Gone are the days where people would meet to talk over tea or a meal — or after dinner in the church basements, and play cards.
The games would include bridge, pinochle, the midwest favorite— euchre and even poker for the young and rebellious. These regular gatherings became social clubs with some groups only allowing invited guests to join in the festivities. People would iron their finest table linens and matching napkins in preparation for game night.
Men and women had their own separate card clubs that they would join, but some even delighted in a couples-only group. Card clubs were a way for them to connect with other locals in their towns, states or even college campuses and friendships would be forged over the wins and losses.
In the 1950s bridge luncheons were a very common practice for housewives to unite at a home over lunch, dessert and an iced tea while playing the game, discussing the latest happenings and chain smoking from their cigarette cases — that they rarely left the house without.
If these social gatherings were once such an integral part of American society, where are they now? Have card clubs become just another lost art in this country?
Brown County Parks and Recreation once had groups that organized senior bridge and euchre clubs at the Sycamore Valley Community Center, but Program Specialist Andy Rudd told the Democrat that the traffic slowed until the clubs no longer met. Parks and Recreation are hoping to revive the groups once they have enough interested members and are currently keeping a contact list. People who want to join a senior bridge or euchre club can call (812) 988-5522 to leave their information for the contact list.
Many Brown Countians are still keeping card clubs alive. Elaine Bailey started a bridge club over a year ago at Willow Manor with three other people and they are looking for experienced bridge players and people with past experience, even if they have not played in years. The group started with a class at the Mill Race Park in Columbus, but Bailey and the other members decided they wanted to play more than once a week.
“I’m 86 years old and I’ve been playing bridge since I was 20,” Bailey said. “I love to play bridge and over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good. I’ve moved 31 times, so I’ve lived in a lot of different places. Every place I’ve lived, I’ve played bridge except here. I couldn’t find any bridge players, everyone plays euchre, but I like to play bridge. I asked if I could teach a class and they said sure, so over at Mill Race we have two full tables now. That’s how it evolved. I thought well, if I teach a class and anyone comes, at least I’ll have some bridge players. That was how we got started and then there were four of us and they live between here and Columbus so they come here instead of going to Columbus.”
The group meets in the art room on the third floor of Willow Manor on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., interested bridge players can contact Bailey by phone at (828) 243-1004 or by email at [email protected].
Event centers like 19th Hole Sports Bar at Salt Creek Golf Retreat (2359 State Road 46 E.) and Sycamore Saloon in Harmony Tree Resorts (1292 State Road 135) have euchre game nights. Euchre nights at 19th Hole Sports Bar are at 6:30 p.m. every other Tuesday and are open to the public. The next euchre night will be Aug. 27.
Sycamore Saloon has euchre tournaments every Thursday during their weekly game night from 6:30 p.m to 9:30 p.m.
For individuals looking to play something else, a group meets at the lower level of the Community Foundation to play mahjong and shanghai rummy. Member Diane Barnett said that everyone is welcome and the group will teach new players. Mahjong is played from 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays. On the last Friday of the month, the group also gets lunch together after the games end at noon so they can socialize.
“It is an ancient tile game that originally developed in China and it has become very popular,” Barnett said. “It’s been played for years, but it’s very popular in the United States. It’s about half skill and half luck. I’ve played in Florida a lot and there was a group in Columbus and it just seemed logical that we would have a group. We knew that there were other players here in Brown County and so we just contacted various people that we knew could play and we really have a membership of about 12 players. It’s a great way to keep your brain sharp, that’s why most of us do it.”
Shanghai rummy— a version of gin rummy— is played on the third Wednesday of the month from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. For more information about the groups, Barnett can be reached at (317) 431-1303.
