Every Sunday afternoon, rain or shine, a group of women gathers to play bingo at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2811 off Waldo Road.
Players arrive early to purchase bingo cards starting at $25, make small talk and eventually settle into the same seats they’ve occupied for decades. Some arrange their tables with flowers, colorful markers known as dabbers, and personal ‘good luck’ charms. For this group of serious bingo gurus, it’s about both ritual and creation. Everyone knows exactly what to do, where to sit, and how to play.
Post 2811 recently celebrated its 93rd anniversary and some of these women, like Brenda Hilderbran, have been coming for most of their lives. But as the regulars have grown older, the room has changed.
“I was 17 the first time I came in here and now I’m 65 now. So we’re talking 50-something years,” said Hilderbran, gazing around the room. “This place used to be packed”
Even so, on this particular Sunday there isn’t much empty space.
The players settle in for the long haul- often four or five hours at a stretch. At the head of the room, a ‘caller’ sits beneath an antique display board announcing each number from a headset. TVs placed around the room display numbers so there’s no confusion for the players. Once a person wins bingo, a ‘runner’ resembling a Harley-Davidson biker wearing an SEC referee uniform, rushes to the table and confirms the winning card. This happens every five minutes or so.
The money raised from purchased bingo cards helps keep the post operating and supports its mission of serving local veterans.
“It keeps the doors open,” said Avery Owen, a veterans advocate at the post who recently helped organize a weekly guitar jam. “That money goes toward the VFW and the programs we offer.”
Outside, the nondescript building looks more like a tool shed for the adjacent football field than a bustling bingo den. Aside from the two decommissioned military tanks parked beside the road- there’d be little indication this was a VFW. Each tank is draped with a banner reading: ‘BINGO NOW OPEN.”
Inside, however, the hall tells a different story. Military memorabilia, news articles, and anti-communist posters cover nearly every inch of wall space. Playful conversation fills the air along with the smell of homemade Thai noodles, prepared by one of the players. All is well at Post 2811.
Like many VFW posts across the country, Post 2811 has faced an aging membership and changing demographics. But every Sunday afternoon, the familiar ritual continues. The same friends gather around the same tables, waiting for that lucky number to be called.
