Duplicate bridge group hopes to survive to play another hand
April 11, 2012
By Michele Mihalovich
The plea in a Snoqualmie Yahoo group made by Pat Anderson couldn’t have been much plainer.
A Snoqualmie Valley duplicate bridge group that has been around for ages is “getting decimated by old age and death,” and needs substitute couples to keep the group alive.
Anderson and his wife, Patty, who are in their 60s, are currently considered the kids of the group. But that title used to be held by 91-year-old Marian Danforth and her husband.
Danforth said her parents and some of their friends started the duplicate bridge club after World War II.
Contributed by Pat Anderson Carol Keller (left) and Patty Anderson play a hand of duplicate bridge at a recent gathering of the Snoqualmie Valley duplicate bridge group in Snoqualmie.
“When my husband returned after his service in the war, we were asked to join,” she said.
Back then, the group had four tables of players, made up of mostly North Bend and Snoqualmie business owners.
Danforth said her parents owned the Sunset Garage in North Bend, and then in the late 1940s, she, her husband and her parents built and operated the Sunset Hotel.
Anderson, Snoqualmie city attorney as well as the founder and president of Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom, said his parents played bridge with the group, and when he and his wife moved back to town from New Jersey in 1975, they too “were drafted.”
These days, the group only sets up three tables of four players once a month, and Anderson said it’s sometimes hard to fill even those seats.
He listed several members who have passed away, including Danforth’s husband.
There are also many players who can’t make game night due to illness.
“We are seeking couples who would like to maybe be substitutes and potentially become permanent members of our little group,” Anderson said.
He pointed out that it’s not a cutthroat group and “great prowess is not required,” but if you love strategy, duplicate bridge might be for you.
The challenge of the game is what keeps bringing Danforth, who has now been playing for more than 60 years, to the table month after month.
“It keeps your mind active,” she said. “And I enjoy the sociability.”
Anderson’s desperate plea for substitutes kept the game alive, at least for the month of March.
A couple who recently moved from Florida to Snoqualmie Ridge read the Yahoo group post and contacted him and played with the group.
Anderson said anyone wishing to get in on the fun should email him at anderson5420@gmail.com.
Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
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