My dining room table is covered with RSVP cards for our annual meeting on October 16th. I am recording the vaccination status to save time at check-in. Some players sent this information; directors shared their vaccination information. Everyone there will have shown proof of vaccination!

While I appreciated bridge on line during the Covid shutdown, face-to-face play is the best. I hope our situation allows us to play together in Huntley in a couple weeks celebrating our resilience and achievements during the past two years.

We eagerly await our first unit sectional tournament!

The Turkey Bowl is scheduled for November 26-28 at Jameson’s in Huntley’s Del Webb. This will be the same fun tournament in a new tournament home! John Pree and Van Stone are running the event.  Dave Jenkins and Amy Goldberg will help with partnerships. Watch for flyers and join us!

We will be vaccinated.  We will be careful.  We will enjoy being back at the table!

Unit 239 welcomes a new member. Robert Herzberg lives in Saint Charles.

Congratulations to members who have achieved new ranks!

NEW CLUB MASTERS - Larry Karch (Algonquin) and Grace Leonard (Vero Beach FL)

NEW REGIONAL MASTER - Carol Johnson (Saint Charles)

NEW NABC MASTER - Lela Lowe (Geneva)

NEW LIFE MASTER – Greg Maccoubrey (Crystal Lake)

SILVER LIFE MASTER – Robert Larsen (Roscoe)

RUBY LIFE MASTER – Vicki Standley (German Valley)

NEW GOLD LIFE MASTER - Francis Buhler (Rockford)

NEW SAPPHIRE LIFE MASTER - David Jenkins (Rockford)

Vicki Standley is a Ruby Life Master and shares her bridge story.

I grew up in Freeport, Illinois and went to Highland Community College, which is where I started playing bridge. I’d always loved playing many card games, but bridge soon became my favorite. When a college friend invited me to play duplicate, bridge became my passion. A card game where I could get terrible cards and still win—that’s when I was hooked, because I do love to win!

After earning my Bachelors in Business Education from SIU, I married Bruce (a non-card player) and had our two great kids, Heather and Ryan, so there wasn’t much time for bridge, though I missed it for sure. When Bruce got a new job in central Illinois, I knew no one—so I looked up a bridge group close by and called the director who fixed me up with a partner, Carol Umbach; a partnership that has lasted over 40 years! Even when we later lived 200 miles apart, we would meet at tournaments in the five state area of IL, IA, WI, IN and MO. Although the pair games were our favorites, we would sometimes hook up with partners for a team game. Four women would stay in one room, play in the afternoon game, go over the hands at supper, play the evening game and even played a few midnight games. The entire weekend was all and only about bridge and we had fun! Our favorite pair was Gena Hartlieb and Becky Chance from my local club in Rockford, IL—we played many a tournament with them and are all still friends—what great memories we have shared through our love of the game of bridge!

Of course, during these tournament weekends, Bruce would watch the kids and was supportive of my bridge passion. In fact, my favorite memory was when I went over on points for my Life Master. Of course I called and told him … and when I came home the doorbell started ringing and friend after friend came to help me celebrate this achievement, when hardly any of them even knew what a Life Master was.

Sadly, Bruce passed away at age 47 of cancer. Playing bridge was one way I could deal with the loneliness and grief I felt, because I could escape into the game. Bridge has always helped me get through tough times, or even times when I just needed to get away…I could go focus on the cards and playing the game I love. Playing bridge led me years later to another love when a bridge friend set me up on a blind date with a widower who also loved to play bridge, and played it well! Loren and I played often at the Rockford Bridge Center, and became close to many players who even had a surprise party for us at the club when we got married.

I was only about 40 points from my Ruby Rank when the 2020 pandemic hit. Loren and I decided to give BridgeBase a try. It didn’t take long for Loren and I to win those last 40 points to achieve my new status. Although there was no surprise party this time, maybe when Loren goes over (he’s about 200 points away), we’ll have a Ruby Life Master Party.

Thanks especially to Carol, who I would have never met without a local bridge club. It is a place to form not only partnerships but friendships. Our club in Rockford has always been one of our favorite places to be, becoming like a second family. Although online bridge allowed us to play during this pandemic, it can be isolating, and we have truly missed the camaraderie at the club. I hope that all bridge players will continue to support their local clubs.

Francis Buhler became a Gold Life Master. 

Francis came to USA in 1969 from Switzerland and soon acted on his interest in playing bridge. In 1974, he took a beginner bridge class taught by Becky Chance and followed that with Bev Nelson supervised play classes. He found the Kantar books on defense were most helpful early on. 

An interesting bridge experience he shared was playing in Leavenworth Prison's invitational "bridge behind bars" program where he played with an inmate partner and opponents. That experience made a lasting memory. 

Before Mr. B. retired, he played at the Rockford Bridge club Friday nights and nearby tournaments, usually with Gena Hartlieb. Since retiring in 2008, Francis started playing three times weekly with Gena and Jan Howard.  He reached Gold Life Master playing in one of the Rockford games on BBO with Jan or Gena. He keeps playing bridge because of the people he meets and his love of the game. 

His advice to new players is play often and enjoy the game, then master points will follow.