Does anyone remember when families actually played board games together? We had fun with Monopoly which could go on for hours. Then, there was the game Sorry and it was always cut throat competitive. Some of the others I remember include Clue, checkers, Chinese checkers, Life, Battleship, Candyland, Pictionary and many more. We also had card games including Rook, Uno and Rummy. My husband learned how to play chess and taught the children but I never did master the game.
Most games today are digital and families don’t gather around the table for a loud, fun night of games anymore. I do miss those days.
Do you remember when the Trivial Pursuit game came out in the 1980s? I was never great at it but I did enjoy playing the game with family and friends. I always hated it when I got a geography question because that was a sure loss for me. I was pretty good with the questions about characters in television sitcoms from the 1950s and 1960s. It was fun and I was amazed at some of the questions my opponents could answer.
All that to say I was reminded of the game we once played when I ran across some facts about Blytheville. These tidbits would have made wonderful local trivia questions.
Did you know?
--Blytheville was founded by Henry Blythe, a Methodist clergyman, in 1879 and was incorporated in 1889.
--Blytheville was the home of R&B singer Dee Clark.
--Actor George Hamilton was from Blytheville.
--Blytheville was the location set in a science fiction story titled, “Chewed Out.”
--Motown Legend, Junior Walker, was born in Blytheville.
--Blytheville received telephone service and electricity in 1903.
--The population of Blytheville in 1910 was 3,849.
--Actress Julie Adams was born Betty May Adams on October 17, 1926, in Waterloo, Iowa, the daughter of Arkansas-born parents Esther Gertrude (Beckett) and cotton buyer Ralph Adams. Her family moved a lot and the longest she lived in one town was eight years in Blytheville.
Those facts could be turned into a great trivia game, with questions such as who founded Blytheville and when, what R&B singer is from Blytheville, what famous actor with a great tan once lived in Blytheville, etc.
Occasionally, just for fun, we divide into teams at church and play Bible trivia.
I went on a cruise in 2023 and one of the afternoon activities was trivia games. I knew most of the answers from the I Love Lucy show back in the 1950s and 1960s. It is funny how I can remember details about Fred and Ethel but have forgotten so many real life things. I guess it is part of the aging process. I have always been told that as we age, we will remember events from long ago but forget what we walked into the room to get. I think I am there.
I have always enjoyed watching the game show Jeopardy even though there are very few questions I can answer. I am amazed at some of those candidates and how they can retain so much information about so many different topics. All that knowledge paid off for several of the top players who won a lot of money.
There is a lot of information out there and thankfully, we can just ask a question using our cell phones and the answer is at our fingertips.