Family Bonding: Every Single Friday For The Carsonville Kids On The Olivette Lanes

Stop by mid-day any given Friday at Olivette Lanes and you will see a very familiar sight on lane No. 3.

The Zimmerman family takes up residence on those particulars lanes. But this is no ordinary family gathering. Arnold “Ray” Zimmerman, 86, Emma Zimmerman, 85, and little sister Frieda Oligschlaeger, 83 have kept bowling in the family nearly their entire collective adult life.

“It keeps the legs in shape,” said Emma, grabbing her ball for another toss in round two.

The Zimmerman clan arrives late each Friday morning, has lunch together, (plain hamburgers and fries delivered lane side) then they bowl their three prescribed games and leave.

Their precision on the lanes is something to marvel as they pick up strikes and spares with ease.

So why do they always bowl on Lane 3? No particular reason they all claimed.

Not trusting the overhead scoring devices, they keep score in tiny spiral notebooks.

The girls have been bowling since their teen years, mostly at the long ago-closed Ferguson Lanes. The three got together often at Strike ‘N Spare in Creve Coeur, now closed before moving over to Olivette.

All three live in their own homes in North County. Ray lives in Overland; Emma in Ferguson and Freida in Bel-Ridge (formally known as Carsonville).

“Call us the Carsonville kids,” said Emma as the other two shared a hearty laugh.

Each drives their own car, Ray and Emma cut their own lawns, Freida has a yard service to do hers. “Oh, I use a riding mower,” said Ray, conceding to his age.

Two of the three, Emma and Ray were born in Peoria, Il., Freida in St. Louis. All three attended Normandy High School, Emma graduating in 1944 and Freida in 1946. Ray dropped out of high school at age 16 to become a sheet metal worker and then joined the Navy in 1944 at age 18.

He saw duty in the Aleutian Islands, Hawaii, the Philippines and was in China when World War II ended. He was a Seabee (road and bridge builders) and spent six months at Pearl Harbor, two years after the Japanese nearly wiped it off the face of the earth.

Emma was a clerk typist for the Souter Corporation in Wellston for 48 years before retiring in 1992.

These days, enjoying retirement, the Zimmermans spend a lot of time with their children and grandchildren. When Ray isn’t bowling and the weather is good, he often fishes for trout at Meramec Springs Park with his oldest daughter.

Freida’s only concession to age is she wears a wrap on her wrist. She broke her arm around Christmas and is still getting extensive therapy.

The other two claim that Freida’s the best bowler.

Emma, who’d rather listen to Lawrence Welk music than the B’ Bop stuff piped over the closed circuit system at Olivette Lanes enjoys watching lots of Cardinal baseball. She claims to having only seen one live game at the old Sportsman’s Park in North St. Louis

These three bring their own bag full of shoes and ball and towels to Olivette Lanes.

Ray says the exercise is good, and plans on bowling well into his 90s. “My doctor in Clayton tells me he hopes to be in as good a shape when he gets to my age.”

By the way, their scores are quite impressive.

Despite miscuing with a gutter ball on the first attempt in the 10th and final frame of game 3, Ray threw a 131. Freida had a 125 and Emma 115. No matter to any of them. They come out Friday strictly for the family fellowship and some good exercise to boot.

Getting together each week on the Olivette Lanes for the Carsonville kids is a really big deal.