Wow. We still can't quite believe it. Seventy years.

Back in 1956, my father-in-law, Woody Cockrell, came home after 21 years of service in the U.S. Navy and decided what this town really needed was a bowling alley. He and his partner, Bob Lineburg, built an eight-lane center on Midway Boulevard — and Woody's son, my husband Tom, was right there beside him, hauling cement blocks at just 13 years old to help bring it to life.

Tom and I got married in 1973, and by 1976 we had the honor of buying the business from his parents, Woody and Millie. We added onto the building and grew from 8 lanes all the way up to 16, and today we've settled into a full 12 lanes alongside our arcade.

Oak Bowl has always been a symbol of family. Woody and Millie's twin daughters, Carolyn and Marylyn, helped out at the alley growing up right alongside Tom. Years later, all four of our own children — Crystal, Coreen, Marcy, and Karie — worked here too, along with so many of their friends. So many first jobs and so many fun memories happened on these lanes, and Oak Bowl has always been one of the best places to meet a lifelong friend or lifelong partner. Oak Bowl has seen many relationships blossom into marriages right on our lanes!

We've bowled through pin boys, automatic scoring, new urethane lanes, and now string pin setters. We've changed our menu many times over the years, from steak and seafood, to somewhere around the late '80s or '90s, adding a pizza oven that's become part of who we are. We still have long-time customers who've moved away from Whidbey and made the drive back just to say hello — and to enjoy a plate of our garlic rolls!

We couldn't have done it without our longtime friend and best man at our wedding, John Youngsman, who served as our manager for many years.

We are so grateful that our daughter, Karie, loves this place as much as we do. She's an amazing woman who pours her heart into Oak Bowl every single day. And our grandson Kedrick, who just turned 16, is already working alongside her with dreams of becoming a pro bowler.

So many people have walked through our doors over these seventy years — customers, employees, friends, family. We often think about everyone who has been part of this journey, including those who are no longer with us, and how much we would love to share this celebration with them too. Since we can't, we're so grateful to celebrate instead with all of you, who have carried their memory and this place forward with us.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to every past and present employee, to every customer who has ever rolled a frame here, and to our family and friends who have supported us every step of the way.

Here's to 70 wonderful years — and to all the memories still ahead of us.