By Kristine Kern, Review Staff Writer
The Wilmont Rec Center was a popular place for entertainment for Wilmont residents and the surrounding communities since it opened in 1948 right up until it closed in 2013. Leagues gathered several times a week and the echo of pins falling (a few gutter balls) was a familiar sound. The attached café was a popular gathering spot where you could get a good meal and catch up on area news. In 1972 the city of Wilmont incorporated the center and operated the business as a recreation, cafe, bowling and youth center. For decades the Recreation Center was a main source of entertainment in the area.When the doors closed it seemed that the final chapter had been written for this piece of history. The building changed hands a couple of times, but nothing ever materialized as a business interest.
When Matt Morse, who lives northwest of Minneapolis in Crystal, saw the Wilmont Rec. Center for sale on CraigsList he thought, “it seemed too good to be true, but what the heck, doesn’t hurt to look.” He and his wife Rachel contacted the seller and took a day to travel down to Wilmont and take a look. He and Rachel laughed as they remember, “It was a mess! You could tell it hadn’t been used for a while,” but they could see the potential the place had with some work and a whole lot of elbow grease. Matt was especially excited by how good the bowling lanes had held up. Bowling is a passion for Matt who worked in the bowling industry for 15 years. He has found it disheartening to see the steady decline of the sport in the last 15 years. He has hated to see community centers like these closing and kids and adults miss out on learning this fun sport. Matt and Rachel spent the weekend debating the pros and cons of this endeavor. They both work full time in the cities, Matt at General Mills and Rachel at United Health Group. Matt has four children from a previous marriage; Cameron (9), Audrey (7), Mason (4), and Weston (3), could they fit this project into their already busy lives? But those bowling lanes kept creeping into Matt’s head! Finally, the couple shot the seller an offer which was countered by a lower offer and Matt and Rachel found themselves owners of a bowling alley, café and adjoining house. They have been traveling to Wilmont one or two weekends a month tackling the cleanup.
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