Man Discovers 158 Brunswick Bowling Balls Behind His Home

As odd as it may sound, it’s a true story. David Olson who lives in Norton Shores purchased his home a couple years ago. He decided to do some upgrades and began demolishing cement steps in the backyard of his home. Then he dug up a bowling ball.

And then another, and yet even more bowling balls were found. Olson had a hard time believing that he dug up 158 Brunswick bowling balls in his backyard. It took him four hours to dig up his bowling ball bounty.

“It almost seemed like I wasn’t even having to do work. I was more like digging for treasure,” Olson said. Most of the bowling balls don’t have finger holes and many are unpolished. But some are engraved with the Brunswick logo and labeled as “Black Beauty” or “Starline.” One polished ball with a blue and black swirl seemed to have no imperfections.

Olson is thinking the homeowner who built the house back in 1959 procured the scrap bowling balls from the old Brunswick factory in Muskegon. The owner used the balls as filler in his yard under the dirt. He still has a back patio at his home that still has a grid of balls, he’s assuming at this point that his yard is full of them.
Brunswick Bowling Products had a factory in the area that opened in 1906, manufacturing bowling balls and equipment until the early 2000s when they moved it to Mexico. At one time Muskegon County was a hub for bowling manufacturing.

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It was a way to use Brunswick's waste products to fill a space, probably a lot cheaper than having dirt hauled in. It’s kind of a crazy way to use bowling balls, but it served its purpose.

Read the original story at MLive