Chronicles: My Religious Bowling Experience

Historic buildings have often been repurposed amid efforts to preserve their status as important landmarks. There is one building in Ancram that exemplifies such endeavors. 

The Janes Methodist-Episcopal Church, built in 1855, stands out for its varied history. Perched on a slope overlooking what is now Columbia County Route 7, it faces the Grange Hall, erected in 1927, diagonally across the road. While the church stands empty today, its walls have borne witness to a variety of uses over the years, from a place of prayer to a place to play. 

What was originally a church became an Odd Fellows Hall in 1929. Three decades later, in 1960, it was converted into the Ancram Bowling Center, as the deep and narrow sanctuary lent itself to a four-alley complex. For a brief period, the tiny hamlet of Ancram had bowling alleys in an old church. The alleys had been removed from another location, brought to Ancram and installed in the church sanctuary. A large addition at the front of the building housed a snack bar, which quickly became Ancram’s “go-to” spot, albeit for only a short time.

As a high school student, I bowled in a league at the Ancram Bowling Center. The pin-setting machines were semi-automatic, they required a person to manually load the pins into a hopper, which then automatically reset them with the push of a button.

At the age of 17, on the night of Dec. 21, 1960, I bowled a 268 on alley 1. It was truly a religious experience. This was the first and last time I broke 200 bowling. 

I can’t remember when the Ancram Bowling Center ceased operating, but according to Town of Ancram Historian Robin Roche Massa, the bowling equipment was sold at auction in nearby Copake in 1963. Its life as a bowling center was indeed short.

In 1972, the former church was converted to the Johann Strauss Athenaeum and movies were shown in an “auditorium” where the bowling alleys had been located. 

Two cousins, John Peter Hayden, Jr. and Donald Richard Chapin, had bought Simon’s Store, the Grange Hall and the old church with a grand plan for a cultural rebirth of Ancram as an “opera village.” However, their reach exceeded their financial grasp and the dream foundered on the rocks of bankruptcy.

Ancram Opera House has been renamed Ancram Center for the Arts. I wonder what John and Donald would think to see the arts alive and well in Ancram. 

Apparently, the church has been unused during the past four decades. The current owner purchased the building in 1982 and is gradually stabilizing and restoring the structure as time and money permit.

Today that old church still stands proudly, as does my bowling score from that cold December night, back in 1960. 

Chronicles is the New Pine Plains Herald’s continuation of our My Pine Plains memoir series, chronicling life in and around Pine Plains, Ancram, Milan, Stanford, and Gallatin. The Herald welcomes submissions from our readers that highlight memories and lived experiences from all people of all backgrounds. 

Please send your submissions to editor@newpineplains.org