Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind unveils renovated bowling alley

GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind (MSDB) is celebrating a significant upgrade on campus with the grand reopening of its bowling alley. After being unused for over 15 years, the alley has been completely renovated, offering students a new space for recreation and connection.

Senior Angelina Gilcher was among the first to try out the new lanes. "We had some recent construction. We had an old bowling alley here at school.



And the foundation supported a renovation for our bowling alley, which has been such a nice gift for us. And here we are," she said. The renovation project was spearheaded by the MSDB Foundation.

Todd Carmichael, the foundation's president, explained the motivation behind the project. "When we would walk into the bowling alley, we saw a bowling alley that was derelict in a sense. It hadn't been used for over 15 years or more.

And it just kind of stood out as a sore thumb here on the campus. It wasn’t hard then to pick up the project and say, hey, this is something that we as a foundation need to take on to improve the lives of the kids that we’re here for," he said. Malmstrom Air Force Base also contributed significantly, assisting in the removal of the old equipment.

A1C Branton Bergstol with Civil Engineering helped with the project and shared, "It was a really great experience getting the help of the community and the school and get to do some hands-on work. It's a lot of fun, a lot of hard work, and it's great to see how it all came together in the end. It's awesome.

" To celebrate the completion, students and volunteers engaged in some friendly competition, including one-on-one matchups. "I was challenged by Marias. He gave me a run for my money.

In the end, I ended up winning—only by one point, though. So it was a close battle, and I ended up taking the pie in the face. Thought it'd be a good thing to do and ended up getting pied twice by the student here," recounted A1C Bergstol.

Gilcher emphasized the positive impact of the new alley on student interaction. "I love socializing. So yeah, that's really nice and very enjoyable," she said.

Carmichael added, "Just to see the kids be able to do something that they haven’t been able to ever do before and to have fun—to see smiles on their faces—it’s just awesome." The new bowling alley is already fostering a sense of community and excitement among students at MSDB, promising to create lasting memories..