The Furgason children were in the habit of bringing home local, regional, and state bowling trophies while living in North Carolina. They perfected their skills on Saturday morning trips to the Bonnyman Bowling Center on The Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, North Carolina’s Marine Corps Base.
The entire family participated in the indoor sport in various Leagues on various mornings and evenings.
Back in Louisville, Kentucky, Aunt Frances embroidered Bowling Shirts, so when The Holy Spirit Parish formed a league for ladies, we ordered shirts from her. Our League was called, “Saints and Sinners” which seemed appropriate for a church League. I took my turn at being Secretary for the League and learned how many hours of bookwork were involved in keeping those records.
The younger Furgasons bowled with their teams each Saturday wearing matching shirts of black and gold ordered from Aunt Frances.
Like other Military social groups, Bowling League members became brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles to those they met on the lanes.
Serving as a Junior League Coach, I did not have the heart to divulge to my young players that my own average was not listed as a league highest of each week. I focused on showing them a proper stance and how to walk up to the line and then release their ball with confidence. That was enough to make me an “almost-aunt” in their eyes and I intended to remain a proper lane hero.
We Junior coaches made history when State tournament time came around and we formed a team of little girls with low averages. While other teams laughed at the idea, it was us who laughed when on Tournament day our girls bowled far above their normal patterns. They walked up to the line, bowled with a smile, and humbly returned to their seats not realizing their team was going to take third place in the state listings. That year, Geralyn brought home a champion team trophy to sit on honored shelves along with those her brothers had earned.
“The Eleventh Frame” was a bowling sports column that I wrote for two years while sharing hours with Bonnyman bowlers. It was published weekly in the Camp Lejeune’s newspaper, “The Globe”. The column gave the results of Bonnman Bowling Center’s weekly wins and told of top players averages. It gave me a chance to use my typewriter and present the scores in an interesting manner.
The column was a long way from the days when I typed continuity at Louisville, Kentucky’s WAVE-TV, but then writers never retire typewriters. They just store them on different shelves.