BUTCH'S BITS: Hall of Fame tourney, induction ceremony postponed

SANDUSKY — The annual Butch Wagner Hall of Fame tournament and the Sandusky USBC Hall of Fame ceremony have been moved back because of the COVID-19 virus. No date has been set, but officials hope to hold the events in late May if possible. The HOF tournament will be held at Cedar Lanes when possible, with the induction ceremony and banquet also being planned. "We had to move these back because of what is going on today and there is no guarantee we can have it in late May," said tournament manager Theresa Blakely. "We had a great response from the bowlers with 30 teams out of a possible 32 filling the first shift on a Friday night, and we had half the field filled for the two Saturday sessions." The Hall of Fame tournament, HOF induction ceremony and banquet originally were scheduled for April 3-4. Major sponsors for the tournament are Construction Equipment, Bellevue Manufacturing (Art Wolfe) and Kristie and Steven Lodico. The Sandusky USBC induction class is made up of three men — Mitch Schenk, Rich Hodgkinson and Ernie Owen. Schenk was selected in the Superior Performance category, Hodgkinson for meritorious service and Owen for longevity. Schenk is the fourth member of his family to be inducted into the Sandusky bowling hall of fame. His father, Bud Schenk, is in the men's hall, while his mother, Shirley Schenk, and his sister Tracy Duncan are in the women's HOF. Mitch Schenk has four 300 games and two 800 series to his credit. He had a high average of 230 in the 2001-02 season and has a competitive average of 212 over the last 20 seasons. Schenk also won the UAW state tournament and qualified for the international tournament. He also won an adult-youth tournament with his son Dalton. Hodgkinson worked at Cedar Lanes for three years as an apprentice mechanic, then went to Star Lanes in 1983 and worked in the same position. He became the head mechanic at Star in 1985 and held that job until 2003. In 2011, he returned to Cedar Lanes as the head mechanic and most recently has the same position at Star Lanes and The Harbor in Port Clinton. He has bowled three 300 games and is a member of the Sandusky USBC Board of Directors, lane inspection and tournament committees for the past seven years. Owen has lived in the Sandusky area for 80 years, 60 as a sanctioned member of the USBC. He still bowls in three leagues a week at the age of 83. He recently retired from flying mail to the islands several times a week.