Is bingo making a comeback? Last week, I drove by the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Brodhead, Wisconsin, and noticed a large sign in their yard announcing Bingo. I passed too quickly to catch when it was being held regularly.
I remember seventy-five years ago, many organizations sponsored the fund raisers and the “old corn game” was included as part of the entertainment at local carnivals and county fairs.
Aunt Frannie and her friend, Blanche, spent several evenings each month playing the game at different churches and clubs in the area. Each of the women played nine cards at a time and kept a running total of how much money was spent and how much was won in cash prizes. The Jackpots growing week-to-week to several hundred dollars were a drawing card.
My folks liked to play bingo every Monday night at the New England Grange Hall in Durand. Of course, I had to go along because I was a grade-schooler. We each played three cards at a time. I learned to hate the game because I rarely won.
Sometime after that, Illinois joined the neighboring state, Wisconsin, and out-lawed the gambling game. The state legislature again legalized bingo in 1971 but it never regained its popularity. For a while, the Grange renewed their Monday evening gatherings but the organization soon died for a lack of members.
When I reached the age that a big part of my social life was attending showers for brides-to-be, the evening was often spent playing “take-away” bingo. None of the hostesses had much money and this allowed them to provide only three or four small prizes for multiple games. Each winner chose a prize already won by someone else. At the end of the evening, the guests who ended up with the prizes kept them. They were usually small, household items and passed to the guest-of-honor.
I still avoid the game, although I hear it is popular in retirement homes.
Do you enjoy playing bingo?