Minnesota Bridge

Evan Sachs - 1932 - 2019

The St. Paul community lost a treasure this week. So did Minneapolis and its members.

 

 

Evan Sachs, excellent and long standing member of our bridge community, passed away Sunday.  Great as Evan was as a competitor, he was an even more superb friend and contributor to our bridge world. 

Steve Gaynor has kindly shared with us his personal experiences with Evan, along with his many gifts to our bridge world. I, too have some thoughts to share about the man who always had a smile on his face and loved both bridge and our members so deeply.

 

I am sorry to report that Evan Sachs passed away last night.  He was at peace but missed his wife, Eleanor, who passed away seven months ago, just at the end of their first 64 year adjustment to marriage period.

 

He made great friends all over the area as during his early years in MN.  Evan was in product sales and had a territory that included Des Moines and Omaha.  Naturally he stopped at bridge clubs there to play.  

 

He described a bridge hand as a blank canvas, waiting to be drawn upon.  Sometimes it became like a Rembrandt, other times like your 2nd grade grand kids first effort - but still both worthy of study by posting on the wall of your den or on the door of your refrigerator.

 

One of his favorite hands occurred in a team game playing against the Mike Passell team. Evan may have set a record during one competitive auction when he bid 4N as Blackwood, partner responded 5D, the first time they had bid that suit. He recalled the look on his partner, Bill Erickson's face when he passed, but then tabled his 9 bagger!  The contract made, helping them beat the team of pros. I asked Even what would have happened if Bill had responded differently and he said since he didn't, there was no need to speculate.

 

In the mid-80's I was between jobs for about two months so when the duty of reading the want ads and grinding out resumes, I went down to the club to play.  Even though I only had about 100 MP's or so, Evan, an experienced Life Master, gladly gave me some games.  We played several times a year up to June of this year. 

 

Evan considered the bridge world his second family and loved us accordingly.  I know I will miss him like a the brother he was to me.  

 

Steve Gaynor

 

 

 

I thank Steve for sharing his personal stories with Evan. And now - a few of mine.

 

15 years ago, Evan and some other players began to work hard to get bridge into the schools. It is a very tough goal in Minnesota, particularly back then. Yet Evan was determined and managed to have some classes arranged!

 

Of course, I was happy to photograph these great events, and am sharing a few of our long time ago memories of Evan's giving and skills with the kids back then.

 

I am also delighted that Evan was able to compete and share his fabulous and positive views on life and bridge with us for so many years.  Evan was a huge and wonderful influence on our community.  

My last visit with Evan was during the memorial for another star Minnesota bridge player, Jack Rhatigan.  Evan was moving more slowly; friends helped him with his walker.  And Evan shared with me how difficult it was no longer having his life partner, Eleanor, by his side.

 

I am certain that Evan will now be reunited with the love of his life - and that we can all cherish our decades of friendship with a most special man - Evan Sachs.

 

        Peg Kaplan

 

 

 

 

Evan Sachs Age 87, of Edina, formerly of Golden Valley and St. Louis Park, passed away peacefully at home on November 24. Preceded in death by Eleanor, his beloved wife of 63 years. Survived by children Edward (Connie), Karen (David Stephenson), and Andrea (Drew Forsberg), and by grandchildren Emily, Laura, Brian, Derek, and Nathan.

Evan was loved by many for his warmth, generosity, and kindness. His big heart and devotion to family and friends brought joy and comfort to all of us. An avid fan of Gilbert and Sullivan, poetry, history, and Jeopardy, Evan shared an especially close bond with his contract bridge friends. Private family ceremony at this time, with a celebration of life during the new year.

In lieu of flowers, friends and family are invited to donate to the ACBL Education Foundation or the charity of their choice.

 

Mary Meinecke - 1932 - 2019

Minnesota's bridge community suffered two great losses this week. The first was the passing of Mary Meinecke.  Family, friends, teaching - and bridge - were the highlights of her life.  A mainstay of the St. Paul Bridge Center and its community, Mary was the heart of bridge in St. Paul for decades.

Kim Hayward has written a beautiful remembrance of this remarkable woman. We thank Kim for her contribution to honor Mary - and we thank Mary herself for all she has done for us over the years. We mourn our loss - and an obituary follows Kim's stories about Mary.

