Candlepin Bowling is essential New England, just ask the couple that bought Cape Ann Lanes
- caitlin53
- May 21
- 3 min read
James E. Kukstis
Nic and Caitlin Pszenny have owned Cape Ann Lanes in Gloucester since 2016 — but their history with the 63-year old candlepin bowling alley goes back much further than that.
"I've bowled there for a long time in a league with some of my family," Nic said. "My dad has taken us bowling since, pretty much since we could walk. Caitlin and I used to spend pretty much every Saturday night there, that was our spot to go after dinner, we'd always go bowling."
Their love story became even more inextricably tied to the bowling alley shortly after they took ownership: the couple held their wedding reception there in late 2016.
Caitlin and Nic Pszenny celebrate at their 2016 wedding reception at Cape Ann Lanes in Gloucester shortly after they purchased the candlepin bowling establishment.
Candlepin bowling, unique to New England and the Canadian Maritime Provinces, has likely played a part in countless more love stories over the past 140 years, and though its popularity was contained to this part of the world, it's a quirky, timeless aspect of New England history.
What about it is so New England? Caitlin has an idea:
"I always like to say, because we're from New England, we like to make everything harder on ourselves, so that means skinnier pins and smaller balls."
Where to go Candlepin bowling: A guide to where to try the Massachusetts pastime
Back to the beginning of candlepin bowling
Candlepin bowling's invention is typically credited to Justin White, the owner of a billiards hall and bowling alley, in Worcester in the 1880s. John Monsey, a native of Hadley, was responsible for the standardization and spread of the game.
Monsey founded the National Duckpin and Candlepin Congress in the early 20th century to regulate things like the size of the pins and the balls and the makeup of the bowling surface, leading to the growth of leagues and formalizing competitions between bowlers.
John Turcios bowls candlepin at Cape Ann Lanes in Gloucester on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022.
For the first half century of the sport's history, pins were set manually by workers positioned at the end of each lane. This changed in 1947, when two lawyers, Howard Dowd and Lionel Barrow, invented an automatic pinsetter they named the "Bowl-Mor," a term that made its way into the name of many bowling alleys as they adopted the new technology.
A whole new level of exposure came in the 1950s when Boston area television stations began airing candlepin games under the name "Candlepin Bowling;" the show aired from 1958 to 1996. Another popular show, "Candlepins for Cash," aired from 1973 to 1980.
An unachievable perfect score
A perfect game of candlepin bowling requires a score of 300, a feat that has never been accomplished on the record. The highest sanctioned score, 245, was first achieved back in 1984 by Ralph Semb of Erving, a feat duplicated in 2011 by Haverhill's Chris Sargent.
Wesley Smith, 3, looks on as Dave DiPietro bowls a string of candlepins at Cape Ann Lanes in Gloucester on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022.
Caitlin Pszenny said the sport's combination of difficulty in strategy and relative physical ease has contributed to its ongoing popularity.
"It's fun to be able to beat your score the next time," she said. "No one in candlepin has ever gotten a 300 game, even though theoretically it's possible. So it is a lot more challenging and I think it's fun to be able to keep working at it and try different ways to do it and keep getting better and better."
Caitlin said candlepin is easier on the body than tenpin bowling, even though it's a harder game.
Don't have your own bowling shoes? You can always rent some. Here are the rental shoes lined up by size at Cape Ann Lanes in Gloucester.
"It's not a huge heavy ball," she said. "So I feel like it's more accessible for everyone from ages 1 to 100."
Nic offered some tips for improving your game:
"Don't try and spin it," he said. "You want to throw the ball as straight as possible, but at a slight offset from the head pin. So for me, as a righty, I aim for the one pin, three pin pocket."