YOUR
CLUB OWNERS
(alphabetically
listed by surnames)
Gateway
Bridge Club
OLIVETTE COMMUNITY CENTER
Monday,
Wednesday & Thursday a.m.
I
have taken a quantum leap into bridge directing. My
first idea was quite simple, but circumstances and
opportunities changed everything. I have recently
added a fourth game in less than a year of becoming
a Director. I have started a game with a 0-49 master
point limit that so far has drawn many newcomers to
the duplicate bridge world. That game has evolved
into a 0-99 game on Thursday morning.
I
am very grateful to the other directors, my friends,
and all of the bridge players who have supported me
by playing in my games and encouraging me in all aspects
of my new career. I hope to see all of you at any
of my games or at any of the other club games that
I play in. |
Donna Coker |
|
Mark
Ehret |
Metro
Bridge Club
OLIVETTE COMMUNITY CENTER
Wednesday a.m.
Mark Ehret
has been playing since 1982 and became a Director
10 years ago. He learned in college but had to give
up bridge and go to work. Mark runs a Monday evening
game and a Wednesday day game, both at Olivette Community
Center. Prior to the game on Wednesday he gives a
lesson regarding some aspect of bridge that he feels
will help his players with their game. Mark is also
available for private lessons. He is a silver life
master. Mark’s best memory of bridge is Fred
McAvoy being his mentor. Fred (an experienced player)
took Mark under his wing and helped him develop his
game. |
Monday
Morning Bridge Club
MARYLAND HEIGHTS CENTRE
Monday morning
(of course!)
Paul & Louise Ellebracht were childhood sweethearts
and were married after Paul’s discharge from
the Navy in 1946, 62 years ago. They raised five children.
They
started playing duplicate in 1986 and in 1989 purchased
three duplicate bridge games in North St. Louis County
from Pat Scharick and Mary Hedrick. Louise gave lessons,
was the perfect partnership person and Paul directed.
The games grew and eventually they sold two of them
to Dan & Jane Schaffer.
Today,
their weekly 10:30 A.M. game has, arguably, the best
snacks in town and has a unique monthly series where
extra Masterpoints can be earned.
“Thank
God for bridge,” quotes Paul.
|
Paul
& Louise Ellebracht |
|
Ed Hale |
Rolla
Duplicate Bridge Club
Rolla Senior Center
Rolla,
MO
•
Tuesday,
6:45 pm
• Friday,
12:30 pm
I
started playing duplicate bridge while in college at
the University of Maryland. I also played a little in
graduate school at Purdue. I did not have time to play
much bridge during my academic years as a Professor
and then Chairman of the Physics Department at the University
of Missouri - Rolla. I did, however, pass the
ACBL's Director's test in the mid-1970's.
When
I retired in the summer of 1998, I had about 100 points,
but was still working part-time. I became a Life Master
at the Cincinnati Regional in March, 2000. In 2000 I
no longer was working (just playing at various things)
and now I am a Silver Life Master. My biggest win was
in the Sunday Swiss Team Game at the 1999 Dayton Regional
where my partner, Paul Yu, & I met another pair
at the partnership desk and won the event (1st out of
47 teams for 17.2 golds).
Since
1999 I have been Manager and sometimes Director of the
Rolla Duplicate Bridge Club.
Daryl
Fisher or Britt Whitaker direct most of the games.
We have a nominal membership of about 50 players about
two-thirds of whom are ACBL members. Playing fees are
$2 a session. The games are small -- usually only 3
to 5 tables. To build the game and Club membership,
Daryl Fisher and I have been offering free bridge lessons
for the last several years. Most of the students started
out as novices to duplicate, but are
now competitive in 199er games. Some of them have been
playing in St. Louis and other Regionals and Sectionals
and have been representing Rolla well in novice games.
We also now have 9 Life Masters.
|
Monday
Morning Bridge Club
BRIDGE HAVEN
Monday
morning (when
else?)
My
name is Jim Hammond and I'm a bridge-aholic. It started
in 1945 when I learned the game while serving in the
US Navy. The addiction was immediate. I continued
playing rubber bridge thru college and most of the
fifties years. The addiction was wearing off a little
when I discovered DUPLICATE. The curse was worse than
ever!
Until
about 1990 I only played the game. But then the Matriarchs
of North County bridge, Mary Hedrick and Pat Scharick,
died or retired. To help keep the game going in North
County I became a director and started a club. Currently
I am the director of the Bridge Haven 10:30 AM Monday
game. It's a fun game but the competition is good.
Come on by. We'll leave the light on for you.
|
Jim
Hammond
|
|
Twin
City Bridge Club
WINDSOR
BRANCH JEFFERSON COUNTY LIBRARY
Barnhart,
MO
Friday
morning
I
began playing Bridge in college in the 1950's.
Then
life got in the way until March 2007 at the ACBL Nationals
in St. Louis. After a brief but intense introduction
to duplicate by some friends in Memphis, I dove
into the deep end of the pool.
In
May of 2007, I visited with Joyce Stone and others in
Memphis and received sanction to teach the Easy
Bridge program.
I began playing
in Donna Coker's I/N game Thursday mornings in Olivette.
Mary Hruby put Carl Clyne and I together for a tournament,
and the partnership clicked. Carl then came to assist
me in teaching Easy Bridge. We both became directors
and started teaching bridge regularly. The effort
has grown into Twin City Bridge Club with on-going instruction
and growth. |
Luke
Lucas
|
Beth
Percich |
House
of Bridge
• OLIVETTE COMMUNITY CENTER,
Tuesday
a.m. & Thursday a.m.
• GARDEN VILLAS WEST,
Tuesday p.m.
•
OLIVETTE COMMUNITY CENTER,
Saturday afternoon
I started running
bridge games in 1981 with my grandpa, Ted Browne;
however I did not learn to play the game right away.
