Saturday, 2- August- 2025 - Veghel - In 1963, when I was 14 and my brother Virg was 11, we entered the Amelith Euchre Tournament. It was a weekly competition that was held during the winter months. The organizers were surprised when we showed up. We were the first children to ever take part, but after a short talk among themselves, they allow us to sign up. There was no age limit specified in the bylaws. We could see the looks on the other players faces. Like what are they doing here? They’re just kids. They don’t know how to play. But Virg and I knew that we could play well. We said to ourselves, “Let’s just play like we always do.” Our first partners saw that we were serious about euchre, and that we could play well. The word got out; and after a couple of weeks, we were treated as equals. Halfway through the evening sessions, there was a coffee break with cookies. When we asked for milk instead of coffee, the ladies serving weren’t sure they had any, “We never had any children here before.” But it was the school auditorium and kitchen. There was always milk in the fridge. Well I’m not sure if we won that year, but we were both definitely in the top five.
