Player Profile
Player Profile
PETE WOLLNER
by Linda Patton
LP: Are you a native of Victoria?
PW: No. As a youngster, I lived in Lampman, Saskatchewan, near Estevan. This area is known as the ‘Poet’s Corner’ because many small towns in the area were named after poets, such as Lampman, Browning, Kingsford, Wordsworth and Carlyle. My wife, Grace, and I moved to Regina in 1974 and I lived there until retirement and a move to Victoria in 1987.
LP: Was your family in the farming industry?
PW: Yes, they were in mixed farming, which means grain and cattle.
LP: Do you have any siblings?
PW: Yes, I have two brothers and three sisters. Both brothers have passed away, but my sisters are fine. Two live in Estevan and one resides in North Vancouver.
LP: What is your ethnicity?
PW: Heinz 57, like most of us. My father was primarily German, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My mother was born in the Ukraine in Russia. In 1902, with my mother and her four brothers in tow, her parents walked for three weeks until they were able to get to a port. From there they sailed to Canada. Two more boys were born after arriving in Canada.
LP: How did your parents meet?
PW: As a young man, dad was working in Idaho on various farms. From there he came to southern Saskatchewan, and that is where he met my mother.
LP: Did you help on the family farm?
PW: Yes, until I got old enough to work out. I worked primarily on the farms, service stations and for a building contractor. That is where I picked up my carpentry skills.
LP: Did you graduate from high school?
PW: I did it the hard way – through correspondence, from grade eight on.
LP: Then what?
PW: In 1948 I went to Regina and took a barbering/hairstyling course. I took up residence in a small town east of Regina and barbered for a number of years. This is where I met Grace. In 1949 we married and I also started umpiring baseball across Canada. Before that I had played a lot of baseball as a catcher. My fingers were damaged by a foul ball, so the older man who was umpiring at the time suggested we trade places, and I never looked back. I received training as an umpire in the USA in the National League (Major League Baseball). Because I was young and newly married, an older umpire at a spring training camp told me that he had been married three times and that umpiring was no life for a married man. I took him at his word and ceased to umpire in the major leagues, although I continued to umpire at the provincial and national levels – many games per year. I then bought a business of bulk oil sales from Imperial Oil, which I had for twelve years. We supplied oil for heating, oil rigs, service stations, farmers, etc. This was in Lampman where Grace and I were living and I was working as a barber. I then sold the business and bought a small grain farm near Lampman which we had for ten years. Then I took a job with the Provincial Department of Agriculture.
Now in my forties, I received a degree in Agriculture from the University of Regina. This degree was part of the conditions of employment with the Department of Agriculture. I was the supervisor of Claims and Processing and it was my responsibility to look after all the complaints from the farmers. Most complaints were regarding crop insurance through the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Co. The crops were adjusted by our field staff and they were submitted to head office where my staff processed the claims. I worked there for 14 years and thoroughly enjoyed it.
LP: You are a talented carpenter. Where did you learn this trade?
PW: While I was taking my correspondence course I was staying with some folks in town. He was a journeyman carpenter from Europe and I worked for him in exchange for room and board. He taught me that every tool had its place and to put them back when I was finished. I did a lot of carpentry while earning a living as a barber, umpire and farmer. While I was doing construction, I was performing appraisals for the Saskatchewan Government Insurance Office, i.e. I was the adjuster if a house was damaged or burned down.
LP: When did you move to Victoria?
PW: We moved here in 1987 when I retired from the Department of Agriculture.
LP: Was it then that you took up bridge?
PW: No, I had played before that. In the early eighties, I met Dick Anderson, who got me interested in the game. Dick was a high school principal in Regina, a promoter of bridge, and a bridge teacher to his school students. Dick’s approach was to have fun. When I moved to Victoria in 1987, I had .88 gold points. By August of that same year, I had over 80 gold points!
LP: With whom did you play?
PW: I played at Matt’s club with Mike Ainsley and many others. Mike and I played in the Canadian Open Pairs and won in our District. This qualified us for the Regional tournament in Edmonton where the western final was held. We received some gold. In the fall I, went to the Regional in Regina with one of my old bridge partners where we won a Flight B event and enough points for me to become Life Master. Previously, in 1982, I won an Open Pairs event in a Regina Sectional, playing with a young chap from New Brunswick who possessed 17 points. I think I had about 7 points. We moved from Flight B to Flight A to complete a half table and won the event! Neither one of us knew what we were doing, but we did all the wrong things at the right time. There were two boards where we had a combined 28 points but stayed out of game because we fouled up the bidding. Game was not there! This explains why we were able to go on and win the flight.
LP: When you moved here, did you take formal lessons?
PW: No, I asked Matt Smith which books he recommended and I read a lot. He arranged partnerships for me – in one year I had 87 different partners and played five times a week. In 1991 I met John Keech, who was also new to Victoria and we formed a good partnership. We adopted Max Hardy’s Two Over One system.
LP: What do you like about this system?
PW: It is the simplest one to play with a variety of people. I like it because when your partner bids a new suit at the two level that is lower than your first bid suit, you know right away that you have game. There is no need to jump to show an opening hand.
LP: Because you became a Life Master early on in your bridge career, did you feel there was no need to attend Regional Events?
PW: No, I play to win, but I enjoy the comradeship and the many friends one can make at the club and at tournaments. I like to play OK bridge on the computer because I meet people from all over, and this way I can still play with my friends from back home.
LP: Who do you feel is the best bridge player?
PW: Grant Baze. I have played against him, maybe fifty times. I met him the first time at a Penticton Regional where he was lecturing. I was taken in by the way he lectured. He is a gentleman and the most courteous person at the table. His lecture at the time was about the friends at your table. He stated that your partner makes the best decisions at the table because they chose you as a partner. And if you adopt this approach, you will get along better with people and do better in the game. The last time John and I played against him, we beat him hands down! We also played against Max and Mary Hardy at Seaside Oregon, and our team won three events during that tournament. We do not question mistakes made by our teammates, and any concerns John and I have about our bidding or play are discussed away from the table. If there was an area that we were having a problem with, we would telephone or e-mail Max Hardy in Las Vegas, who was more than willing to help.
LP: Did Max develop the Two Over One system?
PW: Mike Lawrence had a system also, but Max’s is superior, in my opinion.
LP: Which system would you recommend for beginners?
PW: I would recommend that they start with Standard American until they have their basics, then slide into Two Over One. It is quite easy to add on.
LP: How did you go from playing to teaching bridge?
PW: When I moved to Victoria there were so many people who wanted to learn and I was looking for something to fill in time. I taught at the Jewish Centre – over 30 in the class – at the Albert Milne School in Sooke and the Juan De Fuca Recreation Centre for two years. I then stopped because I wanted to play more bridge. I always encouraged students to go to Matt for lessons at an intermediate level.
LP: I understand you have done a lot of community work.
PW: Yes, I have always done volunteer work, at least three days a week, working with hockey, baseball and curling clubs. I was chair of the Regional Health Board in Saskatchewan for 14 years. In 1961 I joined the Knights of Columbus and have carried on that association in Victoria. Among our various projects are a food farm, where we produce vegetables for local food banks, and soup kitchens. I also remodeled the Victoria Bridge Centre when Frank Ayers became owner. Now that Merv is owner, I continue to help keep things in order.
LP: Do you have any advice for beginning bridge players?
PW: Yes. Get the right books, talk to the Directors – they can steer you in the right direction. Take lessons from the likes of Rita Beny and Delma Murray. Enjoy the game!
Copyright:
ACBLUnit 431
James K. Foster,
January, 2005