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Wisconsin 101 New Object Proposal: The Vulcan Bowling Pin
Author: Joe Hermolin
Phone: 555.123.9876
Email: [email protected]
Object Description
This bowling pin complies with American Bowling Congress
(ABC) standards, with the logo of the Vulcan Bowling
manufacturer (Antigo) clearly visible. It is owned by the
Langlade County Historical Society and likely made in the late
1950s after they introduced their “Nyl-Tuf Supreme” plastic
coating.
The Vulcan Corporation initially manufactured wooden shoe
lasts and chose Antigo because of the plentiful supply of large
maple trees in the region.
When demand for shoe lasts waned Vulcan branched out into
various other wood products. Beginning in 1953 they became a
major producer of bowling pins, although shoe last production
continued up to 1965 in Antigo and longer in other plants.
About 20% of all bowling lanes in the U.S. used pins manufactured by Vulcan. Bowling pins
have always been made exclusively of sugar maple, as specified by the ABC. Vulcan used
trees from within a 60 mile radius of Antigo.
In 1970 they were the second largest bowling pin manufacturer in the U.S., with 36 plants
nation-wide producing 21,000 pins weekly with plans to increase production by an additional
4,800 per week. They employed about 100 men in Antigo.
Sources:
• Bowling Strikes with Wisconsin Maple by Larry van Goethem in The Timber
Producer May 1985 pg 38-41.
• Antigo Daily Journal Sept. 10, 1970.
Story 1: Lumbering in the Northwoods
It was the forests that first brought a large influx of settlers to northern Wisconsin in the
decades after the Civil War. Initially the pine forests were cut and river drives transported
the logs, which would float, to market. Towns based on the logging industry developed
throughout the state along navigable rivers.
Later, with the coming of the railroad, the lumber industry expanded to include harvesting
hardwood trees, and towns like Antigo developed at sites away from large rivers. Beginning
in the late 1800s several companies manufacturing wood products developed in Antigo.
Today Wisconsin employs more people in the forest products industry than any other state
in the US, and ships more dollars-worth of product than any other state in the US.
Sources:
• Robert Desseareau History of Langlade County 1922 pg30.
• Travis Allen, Wood Technology instructor at Northern Technical College, Antigo WI,
citing WI DNR Forest Economy fact sheet.
Story 2: Milwaukee, The Bowling Capital of America
Bowling has international appeal, as a sport and a social activity. Milwaukee, calling itself
“the bowling capital of the world” has had a central role in organized bowling. The American
Bowling Congress (ABC) was formed in New York in 1895. When it brought a major
tournament to Milwaukee in 1905 it was so successful that the city became the home of the
ABC. The ABC later became the United States Bowling Congress and was headquartered
in Milwaukee until 2008. The ABC set standards for bowling balls, lanes, score keeping and
bowling pins. It had to approve the coating process used by Vulcan before the company
could become a major producer of pins.
Sources
• Milwaukee’s Historic Bowling Alleys: Images of America Series Manya Kaczkowski,
2010 pg 7-8.
• Bowling Strikes with Wisconsin Maple by Larry van Goethem in The Timber
Producer May 1985 pg 38-41.
Story 3: Bowling in Japan
In the 1970s bowling became an obsession in Japan. From1968 to 1972 bowling alleys
increased from 14,000 to 124,000. Japan had the world’s second largest bowling population
(next to the U.S.) with the world’s largest bowling alley- the 252-lane World Lanes in Tokyo.
In 1973, an average day saw 10,000 bowlers at the site.
Vulcan filled many of the orders for bowling pins for the Japanese market. The company
chartered planes to fly pins to Japan. In their best year they manufactured 500 to 600 sets
of pins per day in Antigo and an additional 200 to 250 sets at the Richland Center branch
and shipped a total of 102,000 sets of pins to Japan.
Sources:
• Bowled Over- A Roll Down Memory Lane, Gideon Bosker and Bianca LencekBosker 2002, pg 22-27)
• Donald Degenhardt plant manager of Vulcan: Notes for a presentation of the history
of Vulcan to the Langlade County Historical Society. In the Langlade County
Historical Society archives.