So loyal a player is Pat Hendsch of Huntington Beach, who has been at it for 49 years, that her 70th birthday two years ago was celebrated with a cribbage party. “There are truly dedicated - read obsessed - players that fly all over the country many weeks a year to play.” To Wisconsin once,” said Stansfield, of Costa Mesa. “I’ve flown as far as Winchester, New Hampshire, to play cribbage in Maine. Many have traveled long distances for tournament competitions. Carol Crowell, 77, lives in Rancho Palos Verdes and is in a wheelchair, and she takes a cab to the Tuesday night games in Huntington Beach.īill Eilers, 71, of Tustin had a stent put in the day before and refused to be waylaid by the procedure.
At the weekly gathering of the Surf City 29ers, formerly called the Alondra 29’ers, the laughs, chatter and gentle ribbing belie the underlying competition.