I first was taught to score (of course, by hand) and
when I asked, “When will you teach me to play?”
He said, “Later.” Next I learned all of
the wonderful movements of this game including a few
of Grandpa’s. Again, I asked, “When will
you teach me to play?” and he said, “that’s
the easy part. You need to know the laws and rules
of the game first.”- which I did and took the
director’s test. I asked again about playing
and he said, “now you need to learn the most
important part of the game and that is everyone’s
name”. After awhile I was finally allowed to
kibitz but only the players who played strong 2’s,
4 card majors and a nice straight Standard American
game. Well, here I am 22 years later and loving it!
I know my Grandpa would be proud.
|
North
Lindbergh Bridge Club
BRIDGE HAVEN, Thursday a.m.
West
County Bridge Club
OLIVETTE COMMUNITY CENTER, Friday a.m.
SAINT
CHARLES SENIOR CENTER,
Monday & Thursday evenings
Jane
and Dan Schaffer have lived in the St Louis area since
late 1979 and are currently running two games in St
Louis: Thursday AM at Bridge Haven and Friday AM at
Olivette. They've been involved in various aspects
of bridge since they moved to Delaware after their
marriage. Jane began teaching beginning bridge in
Delaware, and also was on the board of the local bridge
club. She became an ACBL Certified Teacher and taught
a couple of courses at Maryville University.
Dan
started directing games in Delaware and continued
directing off and on till after retirement. While
in Dover, Delaware and Warner Robins, Georgia, he
ran a couple of local tournaments. In St Louis they
ran as many as 7 games a week when involved with Bridge
Haven. Dan has also been on the Unit 143 Board and
was Registration chairman for our recent NABC. They
are proud of being able to maintain a harmonious partnership
while remaining married to each other.
A
native of Minneapolis, Dan learned to play bridge
when his aunt bought him an Autobridge set when he
was in 3rd grade. He started playing regularly in
the mid-60's in Minneapolis, where he had the benefit
of spending time with such players as Hugh McLean
and Ron Anderson. Honeywell sent him on the road in
1968 and he has worked at a number of locations around
the country, including Atlanta, where he met Jane.
Since
being married, they lived in Dover, Delaware, and
Warner Robins, Georgia, before being moved to St Louis.
In addition to directing and playing bridge, they
occasionally go dancing. Jane is an excellent dancer
and Dan tries to keep up.
Jane and Dan
want to thank everyone who supports our games and
being our friends. |
Jane
& Dan
Schaffer |
|
Chuck
Starovasnik |
Bridge
Haven
BRIDGE HAVEN
Friday
p.m. & Sunday afternoon
In
1971, my late wife, Barbara, a friend and I decided
to learn to play bridge and embarked on a 13-week
course on Channel 9 TV. After the course, we thought
we knew all there was to know about bridge and began
to play duplicate at June Chiste’s duplicate
game in Alton, IL. I got hooked on bridge but my wife
was disenchanted about the game and did not pursue
it.
I
played duplicate about 12 or 13 years in St. Louis
and Alton with numerous partners. In about 1982 June
Chiste gave up her Wednesday night game in Alton which
I took over and became a Director. I later took over
a Friday night game in St. Louis from Harvey Wolff.
I closed both these games down in 1988.
I
became a Life Master in 1989 with the help of Rod
Van Wyk. In 1998 I took over the Bridge Haven duplicate
games from Dan Schaffer and George Hawley. The games
took place in several locations over the years and
are presently located at 6206 N. Lindbergh, (N. Lindbergh
& 270). Games are on Monday A.M., Tuesday P.M.,
Thursday A.M., Friday P.M. and Sunday afternoon.
|
Bit
O’Bridge
LAKE ST. LOUIS
WEDNESDAY 6:30 p.m.
jvontz@charter.net
636-561-8808
Mike
and Janet Vontz learned the basics of bridge one weekend
in 1988 when they were trapped at Mike’s parents’
home in Buttonwillow, California. It had been snowing
in the mountains and I-5 was closed over the Grapevine.
The Senior Vontzes thought they could make the frequent
visits of their son and his girlfriend even more enjoyable
if they would become bridge players. It would also
make the duration of the snowstorm more tolerable.
Back home in Westlake Village, CA., Janet, a transplanted
Missourian, immediately raided the local library and
checked out six bridge books including Charles Goren’s
Precision System of Contract Bridge Bidding. The opening
chapter made a compelling argument for its use, and
Janet taught Mike the Precision bidding system. It
was several years before Mike knew that there was
another system of bidding. He is still quite lost
when he plays Standard American. Soon they discovered
duplicate bridge at a club in Thousand Oaks and became
hooked.
Mike and Janet married in 1989, and started a family.
They both realized that close proximity of cousins
and extended family would become even more important
since between them they had twelve siblings and eventually
twenty two nieces and nephews. The choice was either
Janet’s family in Missouri or Mike’s in
California. Since Mike had never experienced Missouri,
they headed east and wound up in Lake Saint Louis,
even though no one in Janet’s family had a clue
that bridge was anything but a structure built over
water (and still doesn’t).
They started playing at the Bit O’ Bridge club
in Lake Saint Louis in 1992 and spent the next eighteen
months in last place. When Jane Moore elected to move
to Mississippi in 1996, they acquired the club. Mike
and Janet invite you to discover the best kept secret
in St. Louis Bridge. Lake Saint Louis is a pleasant
drive west on Highway 40 or Highway 70. The game is
held in the beautiful Community Association Clubhouse
on Lake Saint Louis. There are always lots of delicious
homemade cookies and coffee. Join them next Wednesday
night at 6:30.
|
Mike
& Janet Vontz |
|
