'A family of its own': Longtime bowlers say goodbye to Terrace Lanes

May 30—When Amanda Reeves was a broke college student in 2007, she'd hit up Frederick's Terrace Lanes Bowling Center every Sunday.

She'd bowl for a while with a friend, then go up to Scott Lyon — the general manager of the bowling alley at the time — and proceed to badger him.

"When are you gonna give me a job? When are you gonna give me a job?" she'd ask him over and over.

Eventually, Lyon relented. He hired Reeves, who went on to work at the bowling center until around 2015. Seven years later, she's one of many faithful Terrace Lanes bowlers who find themselves emotional about its closure.

While Reeves worked at the bowling alley, Lyon, who died in 2017, became a father figure to her. Her coworkers and regular customers became her family. And Terrace Lanes? It became her home.

Her friends sometimes tease her about how much she loves the bowling center. But it kept her out of trouble when she was a "mess" as a young adult. It's where she worked when she was pregnant with her two kids. And it's where she served beer to the man she fell in love with and ultimately married.

"It's not even that I love bowling. I could do without bowling," said Reeves, who still bowls an average of 150 points per game even after all these years. "Such a big part of my heart is dedicated to Terrace Lanes."

At 5 p.m. on Sunday, after more than 60 years of business, Terrace Lanes shut its doors for the last time. Plans have long been in the works to add a 300-unit residential development to the 1.65-acre property where the bowling center now stands.

As the center's current general manager, Shelley Snow gets why it has to close.

The pandemic hurt a lot of businesses, and Terrace Lanes was no exception, she said. By the time the bowling alley recuperated from its losses, the damage was already done.

"Times change and lives evolve," Snow said. "And that's where we are."

But even though she is "definitely not a bowler" — she only bowled one season before the pandemic hit and said she was terrible — Snow still described the loss of Terrace Lanes as devastating to the Frederick community.

She's been thinking about the senior bowlers who come to the lanes every week. For some, it was the only time they socialized or exercised. Many won't want to make the drive out to bowling alleys in Taneytown or Hagerstown, especially if it means being on the roads after dusk in the wintertime.

It wasn't until after Snow got her job at Terrace Lanes that she found out her mom used to be on a bowling league at the center many years before she was born. Her mom cracked up when her daughter told her where she'd be working.

"There's a lot of history in this building," Snow said. "It'll still be there in the mind and the history, but it won't be going forward for the future generations to enjoy. And that's the sad part."

Even though Richard Duncan moved to Hagerstown about six years ago, he'd return to Frederick every Saturday night to bowl at Terrace Lanes.

He has a lot of fond memories at the lanes. It's where he became acquainted with the sport when he was about 30-years-old. And in 2007, he bowled an 855 set — just 45 points away from three perfect games in a row.

It took him a while to realize that he'd set a record at the bowling center. He was president of the Saturday Night at the Movies League at the time and had been busy with other duties in between turns.

"I really wasn't paying any attention to how well I was bowling," he said.

Willis Drake, Jr. and his wife started bowling at Terrace Lanes about two years after they moved to Brunswick in 2005. It was where they spent their Saturday date nights.

The two of them developed tight-knit friendships with their fellow bowlers over the years. Some have traveled across the country together to attend bowling tournaments. Drake also formed a prayer group with people he met at the lanes.

Earlier this month, Drake gathered with some of his longtime bowling buddies at the alley for a "last hurrah" of sorts.

"It was just nice to see the young kids," he said. "How they've grown up over the time period that we've been there."

Over the four decades David Baker has been bowling at Terrace Lanes, he's watched kids graduate from youth leagues to adult leagues. He made some of his best friends at the alley. Some people would return to the center, even when their bowling days were behind them, just to be with the community there.

Losing that gathering place will be one of the hardest parts of saying goodbye to Terrace Lanes for Baker.

"It's been a big part of a lot of people's lives," he said. "It's kind of a community of its own. Like a family of its own."

When Reeves found out Terrace Lanes would be closing, a pang went through her heart. In some ways, it felt like the moment she heard Lyon had died.

With the help of some of her bowling buddies, she tried her hardest to keep Terrace Lanes alive. They collected close to 5,000 signatures on a petition and lobbied to get a historic preservation overlay applied to the center's property.

Even though their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, Reeves doesn't regret trying. Now, she's planning on joining a league at a bowling center in Taneytown with her two kids, while her husband bowls in Hagerstown or Ellicott City.

She plans to keep in touch with people she met at Terrace Lanes, but losing the place where she experienced so many milestones in her life is going to hurt.

"I'm gonna mourn it," she said. "I'm gonna mourn the loss of the bowling alley."

Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier