Bowling centers emerged largely unscathed from the wrath of Hurricane Helene, which caused widespread damage across the southeastern United States and devastated much of North Carolina’s western Appalachian region. A handful of centers in Florida, where the hurricane made landfall, experienced minor flooding, while many more were without power for several hours and shut down ahead of the storm to help keep employees out of harm’s way.
Helene, the fourth-deadliest storm to strike the U.S. since 1950, was responsible for 49 fatalities in South Carolina. Linda Gamble, proprietor of Paradise Lanes in Spartanburg and grandmother of 2024 Daroll and Dolores Frewing Scholarship recipient Azia Martin, told BPA of the Carolinas and Georgia Executive Director Reneé Dennis that her center was not damaged, but her home “took a big hit.”
Dozens of centers in North Carolina, including Northside Lanes in Winston-Salem, home of 2023 Frewing Scholarship recipient Aaliyah Friend, escaped damage but could not operate for several days because they were without power. Widespread phone and internet outages also caused business disruptions.
North Carolina was the hardest hit state with well over 200 fatalities and billions of dollars in damage, including to homes and businesses that did not carry flood insurance.
Asheville, for instance, received 9.87 inches of rain in just two days, causing massive flooding in the River Arts District and cutting off access from Interstate-26. Residents of rural and mountain communities in the region also found themselves isolated from the outside world for days. Geography provided much of the challenge for relief teams as the impacted area has fewer roads, fewer access points and fewer areas of flat ground for staging resources.
As is often the case when disaster strikes, members of the bowling community stepped up to help. Several North Carolina centers outside the damage zone collected donations of money and goods, including New Victory Lanes in Mooresville and Rainbow Lanes in Clayton.
Also stepping up was a center 840 miles away from hard-hit Ashville: Groton Bowling Center in Groton, Connecticut. Proprietors Bethany and Richard Hurne — who also offered long-distance assistance to Staten Island, New York, following Super Storm Sandy in 2012, when they owned a car repair business — said helping was just something they had to do.
“We have a close personal tie to the area because my husband and I sponsor and sometimes are crew members for a race car driver there,” Bethany told BCM. “That’s in Hickory, which is only about 45 minutes from Asheville. The area is beautiful — just stunning. So, when we saw what was happening, we couldn’t believe it, and we knew we had to do something.”
That something turned out to be something big. Calls were made to old friends and acquaintances. A flyer was put together. Truck owners offered their 18-wheelers and drivers offered their time. In a period of just five days, working with another local business, five big rigs staged in Groton Bowling Center’s parking lot were packed with generators, chain saws, palettes of water and countless other items. A company about an hour away donated and delivered a freshly made batch of granola to the center.
Each truck carried “at least 80,000 pounds” of donated items, according to Hurne. She noted that at least one truck was “probably overweight,” but a driver told her that the Department of Transportation “wasn’t really stopping anybody.”
The Hurnes acquired their bowling center in 2019 — just in time to face a state-mandated three-month shutdown prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The couple was able to keep all its employees on the payroll during that time, and even found a way to raise $30,000 for local food banks.
“It was a scary time because we had a big new mortgage, but we got through it and understand what it’s like to face adversity,” Hurne said. “So, if we have a chance to help people in need, we’re going to do it.”
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