It’s not just about bingo

Toni Barr, center, studies her card during a game of bingo at the Parkade Center on Tuesday. She has attended bingo games each week for at least two years.   ¦  SALLY MORROW/Missourian

Every Tuesday at 2 p.m., 20 to 30 Older American Klub members gather to play bingo at the Parkade Center. Many members come each Tuesday, and jokes are rarely held back. The Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation sponsors this weekly event.

Most of the players heard about bingo through the Senior Citizen Center, or as one of the players called it, “The Wrinkles Center.” Tuesday bingo games began several years ago and the Older American Klub continues the tradition today.

Three versions of bingo are played during the 30-minute session: regular, blackout and “stand-up” bingo. Each winner chooses from prizes that could include dish detergent, vanilla wafers or a new pair of scissors.

Toni Carr said she doesn’t come to bingo for the game. She comes to socialize and see how everyone is getting along. She said she only wins a game once or twice a month and donates any canned goods that she wins to charity organizations such as Harvesters.