St. Francis Bowling Center

Church Basement Bowling – St. Paul Pioneer Press – Express Section
In St. Paul, Two of the Little Alleys Have Been Spared - By Theresa Monsour

St. Francis Bowling Center of St. Francis-St. James United School in St. Paul's West Seventh Street neighborhood belongs to an elite club. St. Francis has six lanes and may be one of the last two church bowling centers left in the Twin Cities.

"It was very much a part of the German parishes," says the Rev. Stephen Adrian, pastor of St. Matthew's Church on St. Paul's West Side. Of the 6,022 certified bowling centers in the country, only a few are church-related.

"I don’t even know if we could put a number to it," says Mark Miller, a spokesman for several national bowling organizations based in suburban Milwaukee. Miller figures fewer than 100 church alleys remain, and they run the gamut of faith denominations.

The St. Francis lanes were built along with the school in about 1939, says Marianne Jordan, parish secretary for St. Francis de Sales Church. The church's pastor at the time was the Rev. James Zachman. He liked to bowl, so he had a bowling alley put in.

Jordan, a lifelong member of the parish and a former bowler remembers the glory years. Boys set the pins by hand, and the girls hung around to watch them. There were men's leagues, women's leagues, seniors' leagues, and open bowling. She bowled mostly in the housewives' league on Wednesday afternoons.

Article published Saturday, September 29, 2001

Leagues

Bowling Fun Time

After school bowling fun time ... check back later for more information.

School and Kids Party Special

	All the bowling you can fit in two hours for up to 24 bowlers!
	Six lanes available with 20 light weight balls!
	Automatic score counters!
	Strike Special: for kids 18 and under - strike in even number frames and win free pop or candy.
	Television with cable and VCR available!

All this for only $100

Also available for additional fee:

The St. Francis Bowling Center is located in our school building at
426 S. Osceola Avenue - St. Paul, MN 55102
Just one block north of the intersection of Randolph and West 7th

For information or to schedule a date
Call Sadie or Genevieve at (651)228-1169