Bingo: Monday night game at Senior Center attracts locals, others
Callers, floorwalkers, keepers of the ‘kitty’ all part of what offered
By Elizabeth Barrett
November 16, 2007
“I 27” says the caller, moving the microphone close to her mouth so her voice projects over the heads of people huddled over numbered papers.
“B 4” she declares.
To her left, each number she calls is illuminated on a large board.
“Bingo” a woman shouts, waving her paper in the air.
Curt Carskadon, known as the floor walker in “bingo lingo,” strolls to the woman and checks the numbers she’s marked with what is posted on the lighted board.
“She’s a regular,” offers Adaline Shabram of Gothenburg about the winner of the game who is Gwen Catterson of Arnold.
Shabram can also be described as a “regular” as she’s traveled weekly to the Senior Center to play bingo for a couple of years.
“There’s nobody home at my house,” she says. “And the Senior Center is a fun place to go.”
Plus Shabram enjoys the game and tries to make it to the Senior Center each Monday night unless she’s in the hospital.
“I broke a leg awhile ago,” she says.
On this Monday night, Shabram speculates activities are going on elsewhere because the number of people playing bingo is smaller than usual.
“Usually we have 40 to 50 people,” she says about the sparse attendance that this night numbers 34.
In the meantime, Carskadon declares that the bingo is valid and hands Catterson a $10 bill.
How much winners take home each week depends on how many people show up to play the game and the number and cost of each bingo sheet they buy. Cards can be bought for $1, $5 and $10.
Harriett Block, the bingo caller, says: “The more who play, the more we pay.”
Players who put money in the “kitty” or cookie jar each week can take home a bigger share if the first number called at the beginning of the evening is the same one with which they “bingo.”
However to qualify, “kitty winner” hopefuls must have a sheet with a mark on the back which they receive when they put money in the cookie jar, according to Orvin Stevens who used to be the bingo floorwalker for 20 years until hip problems prevented him from doing that job.
“Sometimes there isn’t a bingo and the kitty grows,” explains Stevens who now takes care of the kitty in the cookie jar.
He notes that Larry Lake was recently a big winner.
When he first started playing bingo, participants used bingo boards with windows that slid open and shut on each number.
Somewhere along the way, special bingo daubers and sheets made an appearance.
Even though Stevens doesn’t play bingo so much anymore, he shows up at the Senior Center each week for companionship.
“Everybody knows everybody—that’s the reason I’m here,” he says. “I’ve become acquainted with so many people.”
Although there are a few bingo players from Gothenburg, Stevens says the majority are from other towns like Lexington, Cozad, Arnold, Sutherland, Hershey and Brady.
A handful of residents from Park View Villa Home also gather to try their luck at the game.
Pam Gage, a staff residential assistant for South Central Developmental Services in Cozad, says playing bingo helps residents hone their skills in working with numbers.
What do they do with their winnings?
Terri Moore has played bingo at the Senior Center for 25 years.
“It’s cheap entertainment,” Moore says with a laugh. “You can come and have an evening of fun and it doesn’t cost you much at all.”
Molly Magana, who is seated next to Moore, says bingo on Monday nights is the only way she gets out of the house.
“It’s my day out,” says the professed longtime bingo player.
In addition to offering fellowship and the chance to win money, Shirley Stevens says profits made from the game help support the Senior Center which is operated by volunteers.
“We need more local people to play bingo,” she says, noting that anyone 18 or older is eligibile to participate.
A snack bar opens at 6 p.m. on Monday nights that serves everything from sandwiches to porcupine meatballs for $1.25. Free popcorn is also available.
Harriett Block has called the game for at the center for “a long, long time.
Block also helps insure that requirements are met to keep the Senior Center state-licensed so people can play bingo for money.
In addition to supporting the Senior Center, Block said players have a good time.
“Some ladies go every chance they get,” she said.
barrett@gothenburgtimes.com 308-537-3636
Bingo: Monday night game at Senior Center attracts locals, others
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