The polyester ball is hurled down the lane racing toward the pins. You see one pin fall, then two, then three, and eventually all 10…IT’S A STRIKE! Bowling is a sport that has been around for years. It is a fun, family friendly event for all ages. 

Forest Park Lanes, also known as Circle Lanes, was a bowling alley here in Winchester. Back in 2011, the bowling alley unfortunately closed down. I took time out of one of my school days to make my way over to the courthouse. I was looking for answers about Forest Park Lanes and ended up opening new conversations. I first went to the kind ladies at the front and they directed me to the Judges office where I got into a meeting to speak with Clark County’s Judge Executive, Les Yates. We talked about what complications and benefits could come with a new bowling alley. He gave ideas of how our community can take action to make this project happen.

Forest Park Lanes was bought by a dielectric testing company for electrical safety equipment, called KinMar LLC. I was writing this story and wanted to go to where the old building was so I typed the address into my Waze app. My original idea was just to go by the building to see it, but decided to walk inside, and I’m glad I did. I was able to talk to the nicest lady who showed us the back of the building, where the original bowling alley wall paintings were. Sad to say, that is the only left over thing from the old alley.

Winchester needs a bowling alley. It will add to the excitement that the town already has. Families would be able to have a fun outing without having to drive all the way to Lexington, Richmond, or other surrounding counties. As a community, we can make this happen. I am sure that I am not the only one in our town who wants a fun activity to do. 

The sport of bowling dates all the way back to 3200 BC, in ancient Egypt. The well known 10-pin game was later formed by the American Bowling Congress in 1895. There is so much history with bowling. Bowling would benefit people of every age. The Splash Pad that was built in Winchester primarily benefits little kids, we need something for all ages… like a bowling alley.

You can bowl as a night out, for any type of party, team bonding, banquets, and even date nights. There are many reasons why you would go and bowl. I am a very competitive person, so any chance I get to compete against a friend or a family member, I take. 

There are so many pros to why a bowling alley is such a good idea, but there are also some cons such as location, cost, and we would need someone who knows a lot about bowling to help get things running. As a community we should come together to donate money for a project like this. If we had a bowling alley put into Winchester, it could attract people from surrounding counties as well as our local residents. 

A really good restaurant in Lexington is called DV8 Kitchen. This is a fantastic place to eat that also has good values. Their mission is to provide second chance employment for those who are trying to redirect their lives, according to the DV8 website. This allows them to get a job to get back on their feet. I think it would be a fantastic idea to have a bowling alley where we also did the same thing for those in recovery in our town. My church does a lot with recovering addicts and we just recently started leasing a sober living home. Doing this can help people in our community get back on their feet as well as give our town a fun activity to do. 

I am very passionate about getting this started because I believe it is a good way that we could grow together as a community. I sadly will be off to college after I graduate in May, but I would love to be able to come home and have a fun bowling outing with family or friends right here in my hometown.