Midge Sobolewski
For its many members, the Harrisburg Bridge Club is more than just a place for a card game.
“It’s not the club, it’s the people,” said 40-year member Pam Murray of Fairview Township. ”It’s more than just a club. We establish friendships here.”
In fact, Murray even met her second husband at the club, she said.
Member Karen Miovas described it as “a place of peace.”
“Despite the political tensions in the world and stress of the pandemic, for many, when they sit down to play bridge, they feel a sense of peace,” she said.
It’s that unity that has kept the Harrisburg Bridge Club operational since its founding by five friends in 1948. This month, the club, boasting 411 members, celebrates its 75th birthday with membership events at the club’s headquarters in Camp Hill.
Murray, who chairs the club’s 12-member anniversary committee, refers to the spacious, 5,000-square-foot Camp Hill facility, which opened in 2012, as “the house that friendship built.”
“Most (bridge club) places around the U.S. are proprietary, and the owners earn all the money,” Murray said. “We’re owned by our members, and our success or not success depends on members.”
The first tournament of the Harrisburg Bridge Club took place on March 29, 1948, at the city’s former William Penn Hotel. In 1951, the founders chartered the group as a nonprofit organization, and, three years later, members purchased a clubhouse on N. 21st Street in Camp Hill.
In ensuing years, members renovated the Camp Hill building, purchasing adjoining lots for expansion. In 1997, the club began raising money for construction of a new building. A trust fund was seeded, in part, by a $10,000 donation by the Kunkel Foundation, founded by late U.S. congressman and club member John C. Kunkel.
By the time construction began, the group had raised a total of $150,000, with members volunteering time and labor toward the project, according to member Robert Priest of Shipoke. The club’s new headquarters were dedicated on May 12, 2012.
Today, the facility hosts six to eight games, comprising various skill levels, per week and accommodates up to 40 player tables at once. The club also hosts a monthly brunch and bridge gathering for which rotating members provide food items.
A remaining $460,000 clubhouse mortgage was paid off in 2021 through membership activity, donations, and game fees. An eight-month run of exclusively virtual games, when the building was closed during the pandemic, was particularly fruitful.
“COVID let us run virtual games without the expense of running games in our building,” Priest said. “Online bridge is different than playing in person, though, because so much of playing bridge is based on body language.”
In July 2022, Harrisburg ranked 17th in the nation for the number of online games played. For in-person games, the group often ranks among the top-20 in the nation.
Although the Harrisburg Bridge Club welcomes new participants of all ages, many current members have reached a mature stage of life, according to club president Midge Sobolewski.
“We constantly have new members, but most are 50 or older,” she said. “We do have some younger people, but it is rare. There’s just so much else going on now and lots of other things for younger people to do these days.”
Older folks have plenty to gain from playing bridge, “one of the most challenging games there is,” Priest noted.
For one thing, the game is reputed to keep those aging cognitive functions sharp. Priest cited a Business Insider India article that stated, “Bridge is considered more of a strategic game than chess because unlike chess, bridge is a partnership game and depends considerably on the subtleties of communication.”
Priest said that the game also teaches beneficial skills for young adults “because it applies strategies, and you have to analyze people and situations.”
According to Sobolewski, there’s always something interesting going on at the Harrisburg Bridge Club.
For instance, registration fees collected from this month’s 75th anniversary celebration will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association’s “The Longest Day” fundraiser, as well as other club events to support other charities.
“Sometimes, we have meals, raise money for charity and have education classes for players,” Sobolewski said.
The Harrisburg Bridge Club’s 75th anniversary events take place May 18 to 21 at the club, 349 N. 21st St., Camp Hill. For more information, visit www.bridgewebs.com/harrisburg.
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