Throwback Thursday by Matson Insurance: ‘Bridge’ in Brookville During The Great Depression Era

Matson Insurance has partnered with Jefferson County History Center to offer exploreJeffersonpa.com readers a look into Jefferson County’s past. Today, the history of “bridge” is highlighted.

[(Pictured above: Games at camp were fun, as illustrated by the cards on the table in the camp exhibit at the Jefferson County History Center. (JCHS Photograph)]

Submitted by Carole Briggs:

ANYONE FOR BRIDGE?

Sorting the “stuff” at the History Center turns up interesting things, and more often than not the “stuff” leads to interesting questions about the people, places, and events of our county.

For me, it’s particularly interesting when something local is a reflection of things national or international.

A collection of books related to the game of bridge that rose in popularity during the Great Depression and WWII provided an opportunity to think about that game and to wonder if similar economic conditions would cause a resurgence of the game.

The bridge books in our collection belonged to William G. Brossman, who came to Brookville in 1931 as the accountant for the Humphrey Brick and Tile Company. Brossman was hooked on bridge quite early. His son Richard recalls hearing conversations about the game when the family lived in Brooklyn prior to their move and his father’s collection includes books published as early as 1929. Richard also remembered games in Brookville.

“There was a group of five or six men. Two were lawyers (Alex Scribner and Harold Shannon,) one a dentist, and a substitute from New Bethlehem, who played regularly at our house before an open fireplace. What amazed me was how quiet it was. Maybe a few comments after they finished a hand, like they were each mulling over the way the play had gone. No potato chips or soda. Once in a while someone would ask for a glass of water. Dad always liked to improve things. He tried putting green felt cloth on the card table because of the lighting. He purchased two floor lamps with the shades pointing to the ceiling to cut down on any glare.”

To supplement his income during the hard times of the Great Depression, William Brossman instructed groups on the art of playing bridge, both contract and duplicate. Richard commented that “for a time in his life it was a secondary occupation. He taught bridge and ran tournaments at various locations: Oil City, Franklin, Kittanning as well as Brookville. He created a blackboard in pieces which when assembled was as big as a ping pong table. That was so it could be carried in a car.”

During the thirties, Brossman became friends with Alfred Gruenther, one of General Dwight David Eisenhower’s favorite partners. Eisenhower, of course, was the principal planner of the allied invasions of North Africa and Italy. A signed copy of Gruenther’s book Duplicate Contract Complete (1933) is in the JCHS collection, as are signed copies of Milton C. Work’s A Summary of Bidding (1931), and Albert H. Morehead’s Moorhead on Bidding (1964).

William G. Brossman became somewhat of a bridge authority, too. Richard recalled a phone call from American Samoa! “It was from William J. McKnight III, former Jefferson County District Attorney, who had been appointed the judge in the American Pacific possession. He was requesting a decision on a troubling bridge matter. Dad complied.”

Copyright@Jefferson County Historical Society, Inc.

Throwback Thursday is brought to you by Matson Insurance in Brookville.

Submitted by the Jefferson County History Center.