Blue Heron Bowl celebrates 45-year milestone

BARRHEAD - Barrhead's Blue Heron Bowl celebrated its 45th anniversary on Nov. 8 with a wine and cheese/bowing night.

The Blue Heron Bowl building, which the Town of Barrhead owns, opened its doors in 1979.

Barrhead Bowling Association president Larry Jansen said the Blue Heron Bowl rose from the ashes because of a group of dedicated local bowlers.

"A fire destroyed the town's bowling alley in 1970, and it was big a blow to the community and especially to the local bowlers who had quite a contingent," he said, noting the original bowling alley was located near the theatre.

However, he said, bowlers eventually grew tired of driving to Westlock, so they formed an association to construct a new facility.

The municipality donated the land, while the association, through a combination of fundraising and a loan, planned and constructed what was to become Blue Heron Bowl.

In an interview with the Barrhead Leader in 2015, one of the original board members, Elsie Measures (who was bowling during the anniversary celebration), said the process of forming a not-for-profit society, from fundraising to the final construction, took less than a year.

"We were really lucky," she said. "Our first president, Stan Barton, was really motivated and ambitious and kept us on track." 

But Jansen said the process wasn't without its hiccups.

"In the end, they came up $15,000 short of the final $50,000 needed to finish the building," he said, adding that he believed the final construction cost of Blue Heron Bowl was about $350,000. "So [the board] went out and took out a bank loan on their names." 

In recent years, the association has spent a lot of money renovating the building, updating its lighting, carpeting, washrooms, and other amenities, and taking advantage of pandemic funding.

However, Jansen said that the association completed many of the renovations out of necessity.

"During COVID, one of the waterlines froze, causing a lot of damage," he said, adding that, fortunately, most of the damages were covered under the municipality's insurance policy.

In about 2015, the association successfully fundraised through a lane sponsorship campaign to upgrade and replace its aging pin-setting equipment.

But Jansen said, despite the challenges, if the Barrhead Bowling Association has proven anything in its 45 years, it is its resilience, demonstrated by the existence of Blue Heron Bowl.

"You can see from tonight's turnout how much bowling means to the community," he said, adding he was confident that the Blue Heron Bowl would continue to play a role in Barrhead for years to come.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com