Wii Wielding Seniors Let the Good Times Roll

Amid hooting and hollering and crashing of pins, Helen Bowers calmly took aim and drilled a strike.

"OK, little baby!" said Bowers, 85, pumping her fist. Satisfied, she took her seat in the dining-room-turned-bowling-alley of Walker at Hazel Ridge Senior Community in Maplewood.

Bowers is one of a dozen or so residents at the center who have formed a Wednesday Wii bowling league. Players use the Wii's candy-bar-sized remote control to mimic the delivery of the ball. They "play" on a 109-inch jumbo TV screen bought with money raised by students from North High School — the seniors and students have formed a relationship.

"There's bingo and exercise and game night, but let me tell you, everyone here gets pumped about the bowling," said Maryann Schaefer, assistant director of housing at Hazel Ridge.

"The arms are swinging, and everyone gets a nice workout," she said, adding that she is in negotiations with a local retailer to sponsor the Hazel Ridge teams with bowling shirts.

— Richard Marshall, Pioneer Press 06/18/2008

2730 Hazelwood Street · Maplewood, MN 55109
Phone: (651) 779-9779 · Fax: (651) 779-1827
Email: mschaefer@walkermethodist.org

Maryann Schaefer
Director of Marketing

I invite you to come in and visit our friendly community! Call me today for your personal visit and tour. (651) 779-9779