Then and Now: Bowl-Hi Lanes

           Around 100 years after its founding, Huntley was looking to expand as time continued to advance. The decade after WWII was bringing more families out to the suburbs, and with that came a growth in business. One of the earliest examples of this is Huntley's Bowl-Hi Lanes. In a time when the village was experiencing new changes, this business paved the way for development on the north side.

            Up until the 1950s, the farthest businesses north were Art Garlieb Implement dealership (established in 1931), and Little America tavern (established in 1936). But the mid-century brought new life to a prime area of town. In the second half of the 1940s, Algonquin Black Top (now Algonquin Road) was continued from Ruth Road to Rt. 47. Prior to this, drivers had to turn on to Ruth and subsequently on to Main St. to get in to town. The new extension, however, created what would become a vibrant new corner. The first business to realize this possible new boom was Dairy Mart, which saw construction around 1955 at the south-east corner of Rt. 47 and North Street. Soon after, business began to boom on the north side.

            Following the construction of the Dairy Mart, ground was broken for a new structure on the north-east corner of Rt. 47 and the recently extended Algonquin Black Top. Prior to this, the property was part of one of Edwin Deicke's farms, but the corner was prime for development, being a main connecting point between the south-east side of the county and one of the main arteries running north and south through Illinois. Harry Weltzien saw this, and in 1956 constructed Bowl-Hi Lanes. This new bowling alley featured 12 automatic lanes, as well as a restaurant on the south-east corner and a bar on the north-east corner. Before Bowl-Hi, Huntley's only bowling alley was a four lane alley and bar located in the old Smith & Weltzien's Hall on the square (now apartments above Sal's Pizza). The new Bowl-Hi Lanes was state of the art, no longer needing people to set pins like the former bowling alley, as well as being an air-conditioned building. For many years, the alley remained in the Weltzien family, being managed Harry and his son, Wendell (Windy) Weltzien. During this time, the restaurant saw many recognizable tenants for the restaurant, such as Joe Rizzo, who operated the Bowl-Hi Restaurant starting around 1957 through 1962, and Meta Tessmer, a long time restaurant operator and owner who owned the Bowl-Hi Restaurant from 1962 through the mid-1960s. The restaurant was sold to Jasia and Adolph Polkehn in 1965, and later closed in late 1966. After closing, the equipment was sold to Beverly Kubis, who used it in her new restaurant on the square called the Village Inn.

            With the old restaurant portion vacant, Wendell and his father decided to use the space for a clothing store. Here they sold suits, sport coats, slacks, shoes, and other types of clothing. The business was doing so well that they began to use part of the basement for a continuation of their showroom floor.

            On August 1^st, 1972, ownership of Bowl-Hi changed. Harry and Wendell Weltzien sold the business to Charles Hanson and Lenny Zielinski. Windy moved the clothing store from the old restaurant space and in 1974, constructed Weltzien's Country Store immediately north of the bowling alley. Since that time, more restaurants have called the corner spot home, with one of the most recognizable being Mona's Restaurant.

            The restaurant, owned by Mona Wickersheim and her family, opened in the remodeled former Sinclair gas station in 1982 and operated on that site until around 1990. After that, it was announced that Mona would move her restaurant into the open space at Bowl-Hi. Mona's Hometown Restaurant opened in early 1990 and had their grand-opening on March 18^th, 1990. Here, Mona was able to continue her well-loved business for the community. By the mid-1990s the restaurant was owned by Sam Abdullai, who renamed the business as Flora's Cafe and operate it      until 2004.

            A scary moment occurred in September 12, 1998, when a small fire broke out in the basement below the restaurant. The fire was spotted in the morning by an employee at the cafe, and the fire department was quickly called. If the fire had found its way to the main level, where the oiled wooden lanes were, the entire building would most likely have been destroyed. Luckily, the quick action of the Huntley Fire department, as well as the other eight fire and rescue crews that arrived, kept the fire contained to a downstairs storage area. Due to the quick response, the bowling alley itself was able to reopen before the end of the month.

            Since Flora's Cafe, there has been multiple restaurants in the space. But Bowl-Hi's ownership has remained constant. Today the bowling alley is managed by Don Zielinski, the third generation to operate the bowling alley. Throughout the more than forty years under the Zielienski's ownership, as well as the early time with Harry and Wendell Weltzien, Bowl-Hi has been a community landmark, hosting hundreds of bowling leagues, many tournaments, fundraisers, and events for all. As time continues, the future only looks brighter and brighter for the family owned bowling alley. And though the town may continue to change, this early north side business shows no signs of stopping.

 

Bowl-Hi Lanes, circa 1960

Bowl-Hi Lanes, 1976. Photo taken by Gene and Norma Lindsey, courtesy of the Huntley Area Public Library.