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RIDGEWAY, Minn. — Regular outbursts of laughter rise above the low hum of chatter inside Ridgeway Community School.
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Card players, from left, Nancy Hanson, Marion Vanderzee, George Wenzel and Hans Dammermann play in the first round of the Ridgeway 500 Card Party Sunday at Ridgeway Community School in Ridgeway, Minn. Eighty players signed up for the first day of the three-day tournament. (Photo by Andrew Link/Winona Daily News) |
Mary Wenzel surveys a room packed with 80 card players and can’t help but smile with them.
Welcome to Ridgeway’s annual PTA card tournament — a recently revived tradition that’s nearly 50 years old.
“The rules always stay the same,” Wenzel laughs. “The faces sometimes change.”
Patrons come to play games of 500 and raise money for Ridgeway, which split from District 861 in 2001 to become a charter school.
There are now 68 students in the K-5 school.
Organizers say fundraisers such as this are more necessary than ever to maintain the school’s presence in Ridgeway. The PTA purchased a defibrillator last year. This year, they hope to raise more than $1,000 for landscaping and playground equipment.
“The community support is mandatory, or we can’t stay open,” said organizer Jana Murphy.
That support was evident in Sunday’s turnout. After bad weather cancelled tournaments scheduled the past two weekends, Sunday provided the tourney’s best showing since 2002, when it was re-started. The tradition dates back to at least 1965 — and probably earlier, Wenzel said.
Players like Freddy Frickson, 72, of Winona have deep roots in Ridgeway. He sent his six children to the school “from the day it opened.”
“I’m tickled and glad to see it still going,” Frickson said.
Wenzel attended a predecessor to the current school — a one-room schoolhouse just outside Ridgeway. After moving to Arizona and returning to Minnesota several years ago, Wenzel and her husband, George, were eager to help re-start the card tournaments.
Participants pay $5 to play. They get two hours of card-playing and camaraderie, plus cookies, sandwiches and coffee.
“You can’t go to the movies for $5,” Wenzel said. “It’s good, cheap entertainment.”
