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The Golden Strike Bowling Alley opened at the Nome Recreation Center in 1985. In the years since, the Rec Center has been through many seasons. There’s been changes in management, funding priorities and even times the bowling alley was closed entirely. But when the doors are open, you’ll find Wally Johnson there welcoming patrons with a smile.
Wally Johnson is the mechanic and desk attendant at the Golden Strike Bowling Alley in Nome.
“I tell young people, I says, ‘Of all the major sports that we have, bowling is probably the easiest one to become a professional. You ever think about becoming a professional? Let me know, and I'll help you!’ Nobody's come forward yet!” Johnson laughed.
Johnson was born and raised in Nome. He and his wife raised their five kids here as well. His first bowling experience came on a trip out of town.
“I had gone to Fairbanks when I was younger and was introduced to a bowling alley. But before that, me and my father would watch professional bowling on television. So that kind of sparked my interest with bowling,” explained Johnson.
Bowling in Nome goes back to the early 1900's. Johnson said, at one point, there were a couple lanes in a military building by the airport. Then the city built a new facility on the west end of Front Street, in what is now called the Mini Convention Center.
“So we had a big storm in 1974 that flooded the Mini Convention Center, and water came, and it was pretty high, because the Mini Convention Center is down there by the sea. And it destroyed all of the machines and the lanes and everything and the shoes! I still have some shoes here from down there. Kind of cool,” Johnson said.
In the 1980’s, the City of Nome built a new facility at the Nome Rec Center. And in 1985, Johnson put his bowling interest to work as a mechanic and attendant at the facility.
“The hard thing is probably trying to maintain the machines themselves. It takes a certified mechanic to actually keep the lanes running,” explained Johnson.
Johnson learned on the job and eventually got certified. He said the facility initially had a bigger staff. But in the 90’s, the other workers left town or moved jobs, and Johnson was left as a one-man-show. Over the years, through budget-induced shutdowns and COVID-19, Johnson has manned the ship.
If the bowling alley is open, he’s there.
“It's the people that make the bowling alley happen. So one of the directors that came on kind of enlightened me as to what it means to be a city employee. He said, ‘You, as a worker, working here in the rec center, at the bowling alley, are a public worker. You are what is called a public servant. So you're working for the people.’ So that was a big inspiration,” said Johnson.
And it’s the people that keep him coming back. The Golden Strike Bowling Alley is open during the fall and winter months. It is home to an adult bowling league, children’s birthday parties and sessions for students across the region.
“I love bowling. I love bowling so much that when people come up here and start bowling, I want to help them, to show them, so that they can understand that it's actually not that hard to go bowling,” Johnson said.
In addition to maintaining the mechanics of the lanes, Johnson sizes shoes, teaches how to score, and shows new bowlers how to throw the ball.
“I call it the exciting part, when the children, when there's a spark that comes on after their shyness, and it’s like, ‘Oh, I didn't know this is so fun!’” Johnson said.
Johnson tried to enlist others as bowling mechanics, to shadow him and learn the job, but nothing has worked out yet.
“That needs to happen because, I don't think that the people of Nome should lose this, because it's theirs. Yeah, so hopefully we're gonna find somebody that's interested,” Johnson said.
He admitted he’ll always have a love for the bowling alley. But, Johnson said, he’s not going to be able to work there forever.
“Well, it's, you know, it's going to be with me forever. But my bones ache, and I know I am not going to be able to do it,” Johnson said.
Golden Strike Bowling Alley’s open season is already underway, with birthday parties and the bowling league on the schedule. And Johnson is there behind the counter, ready to hand out shoes.
