LeRae Haynes
Special to the Tribune/Advisor
Local crib players Gladys Paulson and Bernie Inscho are off on a new adventure this week, competing in the 55+ Games for the first time. They said they’re excited to try something new.
“We’re going to have a good time, meet up with old friends and make some new ones,” they explained. “Crib is very social.”
There are two crib teams headed to compete in Vernon. Besides Paulson and Inscho, Gordon and Helen Mayfield will attend the games for the second time.
Paulson said they took first place last year.
“I learned to play crib as a youngster,” Inscho explained with a laugh. “My brother taught me, but he didn’t teach me very well.”
Paulson said she learned from her husband, and played a lot of cards at home. “We play crib here at the Seniors Activity Centre all the time; it’s good company and lots of fun,” she explained.
They play a couple of times a week at the Activity Centre, and have a crib tournament at the end of October. “We usually sell 60 tickets and it’s often a sold-out event,” Paulson continued. “People come from Quesnel, 100 Mile and Lac La Hache – we all go to each other’s towns for tournaments throughout the year.”
She added that many of the crib players are on their own, and that the game is an important social interaction. “My husband died seven years ago, and I came in here the first time, scared as a rabbit. I had to do this all on my own, and this place took me in like I was family. Bernie and another lady said, ‘come on and play crib.’
“For people used to being out of their shell, it would be no big thing, but it was for me. I made new friends and had a place that made me feel so welcome,” she continued. “This place was my lifesaver.
“Crib players are so friendly,” she said. “Now we get to go to Vernon and have even more fun.”