The cause of an early Monday morning fire that destroyed a longtime nightspot in Central Missouri may never be known.
The fire at Rainbow Lanes Bowling Alley and Hooks Sports Bar on Mari Osa Delta Lane, near the Osage River, was reported just after 3 a.m. when an Osage County Sheriff's Department deputy drove by and saw flames.
Westphalia Fire Department Chief Jim Roark said flames were showing from one corner of the bowling alley when they arrived on the scene.
"It was pretty much fully involved when we got inside," he said. "After about two minutes inside we noticed the brick walls were cracking so we got out of the building. About a minute later the walls started to cave in and so we stayed outside and made a defensive attack of the fire."
Linn, Freeburg, Argyle and Osage Fire Protection District fire departments were called in to help.
"We called in Jefferson City with an aerial truck which helped, and we thought we had it contained to the bowling alley, but the fire spread to the roof and went over to the bar," Roark said.
Roark said they believe the fire started in a back corner of the bowling alley.
"The fire had been burning for a while before we got here," he said. "No one was inside, and the building was closed when we got here. No windows and few doors made it hard to get into the building."
The smoke from the fire rose high in the air and could be seen for several miles. Fire officials said the rubber and tar roof was extremely hard to extinguish.
Around 2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, the fire rekindled and what was left
standing of the bowling alley collapsed. The bar side of the structure was knocked down after flames on that side were extinguished.
Roark said officials with the state fire marshal's office believed that due to the amount of heat and structure damage the cause may never be determined.
According to their website, Rainbow Lanes served bowlers from Cole, Osage, Maries and Gasconade counties for more than 50 years. Spring leagues were scheduled to start in April.
Longtime customers expressed sadness that the landmark was gone.
"There's just a lot of memories there," said Vienna resident Mary Singleton, who grew up in Westphalia going to Rainbow Lanes once a week while her father bowled in a league almost 50 years ago, and participated in a league herself in the early 1980s. "When I bowled, it was just fun getting together with other women, just getting together with friends on your team and then meeting other people. I realized when I got older and started bowling why my parents did it - to relax, to get away and to get your mind off it all."
Other locals have similar experiences of watching their parents bowl at Rainbow Lanes then growing up to do the same.
"My mom, Pat Hilkemeyer, bowled on a league there in the 1960s. It was sponsored by my dad's business, Hilkemeyer & Co.," said Anne Steele of Westphalia. "I recall also bowling there in that league in the late 1970s. Back then, there were no automatic scoring machines and the score sheets were huge sheets of paper that were clipped to the desk at the lanes. Bowlers had to count their own pins knocked down and left standing and manually keep score - knowing how and when to add in the points for strikes and spares."
Several recalled the dedication of the bowling alley's original owners, Paul and Millie Schnieders, and of their son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Sandy Schnieders, who now own the business.
"(Paul) knew you by name, and he knew exactly which pair of shoes you always wanted," Singleton said.
"You'd never see Paul get mad. He was always there - it didn't matter what day of the week it was; Paul was always there.
"Mark, his son, was just like his dad, was just identical to his dad. Mark was always that way."
The Schnieders family has not specified yet whether they plan to rebuild Rainbow Lanes.
"I am going to miss that place and especially miss seeing the building standing there as I drive by it every day on my way into work," said Westphalia resident Lynn Hagenoff-Bock, who remembers her parents taking her to Rainbow Lanes then taking her own children there. "I hope that Mark rebuilds. It was the only family-oriented entertainment place around Osage County."
Singleton added: "Westphalia and that area needs a bowling alley. It's sad to see a landmark like that go because it's been there as long as I remember."