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Good Gosch Almighty Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Medford bowler Rosyne Gosch stands next to the many trophies she has won in her 43 years of bowling. At 95, Gosch recently rolled a 503 series with games of 170, 160 and 173. Her all-time best game is 256. Medford's Rosyne Gosch still knocking down bowling pins at 95 By KEVIN GOFF Rosyne Gosch's ride to her Wednesday morning bowling league at Roxy Ann Lanes was running late. The Hotshot League starts at 9:30 a.m., but Gosch didn't mind the tardiness because it left time for her morning crossword. When her ride showed and Gosch and her group finally arrived at Roxy Ann, there was a surprise waiting. "I got there and there were balloons and so much food," says Gosch, the oldest active bowler in the Rogue Valley and Medford Women's Bowling Association. "It was such a surprise. Now I know why they (her ride) were running late." Gosch, who turned 95 last Tuesday, was given the full treatment with a pot-luck lunch following league-play and she received a $116 gift certificate for a new bowling ball. With all the excitement, Gosch turned in one of her better performances of the summer, rolling a 503 series with games of 170, 160 and 173. "I definitely didn't expect it," says the Medford resident of her surprise party. "Then I went out and bowled so well." Gosch has not only been bowling for 43 years, but she's been doing it well. She was inducted into the Medford Women's Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1987 and was a Golden Age recipient in 1996. Gosch won the State Senior Tournament in Lebanon in April of 1979 and was a state finalist in the Bowl Down Cancer Tournament in 1986, not to mention her shelves full of trophies collected over the years. She boasts a high scratch series of 633 and bowled a game-high 256. In 1995, on a trip to Reno in a Bowl with the Pros event, Gosch beat out pro bowler Steve Haskins by a pin. "Boy was he upset," says Gosch. "He sure wasn't very friendly after that." But it's not so much what she's achieved as an individual in the sport as to how much she's meant to Rogue Valley bowling. Gosch moved from Banning, Calif., to Medford in 1943 at age 37. She took bowling lessons from former Medford Lanes owner Andy Anderson after her daughter, Joyce, told her she should try it out. Three years later Gosch, along with Anderson, helped organize the senior league at Roxy Ann. "When we first started the league," says Gosch. "I think we had only about 32 members. But now we have 80 people." Bowling is a year-round affair with Gosch. When the Hotshots Summer League comes to a close, Gosch has two leagues during the winter that keep her busy. "She's an amazing lady, that's for sure," says Diana Smith, whose bowled with Gosch since 1983. "She does so many other things besides bowling." Gosch doesn't limit her activities to just bowling, though. Every Friday she exercises and also gets together with some friends for a game of pinochle a few times a week. "She rides her exercise bike everyday," says Gosch's daughter Joanne, who was visiting from Wenatchee, Wash. "and this morning, we went to pick up some bird seed and when we were looking for a cart to put it in, she just picked it (the bird seed) up and said 'There's no need for a cart' and started carrying it. And this was a 20-pound bag." A lot has changed with Gosch and the game over the years. She used to use a 121/2-pound ball but now rolls a 10 pounder, which she's had for seven years. And the balls and lanes have evolved greatly since her first day at the lanes. But as long as she is still able to perform at the level she is used to, then Gosch will continue to bowl. "I'm going to keep on as long as I can," says Gosch. "As long as I can keep rolling that ball, then I'm still going to do it." Reach reporter Kevin Goff at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.