When Bill Wammes emerged from the smoke billowing from his burning bowling center, he could have sworn it was midnight even though it was the middle of the day.
"My glasses were so covered with soot that it looked like it was dark outside," he said. "That's what I remember most. It was just so, so dark."
Wammes wiped his lenses clean just in time to see the front window of the Al-Mar Colonial Lanes bowling center explode. The Dec. 12 fire, started by faulty wiring in a ball spinner, totaled the Bowling Green landmark.
No one was hurt in the blaze, but the center sustained $2 million in damage in a matter of hours. Gone was every piece of equipment and a vast collection of memorabilia, including autographs from baseball legends Nolan Ryan and Al Kaline.
"It was shocking," Wammes said.
But a tremendous outpouring from the community has shifted Wammes's outlook from devastation to optimism.
"Without exaggerating, I've received hundreds of cards," Wammes said. "The support from the community has been overwhelming. Every one has been extremely positive."
Wammes singled out a fellow proprietor in town for helping take over junior and adult leagues. He said Dean Moosman, owner of the only rival bowling center in town, Varsity Lanes, has loaned him anything he has needed.
Wammes, who coaches the Bowling Green High School bowling team, said his team members lost all their equipment in the fire. But he said the team already has new gear thanks to cash donations from the community. He also said two PBA bowlers, Gene Stuss and Finland's Mika Koivuniemi, donated balls to the team.
"The local businesses have been overwhelming with their support," Wammes said. "It's been unbelievable."
That public support was clearly evident in the size and emotion of the crowd that gathered to watch firefighters battle the blaze engulfing the 36-year-old Main Street landmark last month.
Wammes came to work late that day, arriving at about 10 a.m. when he stopped to talk to an employee.
"Then she said she smelled smoke," Wammes recalled. "I looked up and saw a haze of smoke coming from the ceiling."
Wammes said he first ran to the most obvious place, the kitchen, to find the flames. As his employees rushed to get the nearly 60 customers out of the building, Wammes glanced to the game room and saw heavy smoke flowing out.
"I went in and saw flames coming out around the ball spinners," he said.
The 53-year-old rushed over and picked up a fire extinguisher and doused the flames until the device ran out of chemicals.
"It was strange at the time because I felt no sensation of heat," Wammes said. "But looking back on it, I'm sure the adrenaline had something to do with it."
After giving up on his efforts, Wammes said the smoke was so thick and black, that he could not possibly have gotten out if he didn't know the building's layout.
"By the time I came out the police were already there and the firemen weren't too far behind, so I thought it might be all right," he said.
But what Wammes didn't know was that the fire was already well established inside the walls and ceiling.
"It wasn't very visible from the outside," he said. "I was only outside a few minutes before the glass from the front window and door blew out."
Wammes was not treated for smoke inhalation, but he said he coughed up black phlegm for three days.
Just eight days later, Wammes had set up a construction trailer to help drill new balls for his patrons that lost equipment in the blaze.
Wammes said he has drilled more than 300 balls over the past two weeks and even drilled 60 in one day.
Insurance covered the cost of the building, most of its content, and some of the cost of lost business, he said.
Demolition of the building will start this week. Wammes said only one wall was preserved enough to save, but he said it would be more expensive to keep it than to knock it down.
"I can't tell you how many offers of help I've received," he said. "People want to help rebuild."
He said there are several bids on the table to build the new Al-Mar Lanes. He said without equipment figured in, cost of rebuilding will be close to $900,000.
Wammes said he would like to expand the center from 16 to 20 lanes. But he said he would then also have to add parking spots and the lot may not be big enough to hold the mandatory 110 spaces.
Wammes said he has already committed to hosting the annual PBA Senior Regional Tournament, which begins Sept.4. The grand re-opening is slated for Labor Day weekend.
Just weeks after the devastating event, Wammes is even able to joke about it. He said Bowling Green State University men's basketball coach Dan Dakich was a regular at Al-Mar Lanes.
"It was his favorite place to eat cheeseburgers. He's been one of our biggest supporters," Wammes said. "We need to rebuild in a hurry, so Dan can get a good cheeseburger."
Originally built on Washington Street in the 1930s, the center was moved to its Main Street location in the fall of 1965. The center is named for Al Stevens and Marly Wilson, the founders of the house. Stevens would have been exactly 100 years old the day that the fire occurred, Wammes said.
"We're just fortunate that no one got hurt," Wammes said. "The building is just wood and concrete. It can be put back together. We'll be back, bigger and better than ever."
The deadline for the 75th TWBA Championship Tournament is fast approaching.
The team event will be held at Twin Oaks Lanes on the weekend starting Feb. 3 running through Feb. 11. The doubles and singles events will be held on the weekends at Westland Lanes beginning Feb. 2 through Feb. 11.
The cost for a four-person team is $60. A doubles entry fee is $30, while asingles entry will cost $15.
The tournament is open to TWBA members only and the deadline for entry is Jan. 24. For more information call the TWBA at 476-3633.
More than 8,000 bowlers are expected to travel to Toledo next month to participate in the State Tournament. The event starts Feb. 10 and runs through May 13.
An additional weekend was added to the event and local bowlers are expected to be the main participants during the first weekend.
Brad Bowman recently bowled an 843 series at Jug's Bowling Center. Bowman opened with a 243, then put together back-to-back 300 games.
First Published January 17, 2001, 1:45 p.m.