Ruth Gras and Maxine Sharp smile during an intense game of bridge (Photo by Emily Blackwood).
The Tomoka Duplicate Bridge Club is a place for people to come together for cards and camaraderie.
Seated across from each other at the Ormond Beach Senior Center, Ruth Gras and Edward Smith could easily be mistaken for casual acquaintances who only meet to play bridge a few days a week. But if you lean in a little closer and listen, one will quickly learn that it’s much more than that.
“I lost my husband and he lost his wife around the same time years ago,” Gras said. “So we just became friends.”
This pair of besties eats dinner together four nights a week, plays bridge three days a week and used to do things like go out dancing and on trips when they were a few years younger.
“We’re older now, so it’s not as much fun,” Gras giggled. “It’s a nice relationship to have.”
Smith, who consistently nods in agreement with Gras, has been playing bridge with the Tomoka Duplicate Bridge Club since it was formed in 1981. Now 95 years old, Smith said this is one of the few hobbies he can still actively participate in.
“I took up two hobbies when I retired,” he said. “One was playing golf and the other was playing bridge. I never played bridge, but I figured when I couldn’t play golf anymore, I could play bridge. I’m not really that good; a lot of these players are much much better than me.”
Though many players are in it to win it, Bridge Director and Manager Judith McCall said the camaraderie and community brings in a lot of the people that fill their nine to 14 tables.
“It’s not just a game,” she said with a slight smile. “It’s more than a game. Some of the people don’t have family or much else to do, so it’s a wonderful way to spend time.”
The club is a part of the international organization American Contract Bridge League, so people play for points to earn titles like life master. Jeanine Spletzer, president of the board of directors for the club and a current silver life master, has been working on her bridge skills since she was in college.
“You can go any place in the world and play bridge,” she said. “My granddaughter is in school and said ‘Nana no one is playing cards. We’re all studying.’”
McCall, however, argues that bridge is a way to keep the mind active and working.
“It’s all competitive,” she said. “It’s very good for thinking. You have to really think to play bridge. The mind is always working.”
The science of senior centers
According to the National Council on Aging, senior centers have become one of the most widely used services among America’s older adults. Today, 11,400 senior centers serve more than 1 million older adults every day. A survey done by the council concluded the following:
Approximately 70% of senior center participants are women; half of them live alone.
The majority are Caucasian, followed by African Americans, Hispanics and Asians.
Compared with their peers, senior center participants have higher levels of health, social interaction and life satisfaction, and lower levels of income.
The average age of participants is 75.
75% of participants visit their center one to three times per week. They spend an average of 3.3 hours per visit.
Older adults who participate in senior center programs can learn to manage and delay the onset of chronic disease and experience measurable improvements in their physical, social, spiritual, emotional, mental and economic wellbeing.
Today’s senior centers are reinventing themselves to meet the needs and desires of the aging baby boom generation. Boomers now constitute more than two-thirds of the 50 and older population. Senior centers are developing new programs and opportunities for this dynamic generation of older adults.
For more information visit www.ncoa.org.
Wanna play bridge?
The Tomoka Duplicate Bridge Club invites all members of the community to join them for their three-hour bridge games held three days a week.
When: 12:30 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Where: The Ormond Beach Senior Center, 351 Andrews St., Ormond Beach
Cost: $4
Contact Info: 676-3256