Bowling is back in Bigfork

After nine months of waiting, the league bowlers of Bigfork are finally getting back to the lanes. Pick’s Bowling Center in Bigfork opened last week and the alley’s leagues started their season on Monday.

“I missed it so bad,” said Pat Shirey, who is in multiple leagues in Bigfork, and was the only lady to bowl a 300 at the old North Shore Lanes alley. “I’m glad to be back bowling. It was worth the wait. I enjoy bowling so I would’ve liked to have had it open earlier but we sacrifice sometimes for greatness and we have greatness here. Sometimes you have to wait for good things.”

There are about 200 people on more than 70 teams that participate in the leagues at the Bigfork facility, located on Highway 82 just north of Streeter’s Corner. Leagues are held Mondays through Thursdays at night, in the morning on Wednesdays and Thursdays and in the afternoon on Thursdays.

“It is something to do, especially in the winter,” said general manager Dave Pickavance, whose mother Lou owns the bowling center. “It’s an activity that you can stay warm at. There is a good social aspect too. And who doesn’t like hurling a heavy object at a bunch of pins. You can call it a source of anger management.”

The old bowling alley, which was located on the corner of Highway 35 and Holt Drive, closed in May. A typical season is between 32 and 34 weeks, and usually start around Labor Day and ends around mid-April. This year, Bigfork’s leagues will run just 16 weeks.

“We wanted to be open in August to ensure that we got a full season for the leagues, but that wasn’t able to happen because of the construction aspect,” Pickavance said. “Everyone was very patient and understanding with us though. We really appreciated that.”

The shortened season will not affect any bowlers hoping to enter into state or national tournaments this year. Typically scores from the previous year are used anyway. Next year won’t be a problem either because the legal average is 21 games, and league members will get in more than that at Pick’s before the season ends.

Although the Bigfork leagues are starting up mid-season, Pick’s doesn’t seem to have lost too many league members. Pickavance said that they have actually seen an increase in league members this year, due to the new facility.

The old building only had 12 lanes, but the new one, which is the biggest in the Valley, has 20. For comparison, the largest in the state is Westside Lanes in Missoula, which boasts 36 lanes. League members hope that the larger facility will help to attract large tournaments, perhaps even the annual state tournament.

“The Pickavances did a great job,” Shirey said. “They are a wonderful family. I just wish Dennis would’ve lived to see it. He was a wonderful man.”

Dennis Pickavance, Lou’s husband, died in July after working on the project for four years. His wife, and two of their eight grown children, Dave and Diane, completed the project and now operate the business.

The expansion had a great deal to do with the family’s desire to accommodate league bowlers as well as open bowlers.

“We were looking to expand so that we could accommodate open bowlers during league time,” Pickavance said. “We try to have enough time for open bowlers to come in. That’s why we keep the leagues during the week. It’s frustrating for the open bowlers. We were turning a lot of them away at the old alley.”

Tuesday night is the busiest night for leagues at Pick’s, but the larger facility will allow them to have a couple of lanes for open bowling even that night.

Although the league bowlers will be rolling in a new facility, with lots of state-of-the-art upgrades, they won’t be seeing any changes in their leagues, until at least next year.

“Our league members have been so patient,” Pickavance said. “We just wanted to get them going and not change anything this year.”

The new alley does feature 42-inch scoring monitors and some of the bowling lanes also have home-style couches, coffee tables and ottomans. League bowlers, and open bowlers alike will also have the opportunity to enjoy the arcade, snack bar, bar and lounge, Sweet Lou’s Casino and a separate sports-bar area with pool tables and games. Another bonus to the new alley is that there are no stairs down to the lanes or up to the counter or restaurant area.

“It’s been a long wait, but it’s worth it,” said Cid Houtonen, who is one of three charter members that is still alive and bowling since the leagues started when the original alley opened in 1980. “Everything about the new building is excellent. The Pickavances did an awesome job. Walking in here you don’t even know it’s in Bigfork.”

The Pickavance family appreciates its league bowlers and the business they bring.

“Once people make a commitment to a league we know that that income will be there,” Pickavance said. “If you rely just on open bowlers you don’t know what you will get.”

The league brings both reliability and a sense of community to Pick’s. League members said that they enjoy not only the competition, but the people that they bowl with, and the Pickavances seem to feel the same way.

“It makes us feel good to know that people want to come and spend their time here,” Pickavance said.

For more information about leagues and Pick’s Bowling Center call 837-2233.