34^th Annual State Mixed Championships opened on April 14^th.

As part of the opening ceremonies, an Ethel Bowler and a Joe Bowler are selected at random to roll the first balls in the event.  To add a little competition in the event, the person having the higher pin fall would receive a bottle of wine, the lesser – a bottle of beer.

 Heidi Nelson from Lake City was selected as “Ethel Bowler”. This was the second year that she has competed in the tournament. Heidi stated ”I never win anything! The only prize in my life is my husband Larry.” Heidi’s shot was “fair” – knocking down 7 pins

“Joe Bowler” was Bill Reichling from Park Rapids. This was also his second year of competition in the tournament. Bill commented “This tournament is REALLY a fun one now” Bill’s shot was a little off target – only getting five pins.

Bill stated he was at the opening ceremony last year and remembered the person having the lesser pin fall would receive the 2^nd prize  (a bottle of beer) AND then was given a bottle of wine also. Therefore, by letting “Ethel” win, I would receive two prizes. Hmmm! Do you “really” think he remembered that, OR did he just made a bad shot?

 Following the first shot event, the “thread the needle” contest was conducted. The Big 4 split was set up on each lane. The challenge was to have each member of the team roll BETWEEN the pins. EASY! Apparently not as easy as it sounds, because not a single team was successful in meeting the challenge.

 Apologize to Bill Reichling – wonders of modern technology (or dumb operator) his photo didn’t turn out.