The Rockford house circa 1960. Eight lanes for bowling, full bar and dining. Doc Torblaa started the establishment, later added the bowling alley. Later Bill Sipe bought the Rockford House.
Rockford House circa 1960
Rockford, Minnesota
The Rockford house circa 1960. Eight lanes for bowling, full bar and dining. Doc Torblaa started the establishment, later added the bowling alley. Later Bill Sipe bought the Rockford House.
Midland Lumber & Coal Company
My Dad, Robert Schumacher, owned the Rockford House also. Our family lived in the “house” upstairs when I was around 5-6 years old, so around 1969-1970. While my Dad owned it, he converted the bowling alley into a dance hall, with music on weekends. I have a lot of memories there.
Where was the Rockford House located in Rockford?
The Rockford house was on the north side of Hwy 55 just east of Sabourin’s Liquor store.
I worked at the Rockford house in late 70s as busboy and Sundays carved roast beef for the brunch, then when the dining closed they would open up a wall and then it would turn into a night club where I would work as a helper to the bartenders. I think I had to be around 14 years old. Can’t remember who the last owner was but that is who owned it when I worked there. Owner had a very attractive daughter my age that I chatted with and she was over to my house one time. Those were good times in rockford.
My mom was a waitress at the Rockford house for a time in the early 1980’s. She worked the day prior to the fire in October 1983.