Page 74 - BCM July 2024

One of Us

Rebirth in Artesia

How a small center in a small New Mexico town was brought back to life.

BY DENNIS BERGENDORF
rtesia Lanes is a esting story. e kids
A nice little center didn’t let a little thing
in the nice little New like the center shutting
Mexico town of Artesia. down stop them from
First-time visitors no practicing. ey came
doubt have nary a clue in a couple of times a
that it stood idle, gather- week, “oiling and xing
ing dust, for two and a the machines on their
half years a decade ago. own.” It certainly paid
Or that it was the private o , as teams have cap-
practice facility for the tured nine state titles.
powerful Bulldog bowl- Bowen gives credit to
ing teams of nearby their long-time coach,
Artesia High School. Ken Clayton, who
e 16-lane center started the program
was rescued by Les Artesia Lanes mechanic Ron Chenoweth (left) and owner Les Bowen talk during the closure.
Bowen, who had been to bowlers who are members of the center’s PBA Experience league. While reopening and
looking for a place to reinventing a closed
buy and run in northern Utah. But the rough years for the operation to nally bowling center is not easy, Bowen says
retired Air Force senior master sergeant turn a pro t and enable Bowen to “put it can be done. First o , he says, have
settled on the community where his money aside for expansion.” 2019 was enough capital to bring it up to date.
parents lived, a burg of maybe 13,000, a particularly good year… and then “If professionals come out and do it,
surrounded by oil wells and green chili COVID hit. it pays o in the long run. en you can
pepper elds, tucked away in the south- “ e governor closed us down. She focus your attention in other areas,”
east corner of New Mexico, not far from made it a mandatory closure, and we he says. “You need to be proactive, not
alien-centric Roswell. had to close down for 10 months,” he reactive.”
In 2014, Bowen and his girlfriend says. “I thought that was going to be the And make sure that capital lets you
Marnie Robinson made the 860-mile end of it.” buy your own arcade games. Artesia
trek, secured nancing from car dealer However, with help from a state nally stopped leasing its 28 games
Tate Branch, and began the Herculean grant, Artesia Lanes reopened. For a last year.
task of reopening Artesia Lanes — a job second time. “I wish I had done that years ago and
that consumed the rst four months. “We were busier than right before we taken a loan, because equipment was
“It took that long to clean everything, closed,” Bowen says. “It was awesome. so much cheaper.”
strip oors and wax oors,” he says. People wanted to get out.” As for building leagues, the personal
“ ere was dust everywhere. We had to Which they did. Open play boomed touch is critical. Bowen’s mom, Dortha
replace all the air conditioners.” and leagues grew. Some ll the house, Melton, is a tireless caller. When a
And, of course, there was the back like the aptly named “Roadrunner” bowler answers an ad on a yer or
end. league, a women’s doubles loop; the social media, Dortha is on the phone
“I got so lucky to nd someone to four-man Monday night Commercial minutes after she sees it.
work on the machines (Ron Che- and even the summer PBA Experience Summer in New Mexico brings
nowith, who had been with the previ- leagues. Artesia gets regulars from Ros- triple-digit temperatures, which begs
ous owner). “He went through them well and Carlsbad, and one team from the question: Do folks come into Artesia
all and cleaned them out and changed Hobbs drives some 80 miles each way. Lanes for the air conditioning?
parts.” e pizza, burgers and fries at Anna’s “Actually, no,” says Bowen. “It’s the
After four months and a ton of elbow Café were a hit, as were the beer, wine bowling, the food and the camaraderie.”
grease, Artesia Lanes reopened to a very and wine-based mixed drinks. Just what a small desert town
enthusiastic community. But it took ve e high school teams are an inter- needed.

72 • BCM • JULY 2024 www.bcmmag.com

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