New owners will host Wheatland Lanes launch

Cake, door prizes and $2 bowling mark the Grand re-Opening of the Wheatland Lanes in Colfax. New owners Shelly and Michael Weller have been preparing the 50-year-old old lanes for a new era since purchasing the alley earlier this year.

Shelly said she looks forward to coming down to the lanes every morning.

“I love everything about a bowling alley. The sights, the smells, the people,” said Shelly Weller, who boasts a bowling average of 177.

“Oh and the sounds. Definitely the sounds.”

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Wheatland Lanes will be open for public bowling seven days a week.

They are also having a glow-light system installed for night time cosmic bowling. Shelly said the lights should be working by Saturday’s grand opening.

A pun in the Wellers’ promotional flier for the grand opening says “Seven days without bowling makes one weak.”

“It really is a great sport because everybody can be on the same level,” said Shelly. “With the handicap, it doesn’t matter if you have a 120 average or a 200 average.”

The Wellers purchased the bowling alley from Mike McPherson, who owned the alley for 32 years.

McPherson for the past several years has opened the lanes only for league nights. He said he had too much on his plate to keep the lanes open all day.

The Wellers are long-time veterans of the bowling scene. They settled in the LaCrosse area after Michael retired from the Air Force. While considering their post-military plans, they spotted a for sale sign on the bowling alley door.

Shelly ran several youth bowling leagues while the family of seven was stationed at an Air Force base in California. She said they plan to bring back a Saturday afternoon youth league to the Colfax lanes.

The re-worked lanes will have a full snack counter, complete with hot dogs, nachos, warm pretzels and slices of Westside Pizza to go along with an assortment of fountain soda and beer.

Grand Opening events run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.