The building was coming apart, but the sign had not yet surrendered.
Above the twisted metal, broken masonry and demolition debris, the familiar Swiss Lanes name and oversized bowling pin still stood against a clear blue sky. Below it, a skid steer worked alongside what remained of the bowling alley at 1019 Highway 69 in New Glarus.
The photograph, taken during the building’s demolition in 2017, captured the final physical moments of a business that had been part of New Glarus for more than half a century.
The bowling alley opened on Sept. 10, 1959 — nine years to the day after the couple married on Sept. 10, 1950. When Swiss Lanes celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009, Clayton and Betty were still closely identified with the business they had built together.
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