Photo by Samantha Bengtson
Greenfield-Soledad Ladies Bridge Club members (from left) Doris Jones, Mary Bianchi, Ann Scettrini and Loretta McFarland begin playing a game.
SOUTH COUNTY — A group of four South County women put their Bridge skills to the test every Wednesday when they spend several hours playing cards.
During a round of Bridge this past May, Greenfield residents Loretta McFarland and Ann Scettrini drove to Soledad to play with local residents Mary Bianchi and Doris Jones.
The four ladies paired up and soon began playing.
Bianchi started playing Bridge in Gonzales with Wilma Twisselmann, while Scettrini used to play with Ida Pura and Frances Thorp. The ladies range in age from 85 to 97 years young.
“My sister was older than I was and she belonged to this Bridge club and they had somebody drop out,” said Scettrini. “My sister knew that I knew how to play Bridge a little bit and she mentioned it to the group.”
The group had three tables at that time but has since moved down to just one. The ladies did not know how long exactly they have been playing Bridge together, but simply said it has been “years.”
“Years ago we used to have two or three tables,” said Jones. “A lot of those that played with us have since moved or passed away.”
Jones also plays duplicate Bridge at Ford Ord on Tuesdays and in Salinas on Saturdays.
McFarland started playing with the Bridge group as a substitute when players couldn’t make the weekly afternoon game.
“It’s been a least five years,” McFarland said.
The four women learned how to play cards through playing other games, such as Pedro and Pitch. Bridge starts out with dealing out the shuffled cards to each player. Then the players bid on a suit to be the “Trump” suit, such as hearts.
The player that wins the bid sets down the first card and their partner who sits across from them sets down their cards to make the “Bridge.” Then the other team of two attempts to stop the other team from making their bid.
The Ladies Bridge Club does look for substitute players every once in a while when a member is absent, and the location rotates weekly among the members.
