T
Mah Jongg is Flourishing in USC The tile-based game Mah Jongg has been popular in Asia for hundreds of years, where it is ingrained in culture and tradition. It also is a game that has significant meaning to Upper St. Clair resident Sarah Beitler. Sarah learned how to play Mah Jongg as a teenager from her maternal grandmother. She has fond memories of playing at her grandmother’s table, hearing the clicking of the tiles and her grandmother’s thick New York accent calling out “north” or “flower” or “One bam.” When her grandmother passed away in Sarah Beitler (standing) leads a game of Mah Jongg with USC friends, 2015, Sarah inherited a few of her grandmother’s Mah Jongg sets. including, left to right, Siân Howell, Heather Irwin, Laura Muhl, and Kelly Schwimer; photo credit: Thomas Irwin, Heather’s ten-year-old son She took them back to her home in Upper St. Clair and decided to honor her grandmother’s memory by teaching her friends how Sarah currently plays with a few different local groups and to play. They quickly caught on, and interest in Sarah teaching has started teaching the game at the Community & Recreation Mah Jongg to others began to grow. Center at Boyce Mayview Park (C&RC), the Fox Chapel Adult Mah Jongg uses tiles rather than cards for a rummy-like Education Center, and in private homes (for groups of four or strategy game. Through a process of picking up and discarding more). Sarah also runs a Pittsburgh-area Mah Jongg tournament tiles, players try to create specific 14-tile combinations that will every October called “Mahj For Sight,” which benefits sight-related allow them to call out “Mah Jongg!,” thereby winning the round. charities, including the Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services of The original game was developed in China during the Qing Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, and Dynasty (1644–1912) and has spread throughout the world since the Delta Gamma Foundation. the early 20th century. In the 1920s, the game of Mah Jongg was Sarah thinks everyone should learn to play Mah Jongg, as brought to the U.S. by an American businessman, Joseph Babcock. learning this type of game can be beneficial to one’s health. A He created a variation of the Chinese game to appeal to the recent research study conducted by the Wisconsin Alzheimers American public. It became a hit, and since then the game has Institute and Harvard University shows that, along with a healthy continued to grow and evolve. In 1937, a lifestyle, activating brain waves by playing number of Mah Jongg enthusiasts met in games reduces the risk of dementia. Routine New York City to standardize the game so social and intellectual stimulation offered by that all Mah Jongg players would play with mentally challenging games, including Mah the same hands and rules. It was at this Jongg, bridge, and dominoes, sharpen mental meeting that the National Mah Jongg League acuity and boost the immune system. (www.nationalmahjonggleague.org) was Mah Jongg also gives players a reason to founded. Each April, the League produces a stay socially engaged and meet other likenew tri-fold card of winning tile sequences. minded people. For Sarah, it initially allowed With a new set of possible winning hands her an opportunity to meet in the evenings released annually, the variety keeps players on with other moms of young children. Over the Mah Jongg, and a winning hand their toes and engaged year after year. click of the tiles, they could compare notes on their kids or share a laugh about motherhood. Fellow player and USC resident Micki Tacki agrees. “As a stay-at-home mom, I appreciate the problem solving strategies of Mah Jongg that have nothing to do with managing schedules or who likes what brand of mac and cheese,” she said. Heather Irwin, also from USC, adds, “It’s nice to have some adult time away from our young children. Now, my ten-year-old son is learning to play!” For a retired adult, Mah Jongg can provide a social outlet and a fun reason to get together to share life’s milestones along with its more mundane moments. USC resident Kelly Schwimmer remembers her own mother playing. “Nothing like the clacking of tiles through the generations,” she said. Regardless of age or stage in life, Mah Jongg provides players a way to come together, share the love of the game, make new friends, and appreciate the happenings in each others’ lives. It is a great brain exercise because it requires some skill, but it’s also a lot of fun and a great way to meet new friends. n Kelly Schwimer, sporting her MAHJDA license plate
If you’d like to learn to play Mah Jongg, inquire about the ongoing class Sarah offers at the C&RC. More information about the “Mahj For Sight” tournament can be found at www.tiny.cc/mahjforsight. Winter 2019
UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY
41
