http://www.yorkregion.com/localprofi...lling-it-quits
By Simon Martin
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Dec 03, 2011 - 9:18 AM
Markham kingpin calling it quits
Big on bowling. Markham Bowl owner Gerry James built more than 75 bowling centres across Canada. STAFF PHOTO/STEVE SOMERVILLE
Gerry James is the closest thing you will find to a bowling encyclopedia. If you ask him if he knows about a small bowling alley in small-town Ontario, he’ll laugh and regale you with tales about the owner. He speaks of the inventor of five-pin bowling as though he’s a close friend.
“Ahh Tommy Ryan was the original inventor of five-pin bowling. There’s a picture of him there at the top of the stairs,” he said. Mr. James’ shrine to the history of bowling hovers ominously as you descend into Markham Bowl. As for why five pin is a Canadian game, he whispers as if someone was about to handcuff him “it’s much cheaper for bowling alleys to operate”.
Markham Bowl, tucked around the corner from Hwy. 7 gridlock, is Mr. James’ pride and joy. The 87-year-old Markham resident was commissioned to repair the bowling centre after a fire in 1985. He didn’t just rebuild the lanes; he purchased the centre outright.
“I wanted to run the cleanest bowling centre,” he said.
Mr. James was recently elected into the Five Pin Bowling Hall of Fame as a builder, which is appropriate because he estimates building more than 75 bowling centres across Canada. His company Gerry James Bowling Services resurfaced, repaired and installed bowling centres.
The die was cast in his native Jamaica, where he went to college and graduated with a degree in forestry. When he came to Canada, as a 24 year old, his first job was with Brunswick Balke Collender, where he operated kilns that cured lumber used for bowling lanes.
There is a small piece of Canada in most bowling lanes worldwide, Mr. James said. “All the maple comes from here. The lanes are made up of maple and Georgia pine, which comes from the States.”
Mr. James quickly moved to the installation side of the business. He left Brunswick in 1951 and started his own company. Little Bowl, Larry Smith Bowling, Gravenhurst Lanes, Rendezvous Lanes, Don Dominico Lanes, Rainbow Lanes — you name it, Gerry built it.
It was a different time then. Bowling was wildly popular. Mr. James said people would line up to bowl at 80-lane centres.
“It use to have real husband-and-wife appeal. But those days are gone,” he said.
Mr. James remembers the days when pin boys would manually have to set the pins. “They’d get five cents a game,” he laughed. A young Gordon Lightfoot was his pin monkey once in Orillia. “Can’t say he was very good at it,” he said.
Mr. James attributes his success to a strong focus on customer service. Once a guy in Saskatoon called him up to say he was unhappy with his lanes. Mr. James got someone to immediately drive out and solve the problem. “I told myself, ‘I will never leave a customer when I build a bowling centre’,” he said.
At Markham Bowl, Mr. James said he was proud of how he gave back to the community through different charitable drives, including the Tsunami Relief Fund, the Haiti earthquake relief effort and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
But Markham will always hold a special place in his heart. Mr. James wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. “It’s the best. I love it here. It’s the nicest town you could want.”
For all his effort in bowling, he knew it was time to hang them up last year, both in ownership and playing.
“I was bowling in the league last year. Of course I’m the eldest in the whole damn deal. They’re bowling 50 mph and I’m bowling 11 mph. I said to myself, ‘It’s time to get out’,” he said.
Mr. James aslo sold Markham Bowl to Winston and Candace Gurdyal. They first began expressing interest 10 years ago.
Ms Gurdyal knows she has some big shoes to fill. “He poured his heart and soul into this place for 20 years,” she said. “We’re just trying to extend what he believes in.”
Mr. James still drops by from time to time when he’s feeling good. He’s got an artists’ eye.
“Before you go tonight I need you to check my approach on lane 20,” Ms Gurdyal would tell Mr. James. “I need to know if my boards are nice and tight.”
Gordon Lightfoot - Pin Monkey
