Brownsdale Study Club

The Brownsdale Study Club met Jan. 16, at the home of Fern Paschke. Jane Hartson led the meeting with the reading of the Collect. Secretary and treasurer reports were given. Ten members answered roll call by sharing a household hint.

There was no old or new business. Sharon Willis made a motion to adjourn and Mary Moritz seconded.

Hazel Schlichting presented several items for the main topic. Snow days from school offer the perfect opportunity for creative play, such as paper “snowball” fights, flashlight scavenger hunts and indoor picnics. Hazel also reviewed important January dates in history and read a Ralph Waldo Emerson poem.

For the outside reading, Mary Gallaher shared “The Girl in the Photo.” Kim Phuc Phan Thi, the nine-year-old girl in the famous 1972 photo, was pictured burned and naked, fleeing from her village after South Vietnamese dropped napalm bombs targeting Viet Cong fighters. She battled burn scars and pain and was prevented from attending college by government officials who used her as a propaganda tool to support Communist rule. Kim Phuc wanted to die, but instead, discovered a path toward Jesus. Eventually, she attended college in Cuba where she met her husband. They defected to Canada and Kim Phu discovered that by embracing the photo she could trade her pain for a better life and share the gifts God has given her.

Fern served a berry pie and ice cream.

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Duplicate Bridge

Duplicate Bridge was played on Jan. 15, with five tables

First place, Joyce Crowe  and Millie Seiver; second place, Edna Knobbe and Rick Stroup; third place, Jim Fisher and Bud Higgins; fourth place, Lorraine Lippert and Ron Peters; fifth place, Gail and Ray Schmidt

Nine teams played on Jan. 16

First  place, Dave Ring and Orrin Roisen; second place, Bonnie Fritz and Stan Schultz; third place, Barb Engebretson and Eunice Michaelis; fourth place, Ron Peters and Rick Stroup; fifth place, Loren Cleland and Bud Higgins

Nine teams played on Jan. 8.

First place, Larry Crowe and Bill Momsen; second place, Edna Knobbe and Rick Stroup; third place, Joyce Crowe and Millie Seiver; fourth place, Gail and Ray Schmidt.

Eleven teams played on Jan. 9.              

First place (tie),  Joyce Crowe and Millie Seiver and Larry Crowe and Jim Fisher; third place (tie) Dave Ring and Orrin Roisen and Loren Cleland and Bud Higgins. Fifth place, Gail and Ray Schmidt.

Sessions are played at the Mower County Senior Center in Austin. Players come from Adams, Albert Lea, Austin, Rose Creek and Mason City, Iowa.  They are always looking for more players. The games are open to anyone who like to play  a competitive game of duplicate bridge.