Neil Bingaman built White Oak Lanes in House Springs in 1978 and sold it in 1998, but in the 20 years between, the bowling alley did more than host leagues and parties, it spun friendships, sometimes families and served as a gathering place for residents and neighbors all along the Hwy. 30 corridor.
The bowling alley has been vacant since 2000 when an ice storm brought down the roof, but many local residents still have fond memories from its heyday.
About 170 of those people came out to reconnect with long lost friends and reminisce about their days at the bowling alley at the White Oak Lanes Reunion held Nov. 5 at Deer Creek Golf and Event Center in House Springs.
“We were there when it started and there when it finished, and we’d still be there if it was still there, said former bowler Jerry Torrence of House Springs.
“It was the hub of the community,” Sherry Bumann of Hillsboro said. “That’s where I met my husband Vence.”
“I bowled there for years, and I was a DJ at the bar, said Keith Woods. “I haven’t seen some of these people in 25 years.”
A new venture in 1978
Neil, who now lives in House Springs, said he decided to build a bowling alley when the company he worked for, a paint supply house, moved out of St. Louis.
His son, Brian Bingaman of Cedar Hill, however, said his dad brought skills to the table from another job, as regional manager for Coast to Coast Hardware, that helped make the bowling alley a success.
“He was in charge of deciding where to put new stores, and he used those skills when he decided where to put the bowling alley, Brian said. He chose House Springs because it was six miles from Cedar Hill and close to Eureka.”
That kind of planning helped him get a Small Business Administration loan, Neil said.
“I made a package. They want to know where your primary market is and your secondary market. It was all in there, and they approved the loan,” he said.
Formerly from Arnold, Bingaman partnered with Dave Randolph who owned Arnold Bowl to build White Oak Lanes, Neil said.
“We bought 14 acres on Hwy. 30,” he said. “People thought I was crazy building up on that hill. We used a lot of dynamite and did a lot of bulldozing and I became proficient at both.”
The investment paid off. From the time White Oak Lanes opened until the day Neil sold it, balls were rolling, food was frying and music was playing.
“It paid for itself the whole way,” Neil said.
House Springs, however, was new territory for the Bingaman family, Brian said.
“We were from Arnold. I went to Fox and played football. My sister went to Fox and was a cheerleader. My dad was an Arnold councilman and mayor pro tem. We didn’t know anybody (in House Springs),” Brian said. “Our customers became our family.”
In the 70s, Neil said, House Springs was like the last frontier in Jefferson County, a rural place with very few entertainment opportunities for families.
“White Oak Lanes was like an oasis,” he said.
Neil said he worked hard to keep it that way, befriending local Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies, state troopers and even taking 640 hours of law enforcement training himself.
Brian said officers always felt welcome at White Oak Lanes.
“We were friends of police officers, and sometimes on the holidays it would be just our family at the lanes,” he said. “The deputies and troopers that were on duty knew that everything else was closed, but we were there, and they would come by and have dinner with us.”
The bowling alley also served as a destination during deer season.
“All the wives of deer hunters would come in that weekend,” Neil said.
White Oak Lanes also made room for community groups. The High Ridge Rotary, the Optimists Club, the Jefferson County Women’s Professional Association all held meetings at the bowling alley, Neil said.
In any given month, there were probably 2,000 to 2,500 people come through the doors, he said.
“It was quite a place, a busy place,” he said.
The reunion
On Nov. 5, many of those people came back. The reunion of White Oak patrons and employees went off without a hitch, and people gathered to have appetizers and drinks and talk.
Neil got a little teary-eyed after he saw the number of people who came out for the party. “This is a reunion of White Oak Lanes – employees, friends, customers, acquaintances, everyone that had something to do with White Oak,” he said.
Mel Harper of Cedar Hill started working the desk taking payment for games and giving out shoes at White Oak part time after he retired. He worked there four years.
He and his wife, Kathy, said on days when White Oak would put on a dinner, people would come all the way from St. Clair to bowl and eat. The couple made a lot of friends.
“We miss it so much,” Kathy said.
Vence Bumann, who was a sheriff’s deputy when he spent time at White Oak Lanes, said he once killed a copperhead on the steps.
“He was trespassing, so I got him,” he said.
Priscilla McRoberts of Fenton said it wasn’t all about bowling.
“Some of us girls who didn’t bowl took (swing) dance lessons in the lounge,” she said.
McRoberts said she and friends danced in the lounge for years.
“We were the girls dancing in the lounge,” she said.
Jim Price said he spent some time almost every day at the lanes.
He said he had a 190 average, and bowled an 800 series and was in White Oak’s Hall of Fame.
“I’m here to celebrate the bowling alley,” he said. “It was handy for me and full of friendly people, all kinds of good people. We miss it.”
Those in attendance voted to hold another reunion next year, Neil said.
