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| Euchre - a very Cornish pastime |
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There’s no better way to spend an evening than by having a game of euchre, just ask any Cornish man or woman. By Laurence James. It keeps the old grey cells active, it usually involves some free sandwiches, and of course it provides an unimpeachable excuse to head down to the pub.  Harry Thomas in action at the St Buryan Inn. Euchre is played in pairs, at great speed, and is made up of two parts: bidding and play. The aim is to state how many tricks you’re going to make and then do so. But like all card games it has its idiosyncrasies: for example, in the trump suit, the jack is a high-ranking card, followed by the jack of the suit of the same colour, and then the ace. These are called bowers. A euchre game can be found any night of the week, summer or winter, in pubs and village halls from the Tamar to Land’s End – and many points in between. There are euchre leagues in Devon and it’s played on the Channel Islands, but the game’s following in Cornwall is unparalleled. There are 42 teams in the Penryn/Falmouth League alone, and there are other leagues throughout Cornwall. Given that each team consists of at least six players, this means there are 252 people in the Penryn and Falmouth area dedicated to the game. Multiplying this figure a few more times creates the impression that this isn’t a pastime, it’s an obsession. “They play it in other places,” said Bruce Gilbert playing a few hands at the Sea View Inn in Falmouth, “but down here, we’re fanatics.” Bruce, who plays for Penryn’s Cross Keys team went on to say: “We like our alcohol. On a Wednesday night, we can go out, have a few beers, and play euchre.” Chris Mitchell, agreed: “It’s a good evening out.” Such views on euchre are not just restricted to the south of the Duchy. Eric Carney, of Newlyn, who plays on Thursdays at the Mount’s Bay Club in Penzance cheerfully admitted: “I play better when I’ve had a drink. But I can get reckless in my betting and if it all goes wrong, they all shout at me.” At the Mount’s Bay Club, the members are required to wear a collar and tie as they play, but that doesn’t mean their games are any less rapid and lively than those played at more casual venues. Bewildering as the game can seem to the uninitiated observer, it is never dull to watch - the sheer speed of the play is hypnotic and the groans of dismay and whoops of delight are impossible to ignore. Yet what are the origins of this game that has such a stranglehold on the Cornish? Do the euchre strongholds in this country perhaps reveal something about the game as it clings to the coast like a limpet to a rock? There is no doubt the game has travelled around extensively by sea, although exactly when and how and in which directions remain a mystery. Official sources like David Parlett’s Oxford Guide to Card Games and Natty Bumppo’s Columbus Book of Euchre write: ‘[euchre] seems now to be confined to the North-Eastern states of America, where it probably originated’ and ‘[there is a] recurring consensus that euchre originated among the Pennsylvanian Dutch’. This provoked a great deal of consternation from Bruce Gilbert. “They say they invented it, but it was our Navy that taught them,” he retorted. Other sources suggest that euchre traces its roots back to an old French game called Triomphe and came from the Alsace region of France. This area borders Germany, which could explain the German terms involved: bower comes from ‘bauer’, meaning ‘farmer’, or ‘jack’. Charlie, playing at the Sea View Inn, considered this a reasonable provenance for the game and added: “It was the Germans who took it to America – it’s played in all the German clubs in the Midwest.” In support of the Cornish claim is the existence of the Benny, which is unique to the Cornish game. David Parlett suggests that euchre was probably the game for which the joker was invented: the name euchre itself probably comes from the German word ‘jucker’ meaning joker. Yet the joker isn’t used in the US game, and it is in the Cornish version. The links between Cornwall and Germany date from the days when the German mining industry was experiencing difficulties and many German miners sought work in the china clay industry around St Austell. Yet still the enigma remains – who taught it to whom? Did the Germans bring it with them or did they take it back with them? This debate is not one that is easily resolved and perhaps a compromise is wise: the game could have developed concurrently in both Cornwall and the United States. So how did euchre then get around the world? Who, exactly, transported it to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? The answer here would seem to lie in the saying that goes “wherever there is a mine in the world, you’ll find a Cornishman at the bottom of it and he’ll be playing euchre.” In the antipodes, the transplanted roots of euchre, spawned a new game in the form of Five Hundred. A great deal of information about the game can be found on the internet, but the