Bocce in Revelstoke

I loved this photo John posted from his archives of 1967.  I guess that was when he was working in a bank in Revelstoke before he became a photographer.  I think some of the appeal of lawn bowling is that it is like bocce and petanque.  The thing about these Italian and French games is that they can be played almost anywhere and have always had a drop in social element.  It is only quite recently that women have been accepted in France and I imagine it is the same situation in Italy.  I think women were always a part of lawn bowling but I'll have to do a little searching about that.

This is a rather interesting history of lawn bowling.  It seems it was banned in England and France (but not Scotland) because of its popularity and concern that people were doing this at the expense of archery and that was considered a problem for national defence.

http://www.lawnbowling-arcadia.com/historyofbowlsclub.html

Email from John today:  "The bocce picture hadn't been up for two days when I got an email from someone living in Revelstoke who said the guy on the right was her uncle and could she have a print. Amazing."

Circa 1967 — Men playing bocce next to Vince’s Italian Restaurant in Revelstoke, BC.

-John Denniston photo