 

 

Mary Meinecke is one of the first people anyone would meet when arriving at the Bridge Center of St Paul. She was a teacher and game director. She served on the Board. She always sat at Table #1, which put her in line with the front door. Everyone would greet her as they arrived. No one would dream of sitting in her seat of honor.

Mary played a very uncomplicated game, she didn’t add every new convention to her game plan, she didn’t need them. Her declarer play was phenomenal. A player once mentioned that playing with Mary was like driving a brand new car, all the buttons, lights, levers worked perfectly, brakes and transmission powerful and responsive. What you expected in the bidding and play, you received--reliable and spot-on.

Lately she has been a mentor, both in our mentoring classes and in countless 1-on-1 mentoring relationships. She was willing to play with anyone and everyone. This is not usual for players of her caliber. Often players with thousands of masterpoints play with piers. Mary used her talents to help any level player reach their next level.

She enjoyed playing at tournaments both in town and around the ACBL. Last year she went to play in Florida. In September this year she attended the Rochester Regional and won 1^st overall yielding almost 23 masterpoints. Just this month she played in the Oakdale Sectional.

Two days before her trip to the hospital, she played at the club and won 1^st overall with a 60%+ game. As of this month she had earned 3,765 masterpoints and reached the level of Sapphire Life Master.

Her loss has created a huge hole in our hearts and our club. Someone will have to sit at Table #1 and fill Mary’s chair, but there is no one who can replace her.

 

Mary's visitation and Catholic mass will be Friday 11/29 at 10am and & 11am respectively. Location: Church of St Michael, 611 S 3rd St, Stillwater.

Her obituary & more details can be found at simonetfuneralhome.com.

 

There will be a luncheon following the service and burial. Mary's daughter would appreciate R.S.V.P.s for the luncheon for planning purposes. You can reply to this email if you plan to attend.

 

The Bridge Center of St Paul will have a game to honor Mary on Thursday 12/5 at 12:30 with refreshments before the game.

--

Kimberly Hayward, Club Manager

Bridge Center of St Paul

651-490-5430 w

651-271-3500 c

 

 

Minnesota's College Students SHINE!

Many Minnesotans are aware that we have two superb schools in our state where our great game is enjoyed by up and coming college students:  University of Minnesota and Carleton College.

Not only are these students learning and enjoying the greatest mind game ever - they are performing quite admirably, too!

The most recent College Bridge Online Tournament was held on November 15th. We are so proud that one of our Carleton students finished second, earning an Amazon gift card prize. 

We are also most impressed that Carleton College and University of Minnesota finished 3rd and 4th overall in average scores.  Those participating in the College Initiative are from an array of impressive and high performing institutions. Thus students from our great state are shining brightly in tough competition!

We'd like to send congratulations to our high achievers - and wish all of our bridge students the best as they continue to learn more and more about our fascinating game. 

In addition, big thanks to Carleton President Sophia Maymudes and Erica Helgerud.  Both were very helpful in sending me the photos below of Carleton students learning and loving bridge!

(Please note that I have no current U of MN photos.  Class will start in 2020 and I will be sure to get myself and my camera over to the U to take photos of this year's students!  And as always, my thanks to Honors Dean Matthew Bribitzer-Stull and the other fine bridge playing professors who are educating dozens of students about The Greatest Game ever!)

 

 

John Koch - The Rest of the Story!

 

As your webmaster, I am indebted to Connie Nelson for the fine articles and photos she has been sharing with us.  Her latest and greatest, about John Koch, was superb.

Yet, Connie has not been around the bridge world almost forever as yours truly has.  And, as such, I felt compelled to add a bit to John’s history – and accomplishments.

First, John has the 4^th highest masterpoint holding in Minnesota. Given that John worked for decades as an attorney in St. Cloud and did not have as much free time as some, impressive indeed. 

 

Even more impressive is this; John is one of only two Grand Life Masters in our state.  As there are a number of quite talented players who do not reach the top status that one can in the ACBL, this is a big deal.  One of the tasks one must achieve to become a GLM is to win a title in an open NABC event.  John did that in 2004, playing with partner Tony Ames, along with teammates Rod Beery and Mary Egan in the Baze Senior Knockout Teams.  And – lest you think that “senior” means this wasn’t a tough event, guess again!  John’s team battled against and beat some of the greatest names in bridge history to win. And they did so playing 4 handed, which is especially challenging!

