June 15, 2010
Editor:
Dave Uphoff
Last week I found a picture of a group of women who belonged to a card club back in the 1950's. My mother was in the picture and it brought back memories of life back then. My immediate thought was of how much our social life has changed over the last 50 years.My parents belonged to a club called "Fun Over 40" in which members would gather at one of the member's houses for a game of cards every few weeks in the winter and usually once a month in the summer. After playing pinochle for a few hours, sweets such as pie, cake or cookies were served with coffee while the group would catch up on the local gossip. Whenever the club had its party at our house, I would have to go to bed earlier than when the party ended. I would get out of bed and sneak half way down the stairs and listen to the laughter and talk. It was obvious that everyone was having a good time. Once in awhile my mother would get wise to me and would come up the stairs and make me go back to bed. She probably didn't want me listening to adult type conversation. The club remained active for over 30 years finally succumbing to the ravages of old age and infirmities among its members. But it also succumbed to the growing influence of television and the electronic revolution. Entertainment could now be delivered each night with the flick of a switch rather than visiting friends and neighbors. I compare life today to what it was like when my parents were my age and I have to admit they had a better social life than I. This realization struck me years ago when as a young man I came home from Chicago one weekend and walked in on one of the club's card parties at my parents house. The laughter and enjoyment seemed so real and genuine. I compared their enjoyment to the type of social life I was having in Chicago which consisted mainly of talking with strangers in bars or at work or occasionally attending a party full of strangers and possibly a few friends. I was making new friends but it didn't seem as comfortable as having a party with life long friends in familiar surroundings.
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Today our social life has morphed from card parties to enaging each other in the internet either through Facebook or emails. Face to face contact is gone - live conversation is gone. Now our thoughts are carefully constructed before being presented. Spontaneous reactions are no longer possible. Facial expressions, hand motions are no longer used to give added emphasis or meaning to our conversation. We sit isolated in our own world while communicating with the rest of the world. While it is easier for us to communicate with others it doesn't seem to be as much fun. Humans are happiest when they are among others. We have exchanged the richness and exuberance of personal conversation for the convenience of electronic communications where we become inundated with too much information. My parents social life was narrowly focused and a product of its time where people had to organize their own entertainment. Today our entertainment is given to us by the electronic revolution. Whether that is good or bad remains to be seen. But it seems that American life has lost some of its richness.
Fun Over 40 Club - Early 1950's
Pictured above top row from the left: Lena Smith, Hazel Woltzen, Grace Johnson. Middle row left: Greta Janssen, Mina Kalkwarf, Esther Young, Fanny VonBehren, Florence Uphoff. Bottom row left: Minnie Oncken, Ella Doorn, Katie Kettwich.
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