The House that Friendliness Built
I have a faded copy of a newspaper article about Delton Lanes.
I will do my best to type it for you..
Title: “The House that Friendliness Built”
“We just keep trying to make the Delton Recreation Center the best family meeting place, next to our church, in the entire valley”. – Milton Orr The Orrs are keeping their word.
Back in July 1958 the first Grand opening of the Delton bowl, Steve Nagy one of the top stars for Brunswick, rolled the first ball down Alley Number 3 of the 12 Alley house in Granger
“It took an awful lot of guts for a guy who knew nothing about bowling and had been a railroad-worker and grain mill operator most of his life to open a bowling alley. The one big asset I had was that I like people, and most of all I like to see people happy. In our house we stress that importance of pleasing the customers. They have always come first with us. We bend over backwards to please all our customers”. Milton Orr stated with a gleam in his eye.
The Orr’s owned the property on 3600 West where the first 12 alley were put in, in 1958. “the Granger area in those days was a small almost farming community. Dad could see the advantage of growing with the town. The high school was just up the street and the Jr. high north of our alleys. We realized the need for a recreation center in Granger and felt that a good wholesome, clean and properly operated spot would get the support of the towns people. Boy were we right,but it took a lot of hard work. The first 2 ½ years we all put time and money into the business. We all worked two jobs0 the grain mill and the bowling alley. We were paid for the mill work, but the bowling alley time was for the good of the cause. It started to pay off and one by one we had to put in our full time here”. Max Orr stated.
Six brothers- Dean, Brent, Scott, Gary, Max and Dick are now full time operators of the center. More room was needed and more money was needed to do the job. At this point Uncle Al Warr was recruited into the corporation. Al is married to Milton Orr’s sister and he is the brother of Della Orr, the mother of all these boys. This makes the group and that much closer, and with the addition of Uncle Al, his wife, Lenore and their son, Ron, the group was complete.
Bob Strampe Rolls First Ball- Just 6 years after the first 12 alley operation opening, another Brunswick bowling star rolled the first ball down Alley No 3 in the new 24 alley, Delton Bowl. In August 1964, Bob Strampe from the Brunswick staff was here in Salt Lake to help the Orrs open their new recreation center.
Bowling is the No 1 priority at Delton, but a well-lit Billiard room, one of the finest cafes in the area and a very nice lounge make this an outstanding family center.
“We don’t have a pro-shop” continued Max, “because we just want to have people come in here to have fun”.
Milton Orr and Al Warr- Delton Lanes Executives
“The name “Delton” is made up from the first part of Mother’s name Della and the last part of Dad’s Milton” – Scott reported.
“All the boys bowl except Brent. Gary is the best at this time with a 187 average, Dick has a 183 and Scott’s 181”. Mr Orr stated. “We feel that bowling is more than a way to get some exercise. We know that it is a character builder, and I have 25 grandchildren who comprise 4 of our Jr. League teams that get a little more character every Saturday morning. They learn sportsmanship, competitive spirit, temper control and how to win and to lose. This I think is what makes this business so great”, he concluded.
If the Orrs have their way, another 24 alley recreation center is bound to be built somewhere in the Salt Lake Valley. They are looking very hard for just such a spot. There is every possibility that it is closer than one might think. The people who live in the selected area will be the benefactors of a good operating team of men with the right attitude about bowling.
