91-year-old joins the 500 club

Looking for something to do a long time ago, a middle-aged Elaine Brisky figured she would call up her local bowling alley.

That was the late 1970s.

Brisky has enjoyed the hobby ever since.

“I started bowling when I was 50,” Brisky said with a laugh.

The Mequon resident has bowled with the same group the entire time, the Wednesday Afternoon Ladies at Cedars III in Cedarburg.

She remembers once bowling a 243 at Circle B in the Town of Cedarburg, but never eclipsed a 500 series, at least until two weeks ago.

Brisky bowled a 152-201-148 to sneak over the mark with a 501.

But she wasn’t counting pins.

“I didn’t know that until the end of the thing,” she said. “It was great.”

Brisky is the 10th of 13 children, 11 of whom lived into their 90s.

But she isn’t even the oldest or longest-tenured bowler at Cedars III. That title belongs to 92-year-old Mary Forncrook of Cedarburg. She started in a night league and moved to afternoons in the mid-1970s.

“When I first started, it was about half this size,” she said of the facililty.

Forncrook said she doesn’t remember if she ever bowled a 500 series, but if she did it would have been long ago.

This league is more of a social gathering than a competitive environment.“Oh my goodness, yes — strictly social,” Brisky said.

“Nobody cares if you have a 100 average or a 150 average. It’s just a good group.”

Forncrook agrees.

“It’s just real friendly,” she said.

Brisky’s daughter Elizabeth has been in the league about a decade. She lives down the street in Cedarburg from her mother, who lives alone and drives.

“Her mobility is incredible,” Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth has never bowled a 500 series. Her average is 104, but she had bowled a 202 this season that she said was “strictly luck.” During the league’s final day on April 18, she rolled a 240, but it was 9-pin tap format.

“My main thing is getting 100,” she said.

The league does have some impressive bowlers. Jodie Wolf of Grafton used to be in the Milwaukee Women’s Bowling Association. She has rolled a 50 series and taught her children how to bowl. Her daughter and son-in-law each have a 300 game to their credit, but not Wolf.

“Now they can teach me how to bowl,” she said with a laugh.

Wolf said she remembers setting pins while her boyfriend held her hand at a bowling alley at Saron Church in Milwaukee when she was younger.

“I used to be a lot better,” she said.

Now, Wolf wants to qualify for the U.S. Senior Olympics and for the national competition in Albuquerque, N.M.

But this league, which runs from September through mid-April — it takes off for the holidays — isn’t at that level.

“It’s a super fun league,” Wolf said.

Cedars III owner Jeff Wrobbel confirms that.

“Not so serious,” he said.

“Sometimes bowling gets a little serious. They all have a good time. They’re all very nice.”

Wrobbel puts out free coffee and water for the ladies. Sometimes, he gets an order or two for beer.

“Not very often,” he said.

“They behave themselves.”

The league is comprised of three-member teams and is looking for members and substitutes. For more information, call Cedars III at 377-3110.