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Last Updated: Mar 31, 2009 - 2:29:20 PM |
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Dean DeBrower prepares to shoot during a game of rolle bolle at Boone’s Backwater Bar in Koszta. Behind him are Jeff and Greg DeBrower. Dean’s father taught him how to play when he was eight years old. Mitch Traphagen Photo
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KOSZTA - It has been around since Reformation in Europe as a game of both chance and skill. Nearly five centuries later, it lives on as a bit of both. The skill level of the players is obvious, the chance primarily can be found in the rituals and idiosyncrasies of both the players and the game. And just as it has been passed down through the centuries, rolle bolle has largely been passed down through families. Children pick it up after watching their parents play – and so it goes.
Rolle bolle is very much alive in East Iowa.
Boone’s Backwater Bar in Koszta is the local center of the universe for the game. Players gather around the rolle bolle alley and watch with practiced eyes as others shoot – a few spectators fill the seats just to take it all in.
There is no discrimination here. Cans of Diet Coke mingle freely with icy longnecks around the alley. For some players, it seems having a longneck in one hand while shooting with the other is a necessary component of the game. And clearly, the Belgium blood runs deep here – but it isn’t exclusive.
“Pretty much any name that begins with Van or De is originally from Belgium,” said spectator Diane Cooling as Greg DeBrower lined up his shot a few feet away.
There is no ‘De’ or ‘Van’ in Kandi Willett’s name – but that hasn’t stopped her from playing. Willett picked up the game at age 21, although she did grow up watching others play.
“We play once a week – every weekend in the summer,” Willett said. “It’s fun and the people are great. I love them - they’re like family.”
Despite the popularity in East Iowa, there is nothing here to match that of Hooppole, Illinois, in which the town, largely consisting of the descendents of Belgium immigrants, created a giant rosary using the bolles of deceased residents. At the site, souvenir t-shirts are available in the gift shop – which is unstaffed. People are expected to pay on the honor system. Somehow that well suits the game as it is played here.
It certainly could be considered one of the nation’s quieter sports – there appears to be little in the way of stress and that is coupled with an almost complete dearth of breakneck action. The lack of stress could also have something to do with a scoring system that is beyond the comprehension of the casual observer. Outside of tournaments, chances are that the score doesn’t really matter much anyway. And that, of course, is part of the appeal – whether a shooter or a spectator, the relaxed and friendly nature of the game makes it fun. A few black marks on the ceiling left by wayward bolles provide the exceptions that prove the rule.
“We don’t like to get competitive – that’s what the tournaments are for,” said Dean DeBrower. “We just have fun here.”
DeBrower learned the game from his father when he was eight-years-old. Over the years, he has traveled to take part in tournaments but lately has chosen to stay closer to home.
“Tournaments are serious play,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed watching them. There used to be a hundred or more people per Saturday tournament but the numbers are down a little these days. Still, we have people from Illinois, Minnesota and Canada coming here to play.”
DeBrower hopes more people will begin to discover this ancient game.
“We encourage people to come out – it’s so much fun to play,” he said. “You could learn it in less than a half hour. And win or lose, we’ll always have a smile.”
To play well, the game requires skill – yet anyone can play the game. At Boone’s, there were no catcalls or putdowns – but there was a great deal of patience as a couple of beginners took to the alley (perhaps next time I’ll do better if I try the “longneck in one hand style of shooting”). The match ended, everyone shook hands, and six new players took to the alley. In the end, it is as much a social gathering as it is a competition.
Perhaps, however, it is all best kept quiet. Too much interest will attract sponsorships - perhaps even television rights - and then before you know it, the longneck-in-the-hand shooting style will be banned and shortly after, the congressional inquiries will begin.
But then again, probably not. The game is fun enough – it doesn’t need a circus.
Rolle bolle is not only fun to play, it’s also fun to simply watch. During the winter months the game is played indoors at places such as Boone’s Backwater Bar in Koszta. In the summer, the action shifts to outdoor alleys that can be found not only at Boone’s but also in communities throughout the area.
The Midwinter Rolle Bolle Festival, a three-day event, is held each year in late Feb. or early March in Marshall, Minnesota.
A relative newcomer to rolle bolle, Kandi Willett has been playing for six years. She considers the people with whom she plays to be like family. Mitch Traphagen Photo
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