Bay alumni gather for bowling fun

The Bay High Class of 1975 had the strongest showing at the inaugural Bay Alumni Madness bowling event, winning the Rocket Pin and King Pin awards. Pictured: Liz Kogge Tippit, Bob Sheperd, Jim Dillon, Patti Draeger Safford, Mark Gatsos, Peggy Nagel, Mike Hellebrekers, Cristine Marco Hoffmann, Karen Obester Adams, Val Dennison Sleeper. Not shown: Randall Oldrieve, Robert Prusha and honorary Class of '75 bowlers Michelle and Bob Ziebarth. Photo by Bill Smith

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All the lanes were filled with Bay High spirit, with over 70 attending the inaugural alumni fundraising bowling tournament held at Bay Lanes on Feb. 25.

At one time, Bay High had a bowling team. However, judging by the bowling scores, not many of the alumni bowlers were on the bowling team. The average of all game scores was 113 (ranging from 51 to 211). For many it was their first time back to Bay Lanes in decades.

The contest pitted each class year against each other for the total pin contest. So just like school, attendance did count! We had 13 classes ranging from the Class of 1962 to 2013. Some of the highlights: The Class of 1975 had the best attendance with 17 people, with honorable mention to the Class of 1966 with 11 people. The Class of 1975 also knocked down the most pins, winning the Rocket Pin. (So they do not get too overconfident, they only had an average score of 106). The Class of 1975 also won the King Pin for raising the most funds. The Class of 1983 were strong contenders as they took second place in both the Rocket Pin and the King Pin and look forward to challenging the Class of 1975 next year!

For individual honors, Erik Fischer, '83, had the high game and high series, bowling a 211 and series score of 400. Some attendees didn’t bowl but came to see friends and cheered on their class to win a title. The best non-bowler was Vicky Mowery, '87, who did not sign up to bowl and was the only one representing her class. She won a prize from Bay Lanes by getting a spare in her one frame attempt.

A good time was had by all, seeing old friends, siblings and neighbors they don’t get to see at class reunions.They shared stories about days gone by including sports, Rockettes, cheerleading and the streets and neighborhoods in Bay. Prizes were given out throughout the night including Indians game tickets as the door prize raffle.

The event raised over $2,000 with the net proceeds benefiting the Bay Alumni Foundation scholarships. Scholarship applicants do not need to have a high GPA score. They are simply required to write a brief story describing their memories during their Bay High years. After all, that’s what being an alumnus is all about.

The goal is to build on this event in the future to raise even more scholarship money. Thank you to our sponsors and everyone who participated or donated to this event. We hope more alumni can spare the time to attend next year!