Page 56 - BCM June 2024

COVER STORY

in the Midtown neighborhood.
Leaders of the Midtown Neighbor-
hood Association are in the midst
of planning Springfield’s Old-Fash-
ioned Fourth of July Parade and
Celebration, which this year carries
the theme of “freedom in motion.”
“Our five center-city neighbor-
hoods have an alliance, and I
participated in that for several
years,” Wiemer says. “I’m not on
the boards anymore, but I still
contribute labor.”
What attracted him to the asso-
ciation?
“You ought to know your neigh-
bors and the people around you,”
he asserts. “A lot of people in that
neighborhood had that mindset. It
was easy to get involved in an area
where people get involved. My dad
lived in a gated community; I’m not
much on gated communities.”
Wiemer’s dad was Roger Wiemer,
a scratch bowler who took part in
51 ABC and USBC Open tourna-
Carla and Steve Wiemer are flanked by their “bonus kids,” Keegan Standage and Kyn- ments before passing away in 2010.
dall Martin, at Enterprise Park Lanes. Standage serves as general manager of both His mother is Norma, 91, who lives
Enterprise Park and Sunshine Lanes, while Kyndall is the manager of Sunshine Lanes. in assisted living “but would love to
Hanging in the background is a vintage photo of entertainment icons Mickey Rooney come in [to the centers] and tell us
and Judy Garland as Rooney shows off his bowling form. what to do if she could. She loved
going to work.”
food in the refrigerator and nary a is tourism, centered in the com-
hope of escaping the projects. Life munity of Branson, 44 miles south The Family Business
embodies a wide spectrum, and of Springfield. There, countless Over the years, the Wiemer family
how we handle our place on that shows — including “Dolly Parton’s was involved with seven centers,
spectrum ultimately determines our Stampede” and the “WhoDunnit the first being the 40-lane Cherokee
character and our destiny. Hoedown” mystery dinner — are Lanes — now home to the Bass Pro
Steve Wiemer’s roots are in joined by attractions such as the Shops Catalog Outlet Store — which
Springfield, Missouri. There’s a Silver Dollar City theme park, the was purchased in 1971 when Steve
Springfield in 34 states, but Mis- Aquarium at the Boardwalk and the was 14. That was his introduction
souri’s is the largest with a popula- Titanic Museum Attraction. to the business of bowling, and he
tion of 170,000, give or take. It’s part But in Springfield itself, where says he has loved it ever since.
of the region known as the Ozarks many of the locals roll their eyes In 1974, the family opened
— shared by Missouri, Arkansas, just at the mention of Branson, a Oakland Plaza Lanes, a 24-laner
Oklahoma and the extreme south- community-focused ethos endures. in Columbia, Missouri. Two years
eastern corner of Kansas — that’s And Wiemer is right in the thick of later, they acquired the 16-lane
known for its mountain ranges, it, from the way he runs his busi- Walnut Bowl, which had closed,
highlands and plateaus. nesses to where he lives. and re-opened it. Two more
While the Ozarks’ historic eco- Springfield is a city of neighbor- 16-laners would follow: Holiday
nomic activity was centered around hoods — two dozen in all — and Lanes in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1980
mining, its current growth industry Wiemer and his wife Carla reside and another Holiday Lanes in

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