[bowlich]

Yes. Pretty much a club house, pub, community center whose membership consisted of veterans.

The suburb was built within a decade of the end of WWII and during the Korean war. So it was a safe bet that most households had a member who was a Veteran or related to a Veteran who could wave them in.

As time progressed, less and less households in the neighborhood would probably qualify. So its no longer a community centerpiece.

[ghaff]

More generally, there were a number of fraternal organizations (Knights of Columbus was another) where the men, many of which probably worked in the same factory, would gather in the evening while their wives looked after the kids. Bowling was big for some of the same reasons. Look back at some of the TV shows of the era that featured working class people, or even a cartoon like the Flintstones, and you'll see that they were just an accepted part of life.