Bill and Joan Bridwell of Greenwood started playing bridge together 10 years ago because it was an activity they could enjoy as a couple.
“We are lucky because most husbands and wives can’t play together,” said Joan. “The two of us are both competitive by nature, which makes for a good team.”
The couple, who play duplicate bridge, is more than just a good team. Together, they played their way to Life Master status this June.
“I don’t think either of us would have wanted to do it without the other one,” she said. “For us, this game is about enjoying something together.”
It took the Bridwells about seven years of playing off and on to get the 300 points that earn the players the first title - at local games winners only receive .8 to .10 points.
“It seemed so far away when we first started,” Bill said. “We also worked and were doing other things that conflicted with sectional and regional competitions so it was hard to get those bigger points.”
On average, the couple plays two nights a week with clubs in Greenwood, Indianola and Winona. They also enjoy going to tournaments.
Their secret to success — respect.
That doesn’t mean they always agree. Joan said from the moment they get in the car to and from games, they talk about bidding strategies or the night’s game.
“Sometimes, we will get in the car after a game and I will say, ‘Why did you do that? You have never done that before,'” she said. “We don’t fuss, but we are point blank with each other.”
Both understand that keeping open communication between partners is key in duplicate bridge, where there are endless bidding and convention possibilities.
“Learning a bidding system you and your partner both understand takes time and studying together,” said Bill.
It has worked out well for the Bridwells, who not only play duplicate together, but also took the director’s test as a couple. They had to take a class over about three days before sitting for the three-hour test. Now, they are both certified through the American Contract Bridge League to run local duplicate bridge clubs.
Since “ace-ing” the test, Bill has taken over for James Middleton of Winona as the director of the Greenwood Duplicate Bridge Club.
“We both love the game,” said Joan. “We wish more people would come play.”
Bridge in Greenwood
The popularity of bridge among the Greenwood population, as in most other places, has waned over the years. Now a game that attracts mostly older adults, it was once a pastime for people of all ages.
Riley Cole of Greenwood started playing in Greenwood’s Duplicate Bridge Club in the early 1950s when it met in the Ladies Parlor of the Elks Lodge, but she said she started playing long before that.
“Everyone played back then,” she said.
Cole originally learned as a child and enjoyed playing with her friends and family while growing up before joining the club. She says she took breaks from the club, such as when she was teaching school in Greenwood.
However, she always came back to the game and the club because she enjoyed it so much. She is a silver Life Master, having earned more than 2,000 points.
Over the past 60 years, she has seen the club go from a crowded social event to nonexistent and back to a small but steady group of players.
“Greenwood used to have tournaments,” she said. “The last ones were probably about 10 or more years ago.”
She said the club had large crowds through the ’60s and ’70s but in the 1990s the group began to fall apart.
By 1993, the club had given its last bids for what could have been forever, but a few tried-and-true members kept playing and meeting unofficially.
In 1995, at 80 years old, Mary McNeil stepped up as the new director and reorganized the club after taking the director’s test.
“I didn’t want to be in charge of the club at first, but people kept after me to reorganize it, so I did,” she said.
The club has continued for 15 years since its reorganization, thanks to McNeil and those who have served as director after her. It has seen a steady following by its original members and new additions with the help of the former director, James Middleton. He has increased the number of players by offering a class to teach newcomers.
“It may be small, but we have a good group,” said Liz Mounger, Bridge Club member.
This year the group typically consists of about 12 to 16 players who attend each Monday evening game.
The Changing Face of Bridge
Bridge has evolved over time from the mechanics of game time to the social elements.
When Cole first began playing in clubs and at tournaments everyone played against everyone else.
“It is like playing golf without a handicap,” she said.
This meant someone who had played their whole life could end up against a player who had just learned.
Now tournaments have set up different levels such as beginner and intermediate for players, Cole said.
It’s not just the actual game that has changed, so has the setting and formality.
“When I used to go to tournaments, we used to change clothes between the afternoon and evening sessions,” Cole said. “We would wear cocktail dresses, and there would be a dance after the last game.”
But times have changed.
“It is more casual now,” she said. “People just wear shorts.”
Now Cole could even play in pajamas if she wanted thanks to Internet bridge.
“You get to play with people from all over the world,” she said. “It is really fascinating.”
Cole said having a different partner every time can make it a bit more challenging.
A Game for Life
Although McNeil grew to love the game of bridge, she said it wasn’t an immediate passion.
“I learned when I was a teenager, but it wasn’t something I was particularly interested in at the time,” she said. “I was concerned with other things.”
It wasn’t until she went with a friend who needed a partner for the duplicate bridge club in Greenwood in 1978 that she discovered what would become one of her favorite pastimes.
“I really didn’t know much about it when she asked me to play with her,” she said. “All these people already knew how to play, but I liked the challenge.”
It was that continuous challenge that has kept her coming back for that last 32 years and what she credits with keeping her mind stimulated.
“In bridge, the more you learn, the more there is to learn,” she said. “I may not be in as good of physical condition as I once was, but I am mentally as alert as I ever was. It is a memory game.”
From the different bids to keeping track of the other players’ cards, bridge — like word cross and Sudoku — challenges the mind, something that is particularly important as adults age.
Mounger, who started a year ago at 61, expects to see a resurgence in people learning to play bridge as the Baby Boomer generation retires.
“When you retire, what you want in retirement is to have an activity you can enjoy for the rest of your life,” said Mounger. “They can do this even if their hip or knees give out.”
Those who are concerned this challenging game may be too complex for an “old dog” should heed the following advice from Mounger.
“I think everybody knows how to play some kind of card game, so we all have card knowledge,” she said. “You will be able to call up that old knowledge, and it will make it easier to learn a game like bridge.”
She also suggests getting lessons from someone who really knows the game and who has a lot of patience.
“Patience and encouragement is the key at any age,” she said.
