Senior league at Joliet Town and Country Bowling has active members in 80s and 90s

JOLIET – Ed Brown, 95, of Plainfield took a sabbatical from the seniors bowling league at Joliet Town and Country Bowling Lanes for three weeks because of bronchitis, and boy, did he missed it.

Because he has difficulty walking, Brown arrives early to rest; he also sits between frames. Through the years, Brown’s average has decreased enough that another bowler – age 99, Brown said – has beaten him a couple of times.

That’s all in the game for Brown, as the best part of bowling is hanging out with his fellow teammates.

“One lady is 93, the other is in her 80s and the guy – I don’t know how old he is,” Brown said. “We have a lot of fun together.”

Rowena Cota, 82, of Crest Hill, the unofficial league leader since she stepped down as secretary/treasurer earlier this year for health reasons, joined 20 years ago and bowls all four days: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Her average, too, has slipped, from 160 to 140.

“I also bowl a Tuesday morning ladies league,” Cota said.

All 150 bowlers are at least 70, with many of them in their 80s and 90s, Cota said. What makes this league attractive to older seniors is its lack of sanctioning. Bowlers don’t pay in advance and there’s no pressure to bowl a certain amount of games or even participate regularly, she said, a departure from the way the league used to run.

“One team that won had two members that went to Florida for three months,” Cota said. “We didn’t think that was fair, so we changed the rules.”

Today’s cash prizes are modest and based on attendance, Cota said. The most anyone with perfect attendance ever won was $50, she added, but every member winds up with something.

“If you show up, you’ll get money,” Cota said.

Wednesday used to have the most teams – 24 – but, unfortunately, the league has lost members through illness or death through the years, Cota said. Many years ago, the league filled the entire alley, she added.

Monday is now the largest day, with 18 teams, and Thursday, with just six teams, is the smallest. Cota said she and her husband Dick, 81, wouldn’t know how to fill their time if they quit bowling.

“My husband said, ‘If I didn’t bowl I’d have to get a part-time job and I don’t want to have to do that,’ ” Cota said.

Dolores Colabuono, 87, of Joliet bowls just three times a week and had to drop down to a 10-pound ball, which also dropped her average from 165 to 150, she said. Some seniors have seen improvement in their bowling. Trudy Mihailovich, 81, of Joliet said she bowled her highest game ever in this league, a whopping 268.

But not everyone is a veteran bowler.

John Caruso, 94, of Shorewood never bowled much until three years ago, he said. Caruso said he loves sports of all kinds, especially golf, but after all his golfing buddies passed away, Caruso needed a new activity.

His average is also lower than in the past, 165 to 140, but he doesn’t mind.

“I’m lucky I can throw the ball at my age,” Caruso said.

That’s the attitude Kathryn Colombo, 95, of Joliet is trying to adopt. A hip replacement nine years ago meant swapping a 14-pound ball for a 10-pound ball (doctor’s orders), but it also meant bidding farewell to her 145 average.

Colombo won’t say what her current average is.

Colombo also has macular degeneration, but she’s not letting that stop her. After she throws her first ball, she consults the screen to double-check which pins remain standing, before going for the spare. She brushes off compliments at her tenacity, despite battling with her vision.

“If I didn’t bowl, I’d be sitting home all day,” Colombo said.

Joliet Town and Country is at 2231 W. Jefferson St., Joliet. For information, call 815-725-1231 or visit www.joliettownandcountrylanes.com.