Man uses wood from former bowling alley to make custom pieces, preserve memories
Jan. 13—Pallets of wood harvested from bowling lanes from the now-shuttered Terrace Lanes Bowling Center in Frederick are piled up against the wall of Jarrett Nash's workshop in New Market.
The back of the workshop was open to the outside, with a cow grazing across the field as country music floated from Nash's workshop.
Since December, Nash, founder of Route 24 Furniture & Home Decor, has been using the bowling alley wood to make benches, charcuterie boards, cutting boards and other custom pieces for people to buy as a memento from their times at the iconic bowling center.
Nash obtained the wood when Terrace Lanes closed in May 2022 after 60 years. In its place, a 300-unit residential property is planned.
Members of the Terrace Lanes bowling community tried to keep it alive. They had a petition with nearly 5,000 signatures and lobbied to have a historic preservation overlay applied to the property.
Nash said he lost track of how many of the former lanes he's used and how many pieces he's sold. He started with benches, then started making smaller pieces, which he said were more popular.
Nash also obtained the pins from the former bowling alley. He sold some individually, and has used others to incorporate into pieces. For example, he made a side table with one of the lanes, and put the bowling pin on the stand.
In Nash's living room, he has farm-style benches that he's made with the glossy wood, stacked one on top of the other. His pitbull-terrier mix, Banjo, was gnawing on a toy on the couch next to all of the furniture.
In his laundry room, he had several cutting boards and charcuterie boards drying.
He wanted to maintain the original beauty of the maple and pine from the alleys, so he didn't stain any of his pieces. He applies a coat of polyurethane and lets them dry.
Additionally, under each piece, he burns the letters "TLBA" and numbers them. That way, people know they are the authentic lanes from the venue and which piece they are getting.
Nash said it feels good to help preserve the memories of a place that meant so much to others. One woman bought a charcuterie board as a memory of her parents, and she hugged the piece closely when she came to pick it up, Nash said.
"People have reached out to me about wanting things that have so many memories from their first dates or growing up there or parents that played in leagues there," Nash said.
Even though he said he isn't a good bowler, Nash has some fun memories from the venue. He said he might make for himself a small memento once he reaches the end of the wood supply.
Terrace Lanes never changed, he said, and always had the same carpet, the same food stand to the right of when you walked in — with a little bar next to that — and the arcade.
"It was kind of like a hometown place," Nash said. "I mean, the inside never changed from when I was kid to when they closed."
Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel
