Laraway Lanes a Place for Love, Tradition and Americana

While artist Norman Rockwell was noted for his ability to capture "Americana," the bowling alley is the place where gales of laughter roll as frequently as bowling ball spin down the lanes. The sport of bowling is every bit as Americana as apple pie and ice cream cones in summer.

And , at the intersection of Laraway and Nelson roads in New Lenox, is a case in point. Owner Jerry Davern, 49, and wife Kim took over the operations of the bowling alley only two years ago, but bowling is in the family bloodline. Kim's dad, Bill Bolker, developed the bowling alley as part of a strip mall project in the early '80s. Over the years, operations management has changed hands and come full circle.

It's now up to the Daverns (mostly it's Jerry's job because Kim is a third-grade teacher in Manhattan) to keep the traditions that draw individuals, families and a variety of leagues to a place where one regularly hears the pins drop.

Jerry Davern is quick to rattle off the list of leagues for little kids, middle and junior high students and high school teens along with men's, women's, seniors and mixed leagues. He said Laraway Lanes averages more than 12,000 games played per week on its 24 60-foot lanes that shine like a smooth lake at dawn.

Debbie and Bob Rapsky, of New Lenox, met there and later fell in love. The couple has been married for five years, and it's all because it's all right to bump into a stranger at the ball return and to laugh at each other's bowling stance.

Debbie was a single mother living in New Lenox for the last 12 years, and said she started bowling because her son, Danny, was new to the area. He was only in third or fourth grade at the time, and Bob Rapsky's daughter, Cheryl, was in the youth league too. The kids got acquainted first, then later their parents.

"I didn't really know how to bowl then," but "I've learned." Her husband, Bob, has achieved pro-bowler status. He's the Laraway Lanes House Pro. The kids have grown up—20 and 21-years-old now—but the Rapsky parents continue to bowl during a Wednesday night mixed league where Debbie is the secretary and Bob's the president.

For Jill and Tom Bojan, the bowling alley has been part of their family tradition since the early 1980s.

"I like the idea of the people we bowl with. And I like the exercise,"  Jill Bojan said.

The couple has regularly participated in family bowling nights with their children, and now they take their grandchildren. The youngest bowler in the Bojan clan is 6. Their granddaughter, Cathy, is on the bowling team, and now that the Bojans are retired, they're part of the senior league. 

"I'm looking forward to the season," she said, adding that she wants to best her 156 average this year. Tom averages in the 180s.

League bowling begins at the end of August, Davern said. There are 35 separate, five-member teams in the leagues, and open bowling is also offered. "It's a fun, family atmosphere," he said. "It's affordable."

The aim of his management style is to provide a healthy atmosphere where everyone is welcome. "We've poured a lot of money into remodeling the place and update everything." In the summer, kids can bowl two games free, and all they need is to rent shoes. "It's a safe place for the kids."

Brandi Sengel and Kathi Casper, both of New Lenox, spent the afternoon of Aug. 11 at the bowling alley with the kids, each has two boys. "It's free," said Casper.

Sengel said the boys get a chance to know each other. And "it's a place where the moms can sit back and chat too," Casper added.