DEALING OUT FUN : NEWHALL CARD GAME DRAWS SENIORS FOR FRIENDLY COMPETITION.Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer At 10:30 on a recent Thursday morning, two dozen senior citizens armed with pocket change, poker chips, cookies and an electric coffee pot A coffee pot is a kitchen implement; a cooking pot in the kettle family. A coffee pot is also a container to hold freshly brewed coffee. There are many types and styles. had one thing on their minds: their weekly card game. Mostly gray-haired and female, the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. card sharks This article is about a television game show. For the standard use of the term, see Card shark. Card Sharks is an American television game show in which contestants guessed whether a playing card was higher or lower than the card that preceded it. gather for equal parts of socializing and friendly competition in the community room at Newhall Park. Thirteen of the elderly women are canasta canasta: see rummy. canasta Form of rummy, using two full decks, in which players or partnerships try to meld groups of three or more cards of the same rank and score bonuses for seven-card melds. players; they juggle 15 cards at a time, collecting groups of like-numbered or matching-face cards, which they periodically plunk plunk also plonk v. plunked also plonked, plunk·ing also plonk·ing, plunks also plonks v.tr. 1. on the table in vertical rows. Rummy rummy, card game played by two to six players with a standard deck. The cards usually rank from king down through ace. Seven cards are dealt to each player in the three- or four-hand game, one card is turned up on the table, and the remaining cards are left face down is the game of choice at another table, where players drop 35-cent antes into an empty plastic margarine tub before each game and keep score on colored scrap paper scrap paper n → pedazos mpl de papel scrap paper n → papier m brouillon scrap paper scrap n → . And the group's lone man, 77-year-old Joseph Rivera, plays poker with two women at a fourth table. Margaret Lebovitz, 75, helps bring the group together every week. In a previous incarnation, the card club called itself The Oak of the Golden Dream, a reference to the tree in Placerita Canyon where gold was first discovered in California. That club, begun in 1971, disbanded shortly before the Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. . But now the women meet faithfully in a nondescript non·de·script adj. Lacking distinctive qualities; having no individual character or form: "This expression gave temporary meaning to a set of features otherwise nondescript" , 1,475-square-foot room, some bringing cushions to add a little comfort to the brown metal folding chairs they use for the four-hour games. The twice-a-month highlight, several women mention, is their pregame breakfasts at Carrow's restaurant on Calgrove Boulevard. ``We just look forward to once a week getting together,'' said Irene Georgouses, 71, a former leader of the old club. ``We like each other's company, and it's something for us to do,'' added Henrietta Groch, 80. Many in the group said playing cards playing cards, parts of a set or deck, used in playing various games of chance or skill. The origin of playing cards is unknown, and almost as many theories exist as there are historians of the subject. keeps them mentally sharp; a plausible claim considering the strategy they employ on three-person canasta teams, the math involved in scoring each game and the concentration necessary to keep track of the cards an opponent discards. ``I never win,'' Virginia Balsz complained jokingly as she surveyed her rummy hand. ``I tell them I'm not coming back anymore.'' The city Parks Department allows the group, composed mostly of widows and retirees, to use the community room free of charge. The weekly card sessions have spawned other group activities, like periodic day trips or weekend outings, Georgouses said. Nicely coiffed and smartly dressed, sporting jewelry and makeup appropriate for a day on the town, the women laugh and banter without losing their focus on the game - ``unless we get some good hot gossip, and then we forget about the cards,'' joked canasta player Jean Rother, 78. The weekly card games, players said, give them an excuse to get together to talk about their grandchildren and recent vacations to places like Branson, Mo., to swap recipes, discuss current events and - in the case of the rummy players - maybe win a buck or two in change. Perhaps, best of all, is the diversion the games provide from everyday concerns. ``We forget we have pains,'' said 89-year-old Helen Baker. Anyone interested in joining the group may call Lebovitz at (805) 259-3529. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color) Lorraine Magowan peeks around her hand to get a look at the group of discards during a friendly game of canasta Thursday. (2--color) The weekly card game at the Newhall Park and Recreation Center gives seniors a chance to visit, catch up on gossip and win pocket change. Hans Gutknecht / Daily News |
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