It didn’t dawn on me at the time that the man I met a couple of months ago was that North Shore bowling king pin.
But of course it was him. It had to be.
A few years ago, North Shore News reporter Jeremy Shepherd and photographer Mike Wakefield teamed up to produce one of the most delightful features I’ve encountered in my years here at the paper.
The story described North Shore Bowl, a North Vancouver bowling alley that opened in 1961 and appears to have rolled along untouched ever since. Maybe in their nearly 60 years of business they’ve changed a light bulb or two. Maybe. It’s glorious.
But it wasn’t the varnished lanes that shone brightest in the feature. It was the alley’s proprietor, Richard Grubb, a former national champion who started as the assistant manager of North Shore Bowl in 1983 and has owned the place since the late ’90s. In the article we see him making jokes with the regulars, making jokes with the delivery guy, making jokes with the reporter, making jokes with someone who dialed the wrong number and called the alley looking for “Sean.”
“We’ve had the same phone number for 55 years,” he says. “This is a five-pin bowling centre. You wanna bowl?”
He’s not just making jokes, though. He’s making sure there are lanes set aside for a weekly Special Olympics game. He’s making every kid who comes in for a birthday party feel special. He’s making the effort, no matter how busy it gets, to try to greet as many people as possible who come into the alley with at least a “Hi.”
The bowling alley, like an old lawn chair with bad springs, has always seemed to be on the verge of closing. The North Shore News has been mentioning its pending demise – an old business model swallowed up by new developments – for years now, but it has rolled on.
There are no diehard bowlers in my family, but we’ve been a few times. The last time we went was in late February, for my youngest son’s birthday. Grandma and Grandpa came along, one of the last times we all hung out as a group before COVID-19 shut everything down. We bowled and played video games, ate Cheezies and chips purchased for the prehistoric price of $1 per bag. The man behind the counter complimented my boys on their politeness and consideration when they returned their shoes to the front desk. He told them as a reward for their good behaviour they could each pick out a chocolate bar for free. A hero for life.
When it came time to pay, my dad took out his credit card – Grandma and Grampa are extremely generous with my family, one of the main reasons we are able to go out and have fun in this very expensive city – but this time I waved him off. He’s my kid, it’s his birthday – I’ve got this one.
It was one of those subtle family conversations that one conducts in public but hopes to remain private. The man behind the counter at the bowling alley didn’t say anything about it. He chuckled when I handed in my score card, said we’d counted wrong and my older son had actually beaten me. He told me the secret was safe with him.
Then he took out a set of coupons and slipped them to me: four free games. Come back again and bowl with your family, he said. But don’t wait too long. We’re closing for good soon. It absolutely made my day, that little kindness.
A couple of weeks ago word came to the newspaper from Mr. Grubb’s daughter. He was retiring for good. Seriously this time. The bowling alley has been shut down by COVID-19, and if and when it reopens, Mr. Grubb, now in his mid-70s, won’t be coming back. Maybe a new operator will come in, his daughter said, but whenever bowling makes it back to North Vancouver, Mr. Grubb won’t be the one behind the desk.
I put out a little note on our Facebook page re-sharing that feature Jeremy Shepherd wrote a couple of years ago and asked if anyone else wanted to add any memories. We were bowled over by the responses.
“Richard has always been a fixture – and always good with a witty comeback or sarcastic remark. He’s a real beauty.”
“Mr. Grubb used to call my Grandmother his girlfriend!! LOL. So many memories I hate to see it go!! Thank you, Mr. Grubb!”
“I hope Richard enjoys retirement. He deserves all the happiness.”
Reading those comments it became clear to me that yes, of course the man who made my day was the same who had made the days of likely thousands of other patrons for nearly 40 years.
COVID-19 has taken a lot from us, but one thing I miss the most is those little kindnesses, those moments when a stranger becomes a friend, if only for few seconds as you bond over the idiosyncracies of human life. It’s harder to share a wry smile behind a face mask.
Harder, but not impossible.
And at times like these it’s more important than ever to make those connections wherever you can. What better response is there to a bouncer at the front door of a grocery store than a wry smile?
I’m keeping those bowling coupons. I may never get to play that free game, but it doesn’t matter. We all got more than our money’s worth.
Andy Prest is sports editor for the North Shore News. His humour/lifestyle column runs biweekly. [email protected]
