“I don’t do anything short-term,” Gutheil said, smiling.
He has been married for 61 years and worked at General Motors for 43 years. The 81-year-old has already been working his post-retirement job at Jack Walker Pontiac for 18 years.
“Don does whatever he does with his whole heart,” league president Larry Peek said.
When Gutheil started as league secretary more than five decades ago, it was a time-consuming task.
“It was a thankless job, many hours of pencil work,” Peek said. “It’s a lot easier now with computers, but it’s still a job.”
Gutheil remembers long nights calculating and dictating to his wife, who pounded out the weekly standings for league on a typewriter.
The league started out at the original Fortener’s Lanes, a modest 10-lane house in Miamisburg, later moving to the second and larger Fortener’s Lanes, also in Miamisburg. The bowling center changed names a few times but the league remained intact. When Royal Z Miamisburg, originally Fortener’s, closed in 1997, the league moved to its current home at Poelking Lanes South.
While the numbers have dwindled (down to seven five-person teams this season), the camaraderie remains steadfast.
“The way I describe it is we are a fun league, nobody gets mad and everybody likes everybody else,” Peek said.
That’s exactly what has kept Gutheil coming back week after week and year after year.
“It’s about the guys, it’s fun to be around them,” Gutheil said.
That fun has helped the Miamisburg bowler bounce back after three bouts with cancer and several surgeries. He had a health scare earlier this season when he collapsed at the bowling center because of a reaction to his medication. One of the first things he said to Peek after regaining consciousness was that he was worried that he wasn’t going to make 50 (consecutive seasons).
“Don is amazing. He really promotes this league. This has been his baby,” Peek said. “He is Mr. Intercity.”
Gutheil, who was inducted in the Dayton Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 2003, plans to be back on the lanes in the fall but has yet to commit to a 52nd season as secretary.
“Let’s say it’s to-be-determined,” he said. “I’ve been secretary longer than most of these guys have been alive, but life has been good to me. I am a very blessed person.”
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