Atwood Bowling Alleys, 2164 Atwood Ave., 1920 – 1950

Atwood Bowling Alleys, 2164 Atwood Ave., 1920-1950

Bill Freund opened the Atwood Bowling Alleys about 1920. He was born in Germany and lived in Madison for 66 years (1886-1952). He died (June 7, 1952) from injuries suffered when he was struck by a car on University Avenue.

Bill’s son Carl “Cully” Freund (1907-1995) attended Central and Edgewood high schools. His bowling career started under the watchful eyes of his father, Bill Freund, who operated the Atwood Alleys at the corner of Atwood and Dunning streets until 1929 when Cully took over the establishment and was “the resident pro” until 1950.

Cully was a member of the Madison Bowling Association and was installed in the Bowlers Hall of Fame in 1979.

Upon the sale of the Atwood Alleys, Cully was employed by the Madison Parks Department until his retirement in 1972. While with the Parks Department he was a starter at the Monona and Yahara Hills golf courses, where his pleasant personality endeared him to may golfers. While never an outstanding golfer he did have a hole-in-one at the Monona course.

-Ann Waidelich

 Jerry Lynch contributed a memory of the Atwood Alleys to An East Side Album:

 “The pins were set by hand. I did that for a couple of winters when I wasn’t very old. There were hand cranks that you had to pull down to set the pins. You had to pick up all the pins by hand. You had to sit in the thing and you had to take care of two alleys. You kept your legs up in the air, otherwise they would get broken because there would be people who would start throwing the bowling ball a little early and make you jump.”