When it comes to candlepin bowling, don’t expect to bowl a perfect string the first time you play – or the 50th. Or ever, really.
Longtime bowlers say the game, which is believed to have originated in the 1880s in Worcester, Massachusetts, is a tough one that requires consistency, patience and luck. But that’s part of the fun.
“It’s challenging and nothing is a given,” said Will Damon of Windham, who bowls in leagues at Stars and Strikes Bowling Center in South Paris and in a once-a-month scratch league at 1-7-10 Bowling and Entertainment Center in Augusta.
Bowling shoes are lined up ready for bowlers at Stars and Strikes Bowling Center in South Paris. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
Damon first started league bowling in second grade at Good Time Lanes in Lisbon Falls. “The best part of candlepin is it’s kinda like life . . . you can throw the perfect ball, right in the perfect spot and get an awful break. Then, when it feels the worst, you can do it again and make an amazing shot.”
Candlepin bowling is a beloved New England tradition that is also popular in the Canadian Maritimes. However, it’s a fading one.
In 2006, MaineBiz reported that there were roughly 35 candlepin alleys in Maine, down from about 60 in the 1950s. Today, the Maine Candlepin Bowling Association lists fewer than 15 candlepin alleys around the state still in operation.
Owners of candlepin alleys are accustomed to competing for peoples’ money and attention against other bowling centers and different forms of recreation. But when it comes to getting the younger generation interested in the sport, candlepin alleys are now also competing against the internet, explained Russell Nealey Jr., who owns and operates Stars and Strikes with his wife, Jodi.
Claire Dube, who owned Vacationland Bowling and Recreation Center in Saco with her husband, expressed those sentiments when they closed in 2017 after 34 years in business. “The internet and cellphones have made a gigantic difference in people’s lives. People don’t join organizations like they used to,” she told the Portland Press Herald.
In a bid to keep the game alive, Maine’s longtime candlepin bowlers get their families involved, hoping their passion for the sport will carry on through future generations.
From left, Jerry Lapierre, Sterling Little and Larry Jensen take a break for a photo. The trio bowl together in a senior league Friday mornings at Big 20 in Scarborough. Nina Mahaleris/Sun Journal
That was the case for Jerry Lapierre, 68, of Biddeford, who has been involved with candlepin for over 50 years. He introduced the game to his son, Jeff Lapierre, and can still remember the 2-year-old tyke throwing a 61 the first time he ever played. Jeff still plays candlepin and now averages 125, his father said.
Candlepin seems to be a family affair, at least in certain pockets of the state.
As a kid, Damon’s mother used to bring him to play at L&A Lanes in Lewiston and she also bowled with her own father in a weeknight mixed league. “I remember learning to practice numbers and adding at the lanes,” Damon said. “Shortly after I had shown interest of my own and my mom got me into a youth league, my parents joined a league together at Good Time Lanes. You could say it’s in my blood.”
HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED
Candlepin features some obvious differences from other, more well-known styles of bowling, such as 10-pin, with its bigger balls and bigger pins.
A bowler picks up a ball at Stars and Strikes Bowling Center in South Paris. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
In candlepin, the balls are much smaller than 10-pin — about 2 pounds vs. 10 to 16 pounds — and are held in the palm of the hand rather than inserting your fingers into holes. The pins, which are shaped like candles, are about 3 inches wide and almost 16 inches tall vs. the shapelier 10-pin pins that are 4.75 inches wide at their widest and 15 inches tall.
The smaller, lighter balls and thinner pins in candlepin bowling make it harder to knock the pins down, which is why players get to roll three balls per turn and can use “wood” or the downed pins to help knock over those pins still standing.
The main objective remains the same: throw the ball and knock down as many pins as possible. But the intricacies of how the game is played – from strategy, to scoring, right down to its own unique vernacular – is what separates candlepin from other kinds of bowling. Those differences make the game both more challenging and more fun than other styles of bowling, say Maine candlepin bowlers.
Still, it’s not a game that is easily mastered, if it can be mastered at all.
While the highest score possible in a single string of candlepin is 300, it has never been done. The closest anyone has come to achieving a perfect string came in 1984 when Ralph Semb bowled a world-record-setting 245, which was later tied by Chris Sargent in 2011.
“I love this game because you cannot conquer it,” said Lapierre, describing it as a “love and hate relationship.”
Renee Skinner tries to coax her ball into the pins during league night on March 21 at Stars and Strikes Bowling Center in South Paris. Skinner bowls in competitions in Maine and out of state. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
AN EXERCISE IN PATIENCE AND CONSISTENCY
In the world of candlepin, a good bowler is a consistent one.
To get good at candlepin bowling requires consistency, effort and a lot of patience, longtime bowlers say. “It’s a game of concentration, hand-eye coordination, repetition and lots of luck,” said Damon.
Like anything else, aspiring bowlers need to practice if they want to improve. “You need to put the time in,” said Zack Skinner of Oxford, who has been bowling since he was about 5 years old. Skinner plays in several leagues, including Monday nights at Stars and Strikes. On those nights he bowls with his wife, Renee, who also plays in various leagues and travels out of state and even out of the country to compete.
Richard Morin of Norway follows through on a shot during league night on March 21 at Stars and Strikes Bowling Center in Paris. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
“It’s a fun sport,” she said before league play got underway on a recent Monday. “It would be nice to have more recognition.”
Making time to practice is a tough but crucial part of becoming a competitive candlepin player. It’s not unusual for diehard bowlers to adjust their lifestyle around the game — committing their weeknights and weekends to playing. “It’s a challenge to make time to be competitive,” said Damon, who has competed all over New England and Canada. In November, he’ll compete in the International Candlepin Championships with his team, Bowling Ball Mafia #JacksonStrong, in Moncton, New Brunswick.
For many longtime bowlers, that commitment also means getting to play the game they love and spending time with people who feel more like family than teammates. But carving out hours to practice isn’t a requirement for those who just want to have fun, socialize with friends and get some good exercise. “It’s a sport that anyone can do,” said lane owner Nealey.
For Jerry Lapierre, it doesn’t matter that his skills have declined as he’s aged. At 68, he bowls in a senior candlepin league Friday mornings as well as a commercial men’s league on Mondays at Big 20 Bowling Center in Scarborough. In his younger years, he averaged 125 in candlepins. Now, that’s closer to a 103, but that hasn’t changed his love for the game.
“I stay in shape and 80-year-olds are my incentive to keep competing,” he said. “I’ll keep bowling till I can’t.”
Owner Rusty Nealey manually sets up a special pin configuration behind the scenes at Stars and Strikes Bowling Center in Paris. It was league night at the lanes, and a lucky bowler each league night gets a chance to win a prize by knocking down a difficult configuration Nealey sets up. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
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