Topekan marks 95 with friends, bowling

--- Greg Lahann/The Capital-Journal

"I think it's fantastic. I think it keeps him alive."

--- KAY WALK, daughter

By PHIL ANDERSON

The Capital-Journal

Just as M.J. "Riney" Rinehart's 95th birthday bowling bash was winding down Monday afternoon, longtime friend Joyce Barr approached him with an offer he couldn't refuse.

"I told him I wanted a date with him five years from now," said Barr, 69. "That's when he'll be 100."

Rinehart promised to do his best to hold up his end of the deal. "I'm shooting for 100," he said.

Several dozen friends were on hand at Gage Center Bowl, 4200 S.W. Huntoon, to celebrate Rinehart's milestone birthday with cake and punch.

They also watched as Rinehart deftly rolled his bowling ball down the lane, just as he had thousands of times during the past 65 years.

There were some unexpected guests at his party, including daughter Kay Walk, 58, of Lee's Summit, Mo.

"That was a surprise," Rinehart said. "I didn't know she was coming."

There was no better place for Rinehart's birthday party than the bowling center, considering he still bowls there in one league a week during the summer and up to five in winter months.

He carried a 167 average in the 1999-2000 season, including a high game of 279 when he was 94.

His daughter isn't suprised by Rinehart's bowling longevity or success.

"He did a lot of things," Walk recalled. "Mostly, he played golf, and he bowled some. And he was good at everything."

She gave her unqualified support for Rinehart's bowling endeavors.

"I think it's fantastic," she said. "I think it keeps him alive. I think the people he's met keep him going."

Rinehart is something of a legend in Topeka bowling circles. He even has a league named after him at the Gage Center Bowl.

Those who have known Rinehart over the years say he is much more than a bowler. They call him humble and generous and hard-working, and point to the maintenance duties he still performs at the local apartment complex where he lives, doing everything from painting doors to changing light bulbs.

His daughter said he even removed a dead dog from a neighbor's bathtub a few years ago, after the woman who owned the canine didn't know what to do.

His pay usually comes in the form of homemade pies from his thankful neighbors.

"He's just a perfect gentleman," said Mildred Glover, 80, another longtime friend from area bowling lanes. "He never loses his temper. He's always up there ready to bowl when it's his turn. You don't have to holler at him. He'll add up the scores, too."

After his wife, Gladys, died in 1988, Rinehart continued bowling. He also has overcome two bouts with cancer.

He has a 93-year-old girlfriend, Dorothy Ferrell, who also is an avid bowler.

About 10 years ago, Rinehart asked Glover if she would bowl with him. She said "yes," and the pair stuck up a friendship.

"I've been his friend ever since," she said. "He takes me out to eat every Sunday dinner."

She added: "He's very friendly and very serious. He's the most kindhearted man I've ever known."

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