Turkey bowlers roll strikes

MASSENA — People lined up at the St. Lawrence Centre Arena to try their hand at turkey bowling Sunday. It's a combination of three American traditions: Thanksgiving, bowling and ice skating.

A 12-pound frozen turkey served as the bowling ball, which skaters aimed at 12 pins set up on the ice. The prize for the top two best scorers is a free (but not bowled) Thanksgiving turkey donated by Hannaford Superstore.

"This has been a tradition since the arena opened," said Erich M. Ober, supervisor of the rink inside the Massena mall. "People always like to come out and do it."

Most of the contestants this year were determined children. They hefted the rock-hard bird, either by grabbing the handles of plastic grocery bags wrapped around it or by hugging it to their chests.

Then came the hard part — bowling the heavy turkey. They dropped it, slid it and even hurled it. But many toppled over or spun around completely from their efforts. Teenage assistants helped them up to try again.

"It's so hard for the little kids, but they're so fun to watch," Mr. Ober said.

Jayson C. and Billie Jo Peets of Massena waited for their children to give it a shot before bowling the turkey themselves. They both had strikes — which elicited cheers from the small crowd.

The husband and wife won two turkeys, but they said they actually already had two birds ready for Thanksgiving in their freezer at home.

"We already have two, so we're going to donate the turkeys to St. Vincent de Paul (Society) in Massena," Mr. Peets said.

As for the competition's bowling ball, that bird will go back into the freezer to be used again next year. The arena has used the same turkey for the past four or five years, Mr. Ober said.

"Well, there's no reason to waste a perfectly good turkey every year," he said, laughing. "Actually, this would probably be the most tender turkey you've ever eaten."