Playing cards and having lunch was a favorite pastime for my Irvine Flats homesteader relatives

One story that comes up quite often when talking with my grandmother, Lilly Ryan, is that quite often some of the Irvine Flats homesteaders would gather together to play card games.

Every week they would go to a different ranch and have a lunch.

After the lunch they would play cards.

The seven card playing families were:

Lilly and Harold Halverson
George and Rose Halverson
Beulah and John Wigfield
Stumans  (James and Laura - census)
Gottiebs (from census - Bernard and Clara and John- is John the adopted son?)
Burtons
Merritts

Some times the card games were centered around a holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas.

The card games they played were 500 and pinochle.

Lilly said that Rose and George also liked to play Bridge.  Lilly
did not know how to play bridge. I'm not sure about Harold.

Lilly thinks that Rose and George would also play Bridge in
Polson.

Lilly said that they all had a good time.