Fire claims Shelton's Timber Bowl and cafe

Alley owners seek volunteers, hope to reopen lanes

By Tony Overman | The Olympian • Published November 23, 2008

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SHELTON – An early-morning fire spread through the attic of a 60-year-old downtown Shelton building Saturday, destroying Mason County's only bowling alley, the Timber Bowl, and its Lucky Strike Cafe.

"There's nothing left," Shelton assistant fire chief Dave Salzer said.

The fire was reported as smoke coming from the attic at 1:18 a.m., shortly after the bowling alley closed following the weekly "Rock & Bowl" family night. Firefighters were unable to safely enter the attic, which had become engulfed in flames, Salzer said. Firefighters then focused on saving the neighboring buildings, he said.

Bowling alley owners Dale Due and Jim Liebach say they hope to rebuild the bowling alley, which they had acquired in a lease-to-purchase agreement in July.

"We were just getting a little headway," Due said as he watched the demolition and cleanup Saturday morning. "We just re-did the lanes. We just got glow-in-the-dark shoes for Rock & Bowl."

Due said he is seeking any help to get the business restarted. The owners had insurance, "but you're never sure how good it is until you call and say 'Our building just burned down'." He seeks volunteers to help with clean-up of the old building, as well as design and construction of a new building.

"There are a lot of memories in that building," said Susan Parsons, who, along with her sister, Stephanie White, inherited the building their family had owned since the 1970s.

"We grew up here. This was our home."

The building was a car dealership in the 1940s, then was converted into a four-lane bowling alley in the early 1950s, Due said.

Over time, more bowling lanes were added eventually totaling 16 lanes. The building also housed a full restaurant and bar.

"People would come in for breakfast, then go out and bowl," Due said. "We had Rock & Bowl at night so the kids would have something to do and keep off them off the streets and out of trouble."

The fire burned for several hours, forcing the closure of state Route 3 through downtown Shelton. Traffic was diverted to the City Center Exit off U.S. Highway 101. By late morning, some traffic was allowed onto Route 3.

"It was almost a historical monument in this town," Salzer said. "It's been here so long."

Tony Overman can be reached at 360-754-5467.or toverman@theolympian.com.