Scott County euchre tournaments unite generations of family, friends

Some words seem to be everywhere.

Trump was one of them in the month of January.

The then President-elect Donald Trump consumed the majority of the nation's attention from the start of the new year in the buildup toward his inauguration on Jan. 20.

While protesters gathered around the country the day after the inauguration to voice their objection to the new president, 104 people assembled in the gymnasium at St. Augustine School in Kelso, Missouri, with the new leader's last name on their tongues, minus the politics.

Their "trump" pertained to the locally popular card game of euchre.

Viola Tranaler contemplates her next play in a Euchre tournament at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg, Missouri on January 14, 2017. Ben Matthews

Each player had anteed $10 for the annual tournament that included chili, hotdogs, dessert, conversation and a chance to win the grand prize, which on this particular evening was about $140 to the first-place team.

Many had participated in a larger annual euchre tournament the previous weekend in nearby New Hamburg, Missouri, which drew 196 players, and many would be headed to the annual Scott City Knights of Columbus tournament the following weekend.

Kelso event organizer Brian Ziegler already was going to remind the gathering of the Scott City tournament, as well as other upcoming events, in his welcoming when he was approached by a woman.

"Could you announce that Chaffee is having one tomorrow at 1 p.m.?" the woman asked.

Ziegler, an obliging host and avid player, added it to his list.

Viola Tranaler enjoys a postgame laugh with Rose Kern during a euchre tournament at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg, Missouri, on Jan. 14.Ben Matthews

Yes, the season was in full swing in this curious hotbed for euchre, a 24-card game that can move at a lightening-quick pace when tackled by veterans.

"It's just a card game that is popular down around this area," Ziegler says. "It's fun, people can get together that play it and have a good time. ... It's hard to teach people to play if they don't play it. The ones that play it play it so fast you can't even learn it."

The tournament schedule, which also includes monthly games at the Jackson Knights of Columbus and weekly events at the Scott City Knights of Columbus, gets heavy during the winter months.

Ziegler estimated that about 30 percent of the players were from Kelso, with the remainder from neighboring towns like New Hamburg, Benton and Scott City.

"I'd say all of them are from within a 10- to 12-mile radius of Kelso," Ziegler says.

Euchre tournament at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg, Missouri on January 14, 2017. Ben Matthews

Euchre requires some rewiring of the brain with its unique card hierachy. The jack of a named suit and its corresponding jack of the same color, trumps all other cards. It's second nature to those indoctrinated to the game at a young age or who have played for a while, but for a new player, its lickety-split discarding can be as intimidating as a first-time driver approaching a freeway at rush hour.

"The thing about euchre people don't understand is that jacks are boss," says Don Spurlock, a veteran of the game from Scott City. "They beat aces, they beat kings, they beat queens. They're the highest card in the deck."

The rounds, which consist of five tricks, are played with a partner, and with the right group can be completed in well under a minute from deal to finish. The object is to accumulate points each round, and the first to 10 points wins the game. Teams then rotate to face another pair in a round-robin format that features 10 games on the evening. The winner at the end of the night is the team with the best overall record, with a cumulative margin of victory the tie-breaker.

The players were assigned partners in a blind draw at Kelso.

"They don't know who their partner is until they get to the table," Ziegler says. "It's a night of fun and fellowship. It's a good way to get to know new people, but also a good way to get back in touch with people you haven't seen in a while."

Rose Kern prepares to deal the next hand during a Euchre tournament at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg, Missouri on January 14, 2017.Ben Matthews

Carol Berger, a lifelong Kelso resident, was among the many veteran players in attendance. The 70-year-old says she began playing euchre at the age of 14 and gets into as many tournaments as possible.

"I go to all of them," Berger says. "I played it at home with my family, and when they started these I started going to them."

It seemed natural to her when the large-scale euchre touranments started popping up as fundraisers for churches and organizations.

"I'm not surprised," Berger says. "They play a lot of euchre around here."

Also in attendance was Randy Kern, who organized the 26th edition of the New Hamburg tournament the previous week. His cousin started that tournament, and Kern has organized the tournament nine times, including the last five years. The 62-year-old says he's been playing the game since the age of 7 or 8.

Alene Hamilton reaches for cards during a Euchre tournament hosted by the Jackson Knights of Columbus at the Jackson Knights of Columbus Hall on January 8, 2017.BEN MATTHEWS

"Euchre is a popular game down in this area," Kern says. "We're all of German descent, and that's a big game with Germans."

It's believed euchre was introduced around the mid-1800s by German settlers in Pennsylvania. The game became popular around the country before waning and settling into regional pockets, with the Midwest and upper-Midwest containing the majority of the strongholds.

The 61-year-old Spurlock said he learned the game when he lived in Michigan during the 1970s. Much like the game itself, one the participants acknowledge is largely guided by luck, it's hit or miss where the game thrives.

"You don't get it in Farmington, nowhere down in the Bootheel, but right in this area is the only place that plays euchre," Spurlock says. "Because I've talked to a lot of people and they've never heard of it. I have a nephew up there in Ironton, and them people around there don't even know what euchre is."

Father Joe Wiedenbenner has been pastor at St. Augustine Parish for the last year and a half, and he's still trying to get a handle on the game. He was on the sideline, attending on a purely social level after conducting the Mass service that preceded play.

Viola Tranaler plays her next card while Rose Kern waits to see her move during a Euchre tournament at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg, Missouri on January 14, 2017. (Ben Matthews)

He grew up in Southeast Missouri near Campbell, Missouri, where spades, hearts and canasta were popular, but saw a new game when attending Southeast Missouri State University in the mid-1980s.

"I didn't hear euchre until I came to SEMO, and I met some of the guys from New Hamburg and from Kelso," Wiedenbenner says. "They were playing at the Student Center one day up there, and I was like, 'What are you playing?' I tried to watch it and didn't have enough time to spend with it."

He has a general understanding but remains reluctant to jump into the fast-paced game that bridges generations in his parish.

"You go to any family gathering and they'll probably be playing euchre," Ziegler says.

And sometimes the families gather at euchre tournaments.

Billy Wayne Kern relaxes while his next hand is dealt in a Euchre tournament at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg, Missouri on January 14, 2017. (Ben Matthews)

Dustin Essner, 40, of New Hamburg attended the Kelso event, and his parents, Andy and Carla Essner, also were participating.

Dustin, well below the median age of the competitors, says he's been playing euchre "since he can remember."

His 11-year-old son, Colton, was nowhere to be found, but Dustin left no question the game had been passed down.

"He knows the gist of it," Dustin says.