ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 27, 1997 TAG: 9701270023
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BEDFORD
SOURCE: JOANNE POINDEXTER STAFF WRITER
Serious card players need not show up at 1:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Liberty Park Lake community room.
When the regular bunch get together to play cards, they say "fun is had by all" and serious card players might become disgruntled with their laughter and chatter.
The length of the group's games depends more on the topic of conversation - the size of Bedford's new Winn-Dixie store, the weather, the number of new fast food restaurants, the Elks Club and, of course, family - than who's winning or losing.
Helen Radford assumed the unofficial role of hostess at Thursday's card party and sorted the decks of cards and greeted players.
Before the games started, these 70-and 80-year-olds staked out seats and filled paper plates with peanuts, ginger snaps, and cheese and crackers.
Radford, who volunteers with cancer patients and at the Bedford Christian Mission three days a week, would not miss the fellowship.
"I'm so glad when Thursday comes. I can let my hair down," she teased. "It's just for fun. Sometimes I don't know who wins when I get home."
The weekly card party, started three years ago, is one of many activities - including breakfast and lunch outings, bowling, bingo, coffee hours and day trips - sponsored by the city's recreation department.
Officials saw a need to provide activities for the large number of people retiring to the area, said Randy Nixon, recreation planner for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cemeteries.
The department spends $12,000 to $15,000 annually on activities for senior citizens.
Some activities are better attended than others, but players thought the nine at Thursday's card party was a good number. Their fold has declined recently because a couple of players moved away.
Rook, played with teams, was the most popular game, but Hazel Otey, Arbelia Daley and Caroline Duus were engaged in some lively Skip Bo games.
A couple of the players at Thursday's session have known each other more than 50 years, while others met playing cards. Everyone was on first-name basis.
They were teachers, beauticians, salesmen, insurance agents and farmers before they gave up full-time work.
Otey taught home economics for 41 years at Susie Gibson and Liberty High Schools. During the Thursday afternoon card parties, "I can relax and get my mind off my worries and problems," she said.
Otey, a widow, picks up Daley and brings her along so she'll have a partner in games that require partners. Otherwise, she said, Daley, a retired New York beautician who returned home to Bedford County, would be doing nothing.
Playing cards, however, has given her a chance to meet new people moving to the county, Daley said.
Caroline and Al Duus, retirees from New Jersey, are mainstays at the weekly card game and they also participate in other parks and recreation programs, and do volunteer work.
The Duuses played pinochle for several weeks, but Thursday they sat in on whatever game needed players.
The Skip Bo players were rather quiet, compared with the six Rook players. Three players were on each team, trying to outbid each other for the chance to name trumps. They talk across the table to partners and don't worry about shielding their cards.
Ella Mae Noell's favorite card game is Uno, but she plays Rook because she can't find any Uno opponents. No matter what the game, she enjoys herself.
"It's so good for us old people to have somewhere to go, " she said.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART STAFF. Al Duus (from left), Helen Radford,by CNBFrank Smith and George Obenchain share a joke while the cards are
dealt during a game of Rook at the Liberty Park Lake community
center. color.