“I finally made it,” she said, smiling. “I can’t believe it. I don’t feel 100, it feels like I’m 85.”
Bowling may well have contributed to Mabel’s young-at-heart attitude. The oldest active member of the Greater Dayton United States Bowling Congress has been a member of the Dayton bowling community for more than six decades.
“If you keep moving and keep doing things you feel better and you live longer,” Mabel’s daughter-in-law Lynne Hook said. “She’s proof.”
Lynne has bowled with Mabel in the Tea Timers League at Beaver-Vu Bowl for decades.
“She doesn’t even seem to have as many aches and pains as some of us,” Lynne, 74, said. “She’s amazing.”
Bowling has long been a family affair for Mabel. Her sister-in-law got her started in the game, first bowling on lanes in the basement of an Indiana Catholic Church about 70 years ago.
She was hooked – no pun intended.
Mabel and her husband moved to the area in 1957. Even with a house full of children, she was always ready to bowl.
“I’d get a call that someone needed a bowler to sub and I’d tell my husband, ‘you’ll have to finish supper without me,’” she said.
While she loved her time on the lanes, she was also happy to help behind the scenes, serving as secretary for youth leagues at Beaver-Vu for many years.
Her sons Gary and Dana carried on the family bowling tradition. Gary regularly bowls in two leagues a week but, like his mom, happily subs whenever needed. The 76-year-old is impressed by his mom’s endurance and attitude.
“She just keeps going,” Gary said. “I have to keep this up for a long time if I’m going to match what she’s done.”
Much to Mabel’s dismay, none of her grandchildren have picked up the game but she remains hopeful.
Mabel hasn’t bowled since centers were forced to close in mid-March. She currently spends most of her time at home and enjoys gardening. But she definitely misses the camaraderie of her Tea Time teammates.
“It almost always takes us longer to bowl because we spend so much time talking,” Lynne said, smiling. “It’s a fun league for all of us.”
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