The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Reporter's note: Betty Billmayer, of Chinook, emailed and asked if I'd like to attend the 95th birthday party for Frank Pherson, Sr. The birthday party was to be held on a Monday night, the regular meeting night of Pherson's poker club, and would be held prior to the weekly game. I was out of town but promised I would follow up on the story when I got home. I did follow up and discovered an interesting history of two poker clubs that both began in the early 1940's. Here's a synopsis of 70+ years of poker in Chinook-a Thursday night group and one on Mondays, which is still going

The Thursday night club-now history

While no one could really give a specific time when this poker club began, the common belief was sometime in the mid or early 1940's. It met every other week, on a Thursday night. The club's surviving strong box, a metal 'cash box' type carrier, was still in the possession of Art Kleinjan, one of several surviving members. The club ceased meeting at the end of 2012.

The strong box held three trays of chips, a couple of decks of cards, all the jokers from several past decks and an appointment date book, dated 1972. The date book was used to record when the group met, starting in 1984, with a date and which member would host the group for a particular session. The last entry noted "Art 1-3-2013". Art Kleinjan said, "I must have taken the box home with me after the last session at the end of 2012 since I would be the next host. We never got together again so I've had the box since. I didn't really know what to do with it."

Several members who played in the club regularly drink coffee mid-morning at the Chinook Senior Center. When they saw the strong box the stories and memories began to come back. There was a bit of cash still in the bottom of the box, which members decided they would give to a local charity. One former player said, "The old guys in that poker club kept detailed records and accounted for every penny. I'm surprised they let that cash slip by." Kenny Schubert, one of the youngest former members, said, "I'd guess that was money tossed in by some of the later players. We weren't real big on record keeping."

Jay Eslick, who played as an alternate at times, said of the club, "They were famous for playing a lot of different and unusual games of poker and liked to play fast. Sometimes a hand would be over and I never even got the rules." Another former member recalled, "We always played with two decks. While a hand was finishing up the next dealer was shuffling the cards and getting ready for the next game. We probably got in several more hands because we didn't waste time."

Another recalled of the Thursday club, "They didn't invite you back to play if you didn't lose enough hands." And they always played the same game for the last hand, calling it the "cleanup" hand. Unfortunately none could remember the name of the game, but recalled it was fast and furious.

Like the current club still playing, this group played a version of poker called "county poverty poker". Each player had $5 worth of chips to play with, if they ran out of money there was a process whereby the loser got an extra card and split with the next winner if they could beat the winner." All agreed it was a way to keep people in the game.

Of poverty poker, Kleinjan recalled, "When a player ran out of money we said they had 'gone on the county.' The idea was to keep everyone playing so they had a chance to get back in the game with a new stake." Of the seven last players and an alternate, all but two are still living and recall those Thursday night poker games with lots of fond memories and playing with 'some real characters.'

The Monday night club, still going strong

Frank Sharples and Frank Pherson, Sr., are about the same age-mid-90's. Sharples recalled joining the poker club shortly after he got out of the Navy at the end of World War II. Sharples said the Monday night group first began out in Paradise Valley, then eventually moved in to town. He's pretty certain the club started in the early 1940's, wasn't sure exactly when it moved in to town but thought it was in the early 1950's. Pherson, who has recently stopped playing but still hosts the club by turn, said he joined shortly after Sharples.

The two took a few minutes to reminisce about the club. They fondly recalled former members who died, then were replaced by new players. One story involved a player who played on a Monday night, then died two days later. John Hamilton, another deceased player, once got a royal flush with spades. The club had the hand, made up of the deck he got the hand on, and had it mounted on a plaque for his family.

Father Frank Wiedinger, a former priest in Chinook, was a member of the club for a time. Pherson and Sharples recalled, "Father Frank would always pull the drapes, then take off his clerical collar and say, 'let's play poker.'" At the priest's passing the club made a plaque noting "from Father's choir".

Asked if weather ever caused a cancellation, the two recalled a winter trip when the club decided to meet at someone's cabin. Sharples said, "The snow was so deep we had to walk in from the road to the cabin. Right away Frank (Pherson) said, "I've lost my hearing aid." We looked and looked but couldn't find it in the snow and dark. When we came back to the car, after the session, we could hear the ear piece 'squealing' in the snow and found it." The club does cease playing 'during golf season'.

Sharples has the longest tenure with the club. Frank Pherson, Jr., Frank Sr.'s son, took his father's place a few months ago. The two explained a family member usually takes the place of a regular player. Sharples said, "My son Bob will probably take my place." Some seats are reserved to include a particular part of the community, that's how retired superintendent Jay Eslick was asked to join when the outgoing superintendent of Chinook schools left. Eslick has been playing for about 11 years with the group.

For both poker groups the 'buy in' has remained at $5. Jay Eslick, thinking about the same buy in for 70 years said, "I looked that up one time and the cost now to buy in, at 1940 values, would be about $85." It appears poker buy in is one thing not easily affected by inflation.

Don Ranstrom; Larry Wisch; Jay Eslick and Mark Billmayer. Players not pictured were: Larry Surber; Frank Sharples and Frank Pherson, Jr. The Monday club has regularly played poker since the early 1940's.

Larry Wisch was the only player anyone could recall who played in both clubs, and the alternating nights allowed that possibility. He stayed with the Monday club when the other club ceased. The Monday night club plays a few, repeating types of games, no wild unfamiliar games for them. Larry Surber, who joined the group just before Jay Eslick, said, "We do use two decks, but only to switch when someone is having a long run of bad or good hands. Switching decks doesn't seem to help much in either case."

The future of the Monday poker club

Asked about the future of the Monday club, the two oldest members had opposing forecasts. Pherson, Sr. said, "There's always a waiting list to join. We aren't millionaires, we don't go to Vegas."

Sharples was a bit more sanguine, saying, "I'm not really sure of our future. But, it's cheaper than spending a night in a bar."

An observer of the camaraderie amongst the current poker players can only conclude, poker on Monday nights in Chinook is alive and well and likely to continue-after all, per Pherson, there's still a waiting list.