majority of sites are American, which presents inevitable prejudices. On the KVU Euchre Headquarters site, for example, it is claimed that the US Navy was largely responsible for the steady spread in popularity of euchre throughout other English-speaking regions of the globe. However, it is certain the Americans didn’t take the game to New Zealand. There it was introduced by Cousin Jacks, the name given to the Cornish who settled on the west coast of the South Island early this century. One Cornish man would arrive in a town, start making some money and then send back home for the family to come and join him. Before long there would be enough Cornish folk in town to invite over on Sunday afternoons for a game of cards. They were probably the ones responsible for taking the game to Christchurch on the east coast. John, a New Zealander, reminisced about working in a factory during his holidays while a student: “The guys used to play euchre at lunchtime. While they would sit down to eat their lunch, someone would be dealing up so they could get a full hand in.” This is a tradition that is maintained in workplaces around Cornwall: workers at Trago Mills apparently like to get a few hands in during their breaks. At the docks in Falmouth, a six-handed version of the game is played. This six-handed game is just one of the regional variations in the Duchy. It is played differently in Falmouth and Penryn to anywhere else in Cornwall. This is mainly because the dealer has last shout, whereas in Truro, St Austell and Redruth the dealer calls first. In Penzance, the league is run differently, with a cup awarded every six weeks. There are also etiquette rules that vary. For the Cornwall Pairs, which moves around the Duchy, there are rules about who can touch the cards at certain times. Breaking these rules can lead to disqualification or the loss of points. Taking the game seriously can lead to extreme reactions. Chris Mitchell said: “We were a team of girls playing against two guys. They lost and one of the guys went mental – he would have turned the table upside down if his partner hadn’t held him back.” Harry Barratt laughed and added: “Yeah! That chap Jefferies hit Robbie. Hit him in the mouth – over a game of euchre!” But others play more peacefully. The barman at the Star and Garter in Falmouth said: “They’re a pretty quiet lot here, but they’re always falling out at the Labour Club.” Many card games have trouble attracting new players, and euchre is no exception. In the US, euchre used to be the number one card game, but it was eclipsed by bridge in the 1930s. Chris Mitchell laments: “There are no young ones anymore.” However, there are ways around this problem. The group that meets on Wednesdays and Sundays at the Cable Station in Porthcurno recognised that new players could be intimidated and discouraged by the speed of experienced playing. So, as a result of this thinking, they started a school on Friday evenings for half a dozen newcomers to the game – people who were keen to have a share in the obvious fun so clearly enjoyed by those already proficient. These players have progressed to such an extent that two of them finally joined the serious Sunday game a couple of weeks ago. That evening was notable for another reason. It was in memory of one of their stalwarts, Edie Rodda, who had recently died. This event attracted 40 players. On a dark and damp February evening…if you still needed convincing of euchre’s attractions perhaps this will demonstrate. This game might be for enjoyment but the air of committed concentration permeating the room was unmistakeable. Not to say they were in any way gloomy, there was much chatting and laughter. Yet these people were intent, focussed; and the focus was euchre. The cards would be played adroitly and economically until the hand was finished. There followed a brief relaxation until the signal was given for the tables to change. Then like a military operation, half the assembled throng rose to their feet and moved to join their new partners at the adjacent table. Subsequently, this hand too would be lost or won, and everyone moved again. Several hours and a couple of dozen hands later, the evening ended with a raffle and a buffet. The delicious pasties made by Mrs Rodda’s sister-in-law, Pauline Williams, were as popular as the cards. Up the road in St Buryan, where Mrs Williams lives, there are frequently younger people – some in their 20s - playing the game in the village pub of a Sunday afternoon, enjoying the camaraderie and the banter along with a basket of roast potatoes. There might be setbacks and challenges for euchre presented by other, newer pastimes but, despite these, the game remains popular and still keeps going strong. There are still league tables published weekly in all the local papers, there are paintings celebrating the game adorning the walls of many Cornish hostelries, and there is a keen and loyal following pegging their points every week in pubs throughout the Duchy. Euchre is a truly Cornish pastime: one of the many distinguishing features of which Cornwall is justly proud. |