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Forty years of playing games
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .These ladies have just finished a game of Bridge. Sylvia Fullerman (center) looks through the cards as Kay Borke (left) and Annabelle Borovicky wait for the next hand to be dealt.
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Before lunch, someone has to lead the club in devotion. Ted Conner (left) with wife Wanda Conner begin devotion by reading a poem entitled, "An Old Ladies Poem."
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Members of the Martha Lupse 50 Plus Card and Game Club have to eat sometime. They are taking a break from playing Bridge to socialize and have lunch. .From front left: Don Patchen, Douglas Martin, George Schuller, Mary Murar, Fabis Frank, Howard Headley, Annabelle Borovicky, Sylvia Fullerman, Marilyn Boggs, Daphene Gent, Ted Conner and Wanda Conner.
By SHAIYLA HAKEEM
shakeem@vindy.com
Forty-nine years of game playing is a long time, but not long enough for this senior card club.
Martha Lupse 50-Plus Card and Game Club has been around since 1961 and is moving into the future at full speed.
Founded by the late Martha Lupse, the club has since grown in its size and popularity. The club was originally comprised of 10 members. It has since expanded to include more than 50 members.
All members of the club are 50 years old or older, but age doesn’t stop them from having a good time. The club features games such as chess, dominos, checkers, shuffle board, 500 and an old favorite, bridge.
Don Patchen, club director, says that younger generations don’t really know a lot about bridge. He believes that everyone should have the opportunity to learn how to play bridge because it makes you use your intellect in order to win.
The club tries to preserve popular games from the early 1960s, but Patchen thinks that game clubs will eventually evolve into more modern and technologically savvy groups.
“Everything in life keeps changing and something will take its place, like video games,” Patchen said.
Aside from card games, the group also likes to stay mobile. Over the years, the club has participated in dinner cruises at Lake Milton and have explored a C-140 aircraft at the Air Force Base in Vienna.
The club also hosts annual events such as a spring banquet, summer picnic and a Christmas luncheon.
Boardman resident Marilyn Boggs, who has been a member for 13 years, says the club provides her with the ability to communicate with friends and lots of fun. She believes that living a life without fun isn’t living at all.
“Fun is the reason why we get up in the morning,” Boggs said.
Club members are in for a special treat for Thursday’s gathering. Patchen says they will be having a pizza party which will be a tasty refreshment many seniors have forgotten to include in their meal plan.
There is no membership fee. Donations are collected each week to help cover any cost for food, coffee and tea. The club meets every Thursday, excluding holidays, in the basement of Poland United Methodist Church on Boardman-Poland Road.
According to Patchen, the club is always open for new members who want to stay young at heart. He says growing old is a part of life that should be cherished, not ridiculed.
“I feel very lucky to be living and to be a senior citizen,” Patchen said.