Judy Wolthausen
Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays surrounded by family and good friends. In 2018, when I moved here, I joined the IronOaks group, and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made since moving here. The group is made up of such wonderful women who in no time became fast friends. We support each other in times of illness and trials and invite each other to local activities, musical performances, out to eat, etc.
Our league has been running continuously for over 20 years. We value all levels of talent, but more importantly, the group really likes to have fun. On the first Monday of each month we pick a restaurant and have lunch as a group. Recently, one of our newer members, Margaret Tam, who is Chinese, suggested we go to Phoenix Palace, a Chinese restaurant in Phoenix. How nice it was to have someone help us interpret the menu and better determine what to order! Not all of us couldn’ go, but a fun time was had by all, and it was even inexpensive!
Our four state-of-the-art Olhausen pool tables are in the recently remodeled Billiards Room at Oakwood Country Club at the other end of the building from the ballroom. We play on Monday and Tuesday mornings. Monday is league play day from 9 a.m. to noon (except holidays). We also have practice on Tuesdays from 9 to 11 a.m. Some of us come both days every week. Others come only Mondays or only Tuesdays. We draw numbers to pick random teams and partners and can play without onlookers, making everyone more comfortable. We play 8-Ball, 9-Ball, and Cutthroat. We have game rules to refresh your memory. We typically only play 9-Ball when we don’t have enough time to play a full game of 8-Ball, and Cutthroat when we have three instead of four players at a table.
At the end of December we elected new officers. Kim Hutchinson is now our president, Lorene Roberts is vice president, and Judy Wolthausen is secretary. We also got rid of all our old, outdated rules. Instead, we just require that you don’t leave pool early to attend another activity every week, leaving your partner as a team of one. We still have three openings we’d like to fill, so if you’ve played before and enjoyed it, drop on by on Monday or Tuesday morning to check us out, or call me for more information at 630-728-5937.