswastheinstallationofautomatic
scoring equipment in2001. Before takingout a loan, Buf-
fumpolledhiscustomers,whooverwhelminglyagreedtoa
25-cent-per-gameprice increase to
pay forthegear.
Business has slowed in recent
years, Buffum says, but remains
strongenough thatheenvisionshis
sontakingoveroneday.
“Itrytotakecareof it,”hesays.“I
spenda littlemoneyon itwhenI’ve
got it.”
BOWLADROME
915STATEST.,GRINNELL, IOWA
•
(641)236-5827
Previousspreadand
above left:
SaratogaLanes
Left:
HowardNeels,
whohasworkedas
a jack-of-all-trades
at SaratogaLanes for
over 10years.
Above:
Bowladrome
APRIL 15, 2012
57
