At least once a week, you can see soon-to-be 95-year old Alice Small at the South Hill Bowling Centre, socializing with her group of friends and engaging in a fun round of bowling.
She is part of a group of women, a mixture of seniors and younger women who get together once a week to enjoy one of their favourite pastimes, bowling. They call themselves the Newcomers League who regularly peruse the bowling alley to catch up with each other and have a fun time.
Alice, whose heartwarming smile will brighten your day, has been bowling since 1955 and still loves to play the game today. Bowling is part of Alice’s fitness routine which she credits for her good health.
The Express caught up with Alice at the bowling alley and got a chance to see her play the game she loves ss dearly.
“I started bowling in 1955 when my family was young. I enjoyed bowling so much, I had to continue doing it and I still enjoy it even after all these years,” Alice said with a lit-up smile.
Alice has lived in Moose Jaw all her life, except for a few years during the war. She has however, travelled across Canada in her younger years participating in bowling league competitions. Although she just plays for fun now, she says she enjoyed her competitive years, primarily because of the friendships she has developed over the years.
“One of the reasons that I love bowling so much is the friendships I’ve developed from just doing the activity. I’ve got to know so many different people over the years and I’ve done a lot of bowling trips through the allies here. We used to go all over Canada to bowl and I enjoyed every bit of it.”
Alice will celebrate her 95th birthday on January 10.
“I will be 95 next month and I still love coming to the alley with my friends to have a great time bowling. We meet once every week and we have lots of fun. We don’t care too much about the scores, as long as we have fun! We have a nice sociable time. There’s about 10 of us this year in the group,” she added.
She says being active as a senior is very important because it provides a better quality of life. She encourages others to do the same.
“I’ve enjoyed my life; I do a lot of exercises which I credit my good health with and I have a lot of hobbies to keep me very busy. I do crafts, knitting, needle work, a lot of reading and puzzles,” she said. “Keeping active and busy really gives you a different outlook on life in general. It gives you something to look forward to instead of sitting in a room doing nothing. It is also good to socialize with people and enjoy activities.”
In addition to having an active lifestyle, Alice shares some of her skills with other senior residents to help them keep active as well.
“I’ve been going to Timothy Eaton for years where I taught a fitness program there for almost 30 years. I still lead a fitness class at the seniors’ home where I am once a week. I have a group of about 12 to 15 people who come and do the exercises, sitting in their chair. We do light impact exercises, stretching and moving.”
