Donna Wallace grew up in North Waldoboro. Like many fellow Finns, her mother tended the thousands of hens they had, while her father, from Friendship, fished for lobster. Donna had her own path. She wanted to serve her country as her father had decades before. On June 9th, her eighteenth birthday, she enlisted in the Navy. A week later, she graduated from Medomak Valley High School. It was 1972, near the end of the Vietnam conflict. However, Donna ended up attending dental technician school in San Diego instead. In 1978, she transferred into the Coast Guard Reserves and earned a bachelor’s in dental health technology; then an MBA. In 1986, she was selected for commission with the Air Force. She went on active duty as a medical service corps officer and finally retired in 2006. As Donna notes, she started as an E-1 Seaman and retired as an O-5, Lieutenant Colonel. Donna joined the Waldoboro American Legion’s Charles C. Lilly Post 149 (named for a soldier who died in WWI) 47 years ago and is now its Commander. Bingo nights might seem small compared to the things the Post does for veterans, but Bingo there has always been a part of her life. So, to sustain it, Donna did statistical analyses in her spare time for optimizing the payouts to players while not breaking the house. She also added different configurations for a Bingo on the cards to make it playful, with names like Check Mark, Baseball Field, Shotgun, Anchor, Crazy Brackets, and Giraffe.
My history with Bingo is right here. Some of my happiest memories are sitting quietly beside my mother when she was playing Bingo. My mother liked to sit at the end of the table. I would have a chair tucked up next to her and just watch. I was only thirteen, too young to play (you have to be sixteen by state law) but I loved the excitement when people were getting close or having a chance to win a Bingo.
When I came back to Waldoboro in 2010, we had only ten, maybe fifteen players left. Other Bingo halls in Maine had already gone out. Damariscotta closed theirs, and they used to have a pretty good crowd. More than anything, I wanted to revive Bingo here.
It took time. My thought was, if you give more, you get more. So we upgraded. We got rid of the hard cards. We got monitors so people could see the numbers projected. We expanded the snack bar with sandwiches, grilled ham and cheese, hamburgers and onion rings. We got a music system that plays a mix from bebop to old-world country for when people are mingling.
Our mission has always been to do things for the community. And I think our success has been due to the generosity of all the people who volunteer to make our Bingo games happen. Because without the players, Bingo in Waldoboro wouldn’t exist.
And it’s incredible. Of course, we have our repeaters. But we’re getting more young people to come. More men, too. We’ve had as many as 51 players which means a bigger pot for everyone. Often, I don’t have any idea who the people are. One lady came in, and she’d never been here before, and she won the Winner Take All. She’s been coming back ever since.
We open the doors at 4:30, for people to get something to eat and get set up. There’s no entrance fee. You buy your cards to play. Most people buy the basic package which costs $22. But you can buy more cards.
At 6:00, we turn that little puffball machine on which pops the balls around. And one at a time, they get sucked out through a little canal. The one that comes on the top, that will be the number that shows up on the monitors.
Knowing there’s people that have never been here before, when I’m calling, I always try to be more guiding. I always say, “You’re playing now on your blue sheets and tonight starts with the ‘hard way.’ You have to have these five numbers in these five places, and you also need to dab these others at the four corners which you’ll use in the next game.” I try to be informational because different games are played on different cards and the shapes change weekly. I hate for people to get behind or miss out on winning, so I’ll say, “Please remember, four corners also counts as a regular Bingo.” When we get to The Special card, I’ll hold it up and say, “If a single winner gets the shape in 38 numbers or less, a single winner could win $100.”
With the monitors, you can see the number that’s going to be called a few seconds ahead, but it’s not a real Bingo until it’s called out. Like the sign says, “The Ball Is Not Official Until Called”.
Bingo is absolutely all luck, whether it’s the package you purchase or how the numbers line up. I get a big chuckle how some people always growl, “Same old winners!” when really, it’s somebody with lucky cards who just happens to win two or three games in a row.
You could pay $22 for your package and not win anything. Or you could pay the same and win $40. Or $100. Or that Winner Takes All, which on some nights has been $200. You could be the only winner or win multiple games down the line. We have no control over the numbers.
You just have to have that happy mindset. I played last Saturday, and I didn’t win anything. But I had several chances. I came close. If my number had been called, I would have won. And to me, that’s exciting. That’s the best I would ever hope for. I don’t go to win. I go for the fun of the game and the comradery. That’s why I say to everybody, “Come!”
Leave a Reply