Bowlers strike up old friendship

It took a few rolls before Rose Laub worked the cobwebs from her joints, sending a purple ball in a near perfect spin down the alley and crashing into the pins.

To many North Idahoans, this collision is music. More importantly it means bowling is back in Coeur d’Alene.

After a two-year hiatus, the only bowling alley in town is open.

Within four hours Monday, games were rolling on all 24 lanes at Sunset Bowl Center.

On Tuesday business was just as good, and the new owner doesn’t expect anything less in a town that has begged for the sport’s return. Both Hayden and Post Falls have bowling alleys, but neither caters to league players or has that traditional bowling alley nostalgia.

“It’s about time,” said Laub of Cocolalla. “We had our fingers crossed. I kept telling my husband if I had the money I would buy it.”

The popular alley that once had about 1,500 league bowlers closed in 2004, when former owner William G. Jones Sr. filed for bankruptcy. Yet it wasn’t for lack of business.

That’s what piqued Mike Oertel’s interest when a real estate flier landed on his desk at his alley in Danville, Calif.

“Anyone who can’t make that work is crazy,” Oertel recalled thinking when he saw the pristine condition of the center and the community need. “It’s like having the only water stand in the Mojave Desert.”

The Spokane native and former professional bowler, who played for the U.S. Navy team, flew up to take a look. Then he recruited his father, Vern, to move from Alabama to manage the place.

Yet Oertel isn’t taking credit for reviving bowling in Coeur d’Alene. He passes that honor to local developer Bill Radobenko and his wife, Julie.

“They put it on life support,” Oertel said. “They saved the bowl.”

Julie Radobenko wouldn’t go that far.

“We like to bowl and the town needed a bowling alley,” she said. “It’s that simple.”

The Radobenkos bought the bankrupt alley and began searching for a new owner. In the meantime, the family frequently played at the lanes.

“Every time I went to the store people would ask, ‘When are you going to open the bowling alley?’ ” said Julie Radobenko, who never desired to take on a new business.

She thinks Oertel is the perfect fit. Now the Radobenkos can bowl every Thursday but don’t have the responsibility of ownership. She’s hoping to pick up some techniques from Oertel.

New carpet and the addition of a sports bar are the only real changes.

Signed sports jerseys from celebrities such as Joe Montana hang on the walls of the bar, which is comfy like a lounge but definitely sporty with memorabilia and 13 flat-screen TVs. Oertel sees the bar as a separate venue, yet bowlers can still get a pitcher of beer and a burger served to them on the floor.

Through Labor Day weekend, Sunset Bowl is offering $1 games for children and $2 games for adults. Shoes rent for $2.50. League play, which is nearly filled up, begins Sept. 5.

Oertel said bowling is the most participated-in sport in America, easily surpassing golf. That’s because it’s fun, no matter the skill level.

“Everybody who bowls loves it,” he said.