VALLEY — Valley Bowl was absolutely packed with people on Wednesday and Thursday nights of this week. There wasn’t any kind of tournament going on and very few people in attendance were advanced bowlers. In fact, many of those rolling the bowling balls down the alleys had never bowled before.

It was a bowling party for children who had met benchmark levels in Bradshaw-Chambers County Library’s summer reading program.

“We had 80 kids tonight,” said Library Director Mary Hamilton. “We had 79 last night. When you add in the parents and family members accompanying them, I know we had at least 125 people here each night.”

A third party was scheduled for Saturday morning.

Each reader was given a ticket that provided them and one adult a meal. Lots of people enjoyed those delicious, hot-off-the-grill hamburgers from Valley Bowl. Many people agree they have one of the best cheeseburgers in the Valley.

Hamilton said the Library has a debt of gratitude to the late Sylvia Word McCullough, whose endowment to the library will fund get-togethers like these for many years to come. Mrs. McCullough struggled with reading as a child but stuck with it until she mastered it and had something that lasted for a lifetime.

“She was a big booster of the library,” Hamilton said, “and we want to honor her memory for her generous support of our youth programs.”