A few years prior to the NABC win, John, again along with Tony and 4 teammates, was 2^nd in the 0-5000 Mini-Spingold. And in 2016, John and Terry Beckman were 2^nd in the Fast Open Pairs. Quite the showing, for certain!

 

 

How did John reach such heights?  I'm sure that his mom teaching him how to play as a young boy was part of it. Simply being smart and having an affinity for the game, too, was a help. Yet another factor was a combination of Tournament Bridge Long Ago - combined with John's drive to learn and win.

In Connie's article about John, she describes how John would attend tournaments and play against superstars.  At least part of that was that was the way bridge was decades ago!  No stratification nor Gold Rush.  If you wanted to play, you faced everyone.

Did many of us get crushed by elite players? Yes, we sure did. Yet at the same time, we were able to get "free lessons" by watching and learning from what these experts did.  John was adept at learning - and ultimately beating some of the best out there. I know, because some of the time, I was along for the ride with John and other teammates!  I remember tournaments where we would beat teams with players like Paul Soloway, Mike Passell, Mark Lair, Grant Baze, Bobby Goldman - and others.

Not only was it an enormous thrill to now and then win against world class players. We learned - big time - by sitting at the table against them. If you have been fearful of playing against very experienced players, I suggest that you try it sometime. And again and again!  Who knows, you might end up being a "John Koch" of the future!

 

In addition to John's success at the table, John has given Minnesota bridge players gifts.  What might these be?  

For sure, one is literally years of weekly articles about our game. Take a peek at the left hand side of MN Bridge, then scroll down until you find "categories" and then "Koch Korner."  

In addition to being a superlative player, John is also a fine writer.  Each offering is a gem; well written, insightful - sometimes mostly educational, or amusing, or a dazzling feat at the table.  We must be grateful to John for these years of gifts. Yet I still am hopeful that one of these days, John will put together a book!  John has the talent to do so; encourage him to think about it!

 

 

You might also note that in virtually each photo, John has a big smile on his face!  That's because in addition to being one of our most talented competitors, John is one of our nicest (highlighted above with another of our best and brightest and nicest; Cindy Balderson!)  

John - enormous thanks from me, and from our entire Minnesota bridge community, for all you do.  You set the bar so high in every respect for excellence in competing - and giving back.  We are grateful beyond words!

Holiday Sectional in St. Paul - December 6-8

 

Yes, the holidays are right around the corner!  Thanksgiving is a week from today...  And Hannukah and Christmas soon to follow.

To celebrate, St. Paul has a great sectional to offer.  Starting on Friday December 6th, team/pair events will be offered at the St. Paul Bridge Center. And Sunday the 8th, Swiss Teams.

Enjoy the season, the holidays - and - fun bridge with friends!  More details below the line with the flyer for December's event.

Grateful for Longevity

BIG thanks - yet again - to Connie Nelson from St. Cloud!  Connie has been superlative in sharing a wealth of wonderful stories about our game!  This time?  One of Minnesota's finest - and classiest - players:  John Koch.

Enjoy!

 

 

Quite a number of our St. Cloud Bridge Club are over ninety years old.  One evening, several of us “younger” players started guessing which of our players had been playing at the Club the longest.  I thought it was going to be Rosie Mettenburg.  I knew she started playing after retiring at age 55, almost 40 years ago.  And, she still plays every Friday at Whitney -- you’ll find her sitting south at table number 5! 

But, it turns out Rosie hasn’t been playing the longest.  That honor goes to John Koch. 

 

 

Many of you must know John Koch, as he is one of the highest ranked Master Point players in Minnesota.  But, you may not know his back story.  Here is what I found out:

John’s Mother taught John to play bridge when he was nine!  His father had died that year, and it was something the two of them could do together.  They lived in Milbank, SD and would play at the local duplicate game held every other Monday.  A highlight for his Mother was when the two of them won the very first tournament they entered.  For winning this two-session, non-life master event held in Aberdeen, they received a trophy over two feet tall.  His Mother proudly displayed it. 

