No Bumpers
On Monday afternoons, seniors fill nearly all of the lanes at AMF Town and Country Lanes. Voices are raised to be heard over the constant crashing of bowling balls and falling pins. The Senior Sunshine Bowling League’s winter session lasts from August until April. To ensure fairness, new teams are chosen at the end of each summer by picking names ranked by skill from four different hats. The league is made up of approximately 18 teams of four or five members. Over the years, veteran bowlers in the league get to know most of the members.
Mel Winter is one of the more well-known members. At 92 years old, Winters is the oldest in the league. Originally from Minnesota, Winters has spent his entire adult life living in Columbia working as an engineer. He has been a part of the Senior Sunshine League for five decades; he no longer remembers how he got involved. Bowling is his “entertainment for the week” and he spends league days chatting with his teammates and competing teams, and comparing scores with Glenda Hood, with whom he has had a friendly rivalry with for several years.