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‘It’s entertainment’

The clock tolled 5 p.m., marking the beginning to another Friday night Bingo at the Elks Lodge, 43 W. Victory Way. On a given Friday night, for the next hour and fifteen minutes before the first numbers are called, as many as 80 people will show up, sit down and start sifting through numerous sheets of numbered paper. Each person has his or her own system, each adorned with their lucky charms and assortment of colored dotters. “It’s fun,” said Jim Meineke, who said he’s been calling Bingo at Elks Lodge and the VFW since the early 1970s. When asked why he’s done it for so many years, he replied, “It’s entertainment.”

Jim Meineke checks to make sure all of the balls are accounted for before starting Bingo night on Friday. Between six to eight volunteers help out to make Bingo night at the Elks Lodge possible.