Immediately after the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history, Samantha and Justin Juray thought the doors to their bowling alley, Just-In-Time Recreation, were closed for good. Soon after, they were influenced by a message from one of the victims who died there on Oct. 25, 2023.
“At first -- probably the first two weeks after -- we didn’t want to reopen,” co-owner Samantha said. “Bob just kept like kind of nudging (Justin) in his dreams saying like, ‘You can’t do this,’ cause Bob ran the kids program. The kids need a place to go.”
Bob Violette volunteered to run the state’s largest youth program out of Just-In-Time Recreation. The 76-year-old gave Justin a well-intended hard time when the Jurays first bought the place three years ago.
“He would always bust my chops,” co-owner Justin said. “That was just Bob. ‘Your coffee is old. Make new coffee!’ You know? But it was all in love and care. He just loved this place so much.”
Bob was also one of eight people who lost their lives at the Lewiston bowling alley last year, along with his wife, Lucy. Somehow, Justin said Bob sent him a message in the days after the tragedy, when Justin ruminated on doubt in his ability to keep his loved ones safe.
“I don’t know that it was a dream. I was in such a fog like for a good month or so… this just consumed every second of my life,” Justin said. “All I remember is Bob just telling me it wasn’t an option. It wasn’t an option to not open. We needed to do this. I needed to do this.”
Justin, a Lewiston native who bowled there as a child, noted that there aren’t many places in the area that offer family-friendly activities. Their bowling leagues and youth programs have continued to grow over the years. Many of the victims who lost their lives that night were at the bowling alley multiple times a week, according to Samantha, and would have been disappointed to see it close for good.
“That night was hell for everyone,” Justin said. “We just decided that we couldn’t allow that one day to ruin what this place has done for the last 30-plus years.”
Now, one year after the mass shootings, Just-In-Time looks a lot different. Tributes, like hand-made personalized bowling pins honor the 18 people killed that night, along with a memorial table built by Samantha’s dad.
“I have mixed emotions about it,” Justin said of the table. “ I love it, but at the same time, it’s heartbreaking to see every day… We might just make that a remembrance thing for every year anniversary, for the month of October or something, so we can move forward.”
Almost everything inside the bowling alley has been upgraded or refurbished, including brand-new bumpers, gutters and scoring systems. The owners plan to open batting cages and golf simulators sometime in the next few months. With support from the victims’ families, the survivors and the bowling community, Just-In-Time Recreation reopened six months ago.
“When Justin came to talk to me after it had happened, one of the first questions he asked me was, ‘Should we reopen?’ and I said absolutely,” former manager Tom Giberti said. “We have to because we all felt that, if we didn’t, you know, he would have won.”
Giberti is credited with saving a group of children while working at Just-In-Time Recreation that night. The 70-year-old ended up with three or four gunshot wounds as well as shrapnel in both legs. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to walk again.
“Nobody knew at the time,” Giberti said. “When they pulled me out of here and I couldn’t walk, you know, I didn’t know at the time what the severity was.”
Giberti said he was in a back room when the shooter walked in and mistook the gunshots for the sound of bowling balls hitting the back of the machine.
“I had no realization of what was going on until I opened the doors and walked out in the middle of it. And it was just total chaos,” Giberti said. “And I saw the kids running towards me. I came up and got behind them.”
He has a bullet behind his knee and some fragments of muscle in his leg that pose problems, but he’s walking and bowling with his grandson again. He still sees some of the children he saved that night while working as a “jack of all trades” at the bowling alley.
“It’s hard sometimes but it’s great, too. I mean, I know it’s surviving,” Giberti said. “It’s almost impossible not to think about it. It’s there every day. You try... Some days are definitely better than others. There are still trigger things that happen that set you back to that day.”
Meanwhile, about four miles away, Schemengees Bar and Grill remains permanently closed. The building is undergoing a transformation to become a warming center for the winter, through a partnership between Kaydenz Kitchen Food Pantry and the City of Lewiston, in the hopes of saving lives.
“Based off the recent tragedy, it would be a complete 360 of the recent events,” Kaydenz Kitchen Food Pantry President Kevin Boilard said. “We want to be very respectful to the events that have happened here, but at the same time, we want to kind of move forward with a new opportunity, a new hope, a new vision for the location and really take that approach of triumph through tragedy.”
Kaydenz Kitchen took over the lease rights to the building on Oct. 1. The emergency warming center is slated to open from Nov. 15 through April 30. Their long-term goal for the space, according to Boilard, is to convert it into a full-time shelter as well as a community resource center, which includes a food pantry, free clothing closet, free community resources and household goods.
“Androscoggin County lacks your primary 24-7 shelters that allow a place for individuals to be throughout the day,” Boilard said. “It's a great opportunity to come here, get a warm meal, have a warm place, have an opportunity to get a smile, some social interaction and kind of put your feet up.”
While both locations are moving forward in their own way, it’s hard when you can’t help but look back. That’s part of why the owners of the bowling alley owners decided to close Just-In-Time Recreation on Oct. 25 this year.
“Even the people that weren’t here, this small community. They knew somebody. They lost somebody. They had family. They had friends,” Justin said. “We’ll never forget. We’ll never forget what happened here. Nobody in this community will ever forget what happened.”
“Hopefully eventually it can fade a little bit in your mind,” Giberti said, “but like I say it hasn’t yet.”
