Friday, April 22, 2016
GIRARD
One evening in 1997, all 24 lanes at Kay Lanes abruptly shut down, and a voice came over the loudspeaker.
It was Mike Millich, a mechanic at the bowling alley, calling for everyone’s attention. Millich then handed the microphone over to his friend Tom Olesky, who addressed a bowler named Stacy and got down on one knee.
Spoiler alert: She said yes.
Tom had met Stacy two years before at Kay Lanes. He was a part-time bartender there when he noticed her bowling with her mother and grandmother as part of a ladies trio league. Tom asked one of the kids who worked as a pin-chaser to approach Stacy on his behalf.
Today, Tom and Stacy Olesky have three children, one of whom now bowls for Ohio State University.
The Oleskys passed their love of the sport on to their family, although the couple says bowling hasn’t been the same since Kay Lanes shut down in 2011.
Though the Kay Lanes sign still heralds South State Street drivers with “Thank you” and “Good bye,” the building is in the process of being demolished.
Read more about this treasured local funspot in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.