There are several ways to distinguish Rochesterians from the rest of the world. If you hear someone ordering pop instead of soda or a white hot dog instead of a red hot dog, or if their face takes on almost a rapturous glow when talking about their hometown grocery store, then that person probably hails from Rochester. But the true test of Rochester blood is what happens when you mention the game Euchre. If the person immediately pulls a deck of 24 cards out of their purse or pants pocket and says, “first jack deals,” you’ve found a fellow Rochesterian.

People of my generation learned the game simply by watching their parents play with family and friends. Our parents believed in the “children should be seen and not heard” school of child rearing, so we were encouraged to watch silently until we had learned all the rules and could play well enough ourselves. We, in turn, have deliberately taught the game to our children, believing in the “learning by doing” method.

Euchre is believed to be a game originating with German farmers. In fact the “bower” which is fundamental to the game derives from the German word for farmer, “bauer.” But in Rochester Euchre is not limited to those of German descent. Everyone in Rochester plays Euchre.

A word of caution: Not everyone who throws around words like right and left bower, reneging, and loner is a real Euchre player. A real Euchre player is one who can keep score using a two and three of spades, and make it add up to nine.

   Deal me in!