Bowling Ahead – GoBowling.com

Stephanie Quiroz

The Bowling Classic finals at North End Alleys, sponsored by The Tacoma Times, Feb. 26, 1945. Photo courtesy of Northwest Room at The Tacoma Public Library, (Richards Studio D18980-1)

Bowling has been a key facet of American life for ages. Though the sport has been around since before the Revolution, with evidence of variations of the sport brought to the states by Dutch settlers in the 17th century, it wasn’t until the late 1950s and early 1960s that bowling really blossomed in the United States.

It was around then that the automatic pinsetter — a tool that helped attract community members to the bowling centers that suddenly were cropping up — was invented.

For Reggie Frederick, nostalgic memories around the sport begin during that 1960s boom time, when he was in elementary school. He is quick to recall rolling his first ball at Chalet Bowl — known originally as the North End Alleys — in Tacoma’s Proctor District when he was about 8 years old.

“There were no bumpers,” he said. “They were still 30-some years away. I shot a 32. I was really proud.” When Frederick turned 13, he joined a league at New Frontier Lanes, a bowling center that also gave him his first job.

Bowling has continued to be an integral part of Frederick’s life. Chalet Bowl, which he now runs, was established in 1941 and is recognized as the oldest operating bowling alley in Washington. Frederick’s love for bowling kept him around while working there under the previous owner, Jim Stevenson, and at other bowling centers through college. Frederick purchased the popular Tacoma bowling alley with his late wife, Nancy, on May 1, 1984.

Billy Frederick coowns Chalet with his wife, Alyson, and father, Reggie. Billy and Alyson joined the family business in 2006 and have kept the alley successfully operating in Tacoma’s Proctor district ever since. Photo by Jeff Hobson

“(We) walked in with (our sons) — Billy who was 3, and Jon, who was 5 months old — (and) the rest is history,” Frederick said.

Through the years, Frederick put his profits back into the business and refurbished the space little by little. He said Chalet has made about $2 million in renovations in total.

Today, Frederick co-owns Chalet with his son, Billy, and Billy’s wife, Alyson. Billy and Alyson joined the family business in 2006 and have kept the alley successfully operating in Proctor ever…