Sadly, John’s Mother died six months after that tournament. 

 

                                                          John, his Mom – and their trophies

 

The first time John played at the St. Cloud Bridge Club was in 1967.  A junior at St. John’s University at the time, he simply called up the local Bridge director who was Paul Hoffman (later District Judge) and asked for a partner.  John was lined up with a 50-year old homemaker named Dodie Schrafels.  The two of them paired up for a while until John met another St John’s sophomore who played bridge.  This Johnny was ---- Tony Ames. 

During his sophomore year, Tony organized an ongoing bridge event at St. John’s which drew almost fifteen tables!  Those games eventually withered away, but John and Tony ended up becoming roommates at college and partners at bridge.  They would bring at least one or two tables of college “kids” to the St. Cloud club every week to play.  So… while John is not the oldest player at our Club by a long shot, he started out when he was the youngest.

What was the St. Cloud Club like back in the 1960s?  The games were played at one of the same locations we use today – that is, the lower level of the Labor Home, a building owned by the trade unions of St. Cloud.  John describes going there as a college junior, “It wasn’t anything like it is today.  The bar was open, and there were glasses of liquor at every table.  And, everyone smoked!  A layer of blue smoke just hovered.”  He added, “In fact, it was so bad that after I was married, my wife made me undress in the garage and hang my clothes out there before coming in the house.” 

John said another striking difference from today were the volatile arguments that used to break out at the tables.  He added, “Today, that doesn’t happen -- unless it’s between the partners of Koch and Duffy!”   He said that while arguments have lessened, what hasn’t changed is the ‘fierce competition’ here.  He said there have always been great players – from Al Brink, the Chair of the Math Dept at SCSU “who was 150% into bridge,” to Clara Henning “a diminutive housewife with killer instincts.”  

My last question to John was what bridge has meant to him in his life.  He answered that he’s had wonderful partners with whom he’s enjoyed going up against some of the best teams in the world, and sometimes beating them. 

“There have been times,” he said, “where my partner and I have played a regional a week, stopping on Sunday and starting again on Tuesday.  Sometimes, we’ve played every day for thirteen days straight.”  He encouraged any player to simply play, go to tournaments and build that confidence that they can compete. 

“Because,” he ended, “just when you think you are totally exhausted, a hand will make you feel like you’ve caught lightning in a bottle!  That is the beauty of Bridge.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit 178 November 16th Board of Directors Agenda

Unit 178's Board of Directors will be meeting this Saturday, November 16th, at 9:30AM.  The site for the meeting is the Twin City Bridge Center.

The Board's agenda is posted below the line.  Yet again, we thank our hard working board members for the very many hours and hours of effort they give to our game.  All of it enhances and grows bridge in our metro area!

Halloween in Rochester!

The Autumn Sectional had its Halloween, as did St. Cloud.  Rochester joined in the fun, too!

Below is a stupendous report on this beWITCHING holiday from our fine reporter down south:  Sue Greenberg.  Thanks, Sue; so glad the Rochester folks had a great day, too!

 

 

What a day at Rochester DBC!  The Instant Matchpoint game, a Halloween costume contest, and then happy hour after the game! 

 

This year's costume winners - June Lamb Kmiecik (as the fallen angel), Mary Funk (as Gloria Georger - infamous in our club), and John Woog (as Omar Sharif or perhaps Grouch Marx). 

 

 

 

Rochesterites play tough bridge, laugh at themselves, and have a great time as a wonderful bridge community.

 

 

 

And the happy hour after the game brought out some of our players culinary talents - sausages, peppers, and onion, persimmon wrapped in prosciutto, salmon pate, queso fundido cheese dip....... 

 

We invite you all to come and join our hospitality. 

 

 

 

Check out our website for special games and after game parties.  We'd love to see you!

 

Sue Greenberg, Club Manager

 

 

 

Minnesota Autumn Sectional Tournament - Results

 

 

Our Minnesota Autumn Sectional Tournament, which started on Thursday, Halloween, put a smile on a whole lot of people.  And - a whole lot of smiling people attended this fine event!  We had a big surge of competitors over last year; 276 tables of competitors, to be exact.

