Anna F Schleicher "Ma Zott" born about 1883 MI died Aug 1951 age 69.
Joseph Zott (my great-grandfather), Anna (Ma Zott) my great-grandmother, and their children Milton (my grandfather) and Nelson. They also had a daughter Josephine.
When my great-grandfather died in 1933 Anna (Ma Zott) operated a bowling alley and bar.
My grandfather worked as a bar tender there (and hated working for his mother). My father told me stories about manually setting pins in the bowling alley.
In 1928, Joseph Zott and "Ma" Zott sold their farm that was located at the southeast corner of the intersection of 12 Mile Road and Hoover Road. After selling the farm, they moved to Center Line, Michigan. In Center Line, Joseph Zott and "Ma" Zott built a business called Center Line Recreation. Center Line Recreation consisted of a bowling alley with 10 lanes, a bar, and a grill. "Ma" Zott owned and managed Center Line Recreation. The address of Center Line Recreation was 25325 Van Dyke Road on the west side of the street between Wiegand Boulevard and Engleman Avenue. Four or six of the bowling lanes were purchased secondhand where they had been installed on the third floor of St. Clement School. The remaining bowling lanes were purchased new.
Ma Zott and my grandfather behind the bar. I now own the clock in the upper left hand corner of the picture.
Initially, the bar and grill was located in the same building as the bowling alley. Then in the mid-1940s, the adjoining building to the south at 25317 Van Dyke Road became vacant after having been occupied by William Sperlich's funeral parlor business, and before that C&R Chevrolet. "Ma" Zott acquired the building at 25317 Van Dyke Road which became additional space for the bar and grill. An interior doorway was built connecting the bar and grill to the bowling alley. In later years, the business was known as Ce-Lane Bar and Center Line Lanes. In the late 1960s, the entire block including Center Line Recreation was demolished as part of an urban renewal project in Center Line.
