Twice a week for 43 years, Rosemarie Goodwin ran the Lewiston Bridge Club. She set up games for the club’s 30 players, oversaw the site, baked goodies for the people traveling in from Sydney or Gorham or another town far away.

Rosemarie Goodwin was the director of the Lewiston Bridge Club for more than 40 years Andree Kehn/Sun Journal Buy this Photo

She did this without fail every week, except for a single vacation once a year. Until this fall, when she broke her back and required surgery.

Now 76, Goodwin recently decided to take a step back from the club. She handed over her directing duties to another member. No more baking twice a week. No more making sure everything goes smoothly.

Now she just gets to play.

Name:  Rosemarie V. Goodwin

Age: 76

Town: Lewiston

Job: Retired 8th-grade language arts teacher, Lewiston Junior High (now Lewiston Middle School)

What got you interested in bridge? Learned to play in college and enjoyed mental and social aspects of the game.

Tell me about your club: The Lewiston Bridge Club is open to all social and duplicate bridge players, as are all the duplicate games everywhere.

Why become director? The Lewiston-Auburn director retired in 1976. I passed the American Contract Bridge League certified director’s exam in order to keep the duplicate game alive in our area.

What does the director do? The director is in charge of setting up the game according to the American Contract Bridge League rules. A regular session lasts 3-and-a-half hours, all players play the same hands and the results are tabulated to produce a winner.

How often does the club meet? We met on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9 a.m. at the Lewiston Armory. The new director (Patricia Quinn) will have a game only on Tuesdays effective immediately.

Have you ever missed a game? Only for a yearly September vacation in Old Orchard Beach (and this past August and September when I broke my back).

Why retire? I have been directing for 43 years and I wanted to retire to enjoy playing.

I heard your fellow bridge players threw you a retirement party. Tell me about that:  I was surprised with a luncheon (at Fish Bones) and in attendance were most of the players who have played bridge at the Lewiston or Auburn games at some point since I started directing in 1976.

And did you play bridge during the party? Yes, we did.

How does it feel playing but not directing? Wonderful! I don’t have to bake every Monday and Tuesday morning.

Why bake? The games started at 9 a.m.; many of the players arrived ready for something to eat as they had driven from cities and towns an hour away.

The funniest thing you ever saw happen during a bridge game: A pair played a hand that they had previously played and the bidding and score were completely different!

Do games ever get cutthroat? Everyone plays the same hands, and rules at duplicate bridge games have to be followed. A pleasant atmosphere is necessary to insure players come back for more.

Is it possible to cheat? Possible if the opponents fan their cards and one gets a stiff neck stretching to peek.

What’s your personal best game? I won a Regional Women’s Pair event with a 79% game.

What does 79% mean? An average game is 50%. An average of 27 decks of cards are shuffled and placed into duplicate boards (slots for north, south, east, and west cards). At the end of a bridge session (game) all players have played each hand, the scores are tabulated, and the highest scoring pair wins. (Results are submitted to the American Contract Bridge League, which tabulates master points won by players.) Duplicate bridge games are played around the world.

How good at math do you have to be to play? One needs to know how to add! A mathematical mind is helpful, but it is not a requirement.

One thing people should know about bridge: Playing bridge helps keep the mind alert and it is a great avenue for making new friends.