Our top masterpoint earner, Barry Purrington, amassed an impressive 44.40, to be exact. Quite impressive! Three players earned over 30 masterpoints: Tony Ames with 34.68, Paul Meerschaert with 30.87 and George Bleskachek, a hair behind Paul with 30.75.  Kerry Holloway secured the 5th spot with 24.54**.  The final list of masterpoint winners is here; overall placings are here.

Big thanks to Directors Kim Hayward and Bjorgvin Kristinsson, Maureen Weiman for partnerships, and of course, our fine co-chairs, John Schlundt and Kerry Holloway.

A special ** to Kerry, who went above and beyond the call of duty in many ways this tournament. In addition to his hard work in advance with John, Kerry first had to deal with a partner not being well enough to attend. And then Kerry himself had to cancel multiple games due to his wife's very unfortunate accident on Saturday. I'm sure we all wish Cara Holloway the best, who is now resting comfortably in the hospital after a fall that required hip surgery. Kerry, husband supreme, managed to handle details at the tournament but spent most of his time with Cara.

Here's to good health to all our Minnesota bridge players - applause for all our volunteers - and plans for our upcoming December sectional, too!

Thanks to all and thanks for attending!

 

St. Cloud Bridge - Our Howling Halloweens

Roger Melaas recounts that several years ago, the St. Cloud Bridge Club was known to be a bit too serious and intimidating.  But for the last many years, and especially after Kory Solarz became the manager, the Club’s atmosphere has turned more playful and welcoming.  Roger has dubbed our culture now as - “we are family.”

We certainly have fun together.  Often, we carry that fun over into get-togethers outside the official Club games.  Halloween is one such time.  Club members Eileen and David Johnsen have hosted a bridge party at their home for seven years.  Eileen says of the party’s origin: “I have always loved entertaining.  We used to hold an outdoor pool party in the summer.  One year, Dennis Dufner said, ‘What?  No bridge!’  So, we switched to Halloween in order to combine partying and playing.”

 

“Incredible” Eileen and David Johnsen

Each October we dress in hair-raising costumes, eat a pot luck meal together, and then play bridge – for points, but mostly for cackling rights!  If you dare, following are the spooky pictures of us from the last three years.

Halloween 2017

 

 

Seated in front:  Hosts David and Eileen Johnsen, and leaning in, Roger Melaas.  Seated, second row: Jenee Nederloe, Barbara Johnson, Jane Curtis, Marlene Schroeder, Ginger Hinkenmeyer, Mary Labernik, Judy Knutson, and Kory Solarz.  Standing, back row: Ruth Sundby, David Boushek, Sue Knauss, Joan Pickard, Judy Reynolds, Char Thul, Wayne Reynolds, Greg Nastrom, Connie Nelson, Roger Knauss, Jim Schnepf and Amy Roske.

 

Halloween 2018

 

In 2018, many from the Club attended the Omaha regional tournament held in October that year. 

 

 

“Haunted” because we were missing the Johnsen Halloween party: Jim Schnepf, Jane Curtis, Greg Nastrom, Darlene Nastrom, Sue Knauss, Judy Knutson, Paul Sitz, Connie Nelson, Wayne Reynolds and Roger Knauss.

 

Back in St. Cloud, these devilish players had a good time anyway.

 

 

Front row:  Hosts Eileen and David Johnsen.  Second row, seated: Judy Reynolds, Barbara Johnson, Roger Melaas and Char Thul.  Third row, standing: Wayne Reynolds, Jim Mustain, Joan Pickard, David Boushek, David Warne, Sandra Hatch, Jon Hatch and Saundy Fedor.

 

Halloween 2019

This year, the party was held on Sunday October 27^th.   Not as many were able to attend … it was just a “skeleton” crew. 

 

 

Front row:  Eileen Johnsen and Connie Nelson.  Second row, seated: Kory Solarz, Joe Lisbon, Jane Curtis, Jim Mustain, Barbara Johnson and Char Thul.  Third row, standing: Jim Schnepf, Bobbi Eich, Judy Knutson, Shannon Quinlivan, Sandra Hatch, Roger Melaas and David Boushek.

 

Care to join us for Halloween 2020?

 

BIG thanks to St. Cloud intrepid reporter Connie Nelson for the spooktacular Halloween report and photos!