BRIDGE CLASSES SUIT WHEATON PARK DISTRICT INSTRUCTORS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2016
Wheaton, Ill.—For Wheaton Park District bridge instructors Ron and Phyllis Fogel, whose next session of Intermediate Bridge begins January 12, 2017 at the Mary Lubko Center (208 W. Union Ave., Wheaton, Ill.), a marriage of 33 years and counting started with a hand of cards.
“I met Ron at a bridge club,” Mrs. Fogel said, “and we started playing together, started dating.”
Mr. Fogel took interest when she played differently than he was accustomed to.
“She got my attention because every time she came to the table, she’d revoke,” said Mr. Fogel, referring to an uncommon practice where a player fails to follow suit when they’re able.
They’ve played across the country and around the world, from California, New York, and Hawaii to Atlanta, North Dakota, Florida, British Columbia, and more.
“When I was working, I traveled a bit, and instead of sitting at the bar, I’d call the bridge club and they’d always fix you up with a partner,” Mr. Fogel said.
He started teaching the game when a friend moved away.
“She had several
[bridge] classes going at the College of DuPage (COD) and she asked me to fill in,” he said. “I did, and I liked it. I taught fifteen years at COD” before teaching at Leyden Park District, Willowbrook Evening School, Triton Junior College, and his own private lessons.
When Mrs. Fogel retired from a 34-year career in the public school system, she joined her husband in teaching at the Wheaton Park District, starting in 2013.
“You build a sense of community,” she said. “When I was with my second graders, I said, ‘We’re readers and writers.’ Here I say, ‘Good morning, bridge players.’”
Former student Torrong Siddhetija of Hinsdale appreciated the Fogels’ teaching style.
“They deal all the hands. They have handouts for everybody. Once Ron goes through everything, they have a question-and-answer [session] to see if you understand what they taught you,” she said. “After we’ve done a worksheet, we start playing the hands.”
Homework is simply play bridge, “even if it’s dealing hands at the kitchen table,” Mr. Fogel said.
When Siddhetija started class with the Fogels, she thought it would last six weeks.
It’s been a year and a half so far, which she credits to their passion for the game, so much so she wrote a letter to them, now professionally framed and displayed in their home.
“‘You both are fantastic teachers, great storytellers, and our role models in the way you play bridge and in life,’” she wrote. “‘Wherever we may go from now in the bridge world, we will always remember that we had Ron and Phyllis as our teachers in this cozy little classroom.’”
Siddhetija presented the letter on the last day of class as a group effort.
“I asked a bunch of people in the class to read a paragraph or a sentence,” Siddhetija said. “About ten people read it and took turns and it turned out really cute.”
Mrs. Fogel had tears in her eyes as students stood and read in the Mary Lubko Center’s warm, wood-paneled Coach Room that serves as the cozy little classroom where Siddhetija learned “the best game ever.”
“It makes you think,” she said. “I wanted to have something to do with my friends. At first, we had three people, but I recruited more and more, and now we have eight or nine people, through six class sessions, each six weeks long.”
Each session sees 32 students, said Mary Lubko Center Manager Linda Dolan.
“It’s safe to say that bridge is by far the most popular game played here,” she said. “Everyone loves learning with Ron and Phyllis. They are incredibly talented instructors and their enthusiasm is contagious.”
The Fogels wouldn’t teach anywhere else.
“This is by far the best place we’ve taught,” Mr. Fogel said. “Everyone is so helpful. The students are so interesting. I’ve never had classes like these.”
Intermediate Bridge will meet January 12 through February 16, 9:30-11:30A and 1-3P, at the Mary Lubko Center.
Wheaton Park District bridge instructors Ron and Phyllis Fogel’s next session, Intermediate Bridge, starts January 12, 2017. Registration is open now. Pictured: the Fogels pose with student Torrong Siddhiteja (right), who graduated from their program over the summer and wrote a letter (framed in photo) to them expressing her appreciation for the lessons.
Photo © Wheaton Park District 2016.
Written by: Brett Peto