Rolling Dice, Building Friendships: Four Decades Of Monthly Bunco
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Members of a Water Valley Bunco group have been gathering for decades. Current members of the group are (from left) Verna Stevens, Patsy Humphreys, Terry McMinn, Vickie Hollister, Debbie Edwards, Brenda Holloway, Kathy Dickey and Dena Platt.
WATER VALLEY – Bunco is a dice game with no real strategy and a whole lot of noise. The rules are easy: roll some dice, count your points, yell ‘Bunco!’ when you get lucky. But for more than forty years for Terry McMinn, Brenda Holloway, and Patsy Humphreys, it’s been less about the dice and more about what happens between the rolls: the friendships, the food, the laughter, and the occasional prize that looks suspiciously like a jumbo package of toilet paper.
“We’ve been through everything together, marriages, divorces, grandchildren, even losing spouses,” Holloway says. “And still, we’ve never thought about quitting. We just keep rolling those sixes.”
The Bunco club was born at Mott’s, the former poultry plant in Water Valley.
“A group of us were on break,” Humphreys recalls. “Someone, I can’t remember who, said, ‘Let’s start our own Bunco club!’ And it just went from there.”
McMinn remembers the invitation vividly. “Brenda and Patsy asked me to join. I’d just moved back to Water Valley, and my family had gone through a life-changing event. Being a part of this group made it easier to go through that time. It gave me something to look forward to.”
The first eight players were a lively crew: Terry McMinn, Brenda Holloway, Patsy Humphreys, Nell Jobe, Becky Terry, Billie Ferguson, Cathy Russell, and Lita Morris Giambelluca.
“I had never played before,” Holloway admits. “It was a learning experience. But, oh, it was fun. And loud. We can get very loud.”
Those first years were full of chaos and laughter. “We were playing around school schedules, summer ball games, and late work nights,” Humphreys says. “It gave us a time out to just be with friends, laughing and enjoying each other.”
McMinn adds, “One of my favorite memories was when we invited the husbands in December. Watching them try to play Bunco brought on more laughs than the game itself.” She also remembers the night someone secretly recorded the whole evening’s conversation. “She waited until we were leaving to tell us. Of course, we made her erase it immediately. Some things don’t need to be replayed!”
Bunco may still pull them together, but stories from their Mott’s days run like bright threads through the fabric of their friendship. Holloway still laughs about the Halloween costumes. “One year, Nellie Gardiner dressed up like an old man, and nobody recognized her. She was that good!”
McMinn remembers quieter moments. “I’d find little sticky notes on my desk from the owner, and every morning we’d gather around the coffee maker. That’s when I started my one-cup-a-day coffee habit, and I still have it.”
Humphreys remembers rolling up her sleeves during a strike. “We, the office crew, went out into the plant and worked on the line to keep the chickens processed. You did what you had to do.” She thinks back, “And then there was Dave Hollister, our personnel manager. He loved playing jokes, especially on the Holly Carburetor manager. His pranks were over the top, and we still laugh about them today.”
Over the decades, the Bunco table has become more than dice and prizes. It’s been a circle of support. “We’ve loved and supported each other through children growing up, getting married, having babies, and later through divorces and remarriages,” Holloway says. “Even through the deaths of spouses. We’ve cried together, and we’ve laughed together.”
Humphreys agrees. “Sometimes both in the same night.”
And of course, there are the unforgettable prizes. “We’ve had everything from paper towels and toilet paper to home décor, plants, and gift certificates,” Holloway says. “My favorite prize ever was a wooden bench with a heart design that Earl McMinn, Terry’s husband, made by hand.”
McMinn remembers teasing Humphreys about her last-minute gift shopping. “One time I texted her the day before her turn to host, telling her Tractor Supply had some really cute things. Sure enough, she bought them that day and I ended up winning two of them!”
And then there’s the most unusual Bunco prize of all. “Someone’s cat had kittens that were old enough to adopt,” McMinn recalls. “I took one home and told my family I won it at Bunco. They just shook their heads.”
Ask who’s the most competitive, and the answers come fast. “Patsy,” Holloway says, without hesitation. Humphreys points to someone else. “It’s my sister Verna, but maybe me, too. It could run in the family.” McMinn has another answer. “No, it’s Vickie Hollister. Hands down.” Whoever it is, everyone agrees that Bunco night is never short on energy.
So how does a group stay together forty years? “Leave the drama at the doorstep,” McMinn says firmly. “That’s my number-one rule. Whatever you’ve been through that day, once you walk in, it’s just friends, food, and fun.”
Holloway adds her own recipe: “Enjoy the fellowship, enjoy the competition, and love and support each other.”
Humphreys shares her point of view. “Laugh and cry together. Joke around. Make each other laugh. That’s the real secret.”
If their younger selves could see them now, still gathered after four decades, they’d probably be surprised. “Wow!” Holloway imagines is what the younger her would say. “‘Y’all look pretty good for your age!’”
“You’re still going strong,” Humphreys suggests. “The game hasn’t changed in forty years and neither has the fun.”
And what about the future? “I see us playing as long as we’re standing, or sitting, and can remember each other’s names or how to get to the house,” Humphreys says.
What would these women say to younger women hoping to build friendships that last a lifetime?
“Always prepare good food,” McMinn recommends. “It doesn’t have to be fancy, but homemade never hurts. Sometimes even the husband cooks dessert.”
“Love and support each other,” Holloway adds. “That’s what will carry you through.”
Humphreys sums it up. “Just have fun. Don’t take it too seriously. The dice aren’t the point, the people are.”
