B-I-N-G-O spells community fun in Saukville

Sometimes they bond over G7, but it’s not a economic summit. Other times it’s B12, but it’s not a vitamin.

It’s held at the Landt-Thiel American Legion Post 470, but it’s not to directly honor those who keep America free.

One of the premier events in Saukville for more than a decade is bingo.

“Each post has their own different moneymaker,” Legion Commander Denise Jamrozy said. “Bingo’s been our forte. That’s our baby.”

The post packs ’em in every third Sunday well before the games start at 6:30 p.m. and, like church and the corner bar, regulars sit in the same spots each time.

“Doors open at 5 and a lot of people are there at 5 o’clock, and they have their own seats,” Jamrozy said.

“The people come in and sometimes don’t buy their bingo cards. They go right for food.”

There’s a reason. Four women home cook hot meals in the Legion Post’s kitchen for the roughly 150 people each month.

Sub sandwiches, turkey and ham and barbecue from scratch are some of the rotating dishes. Chili and hot dogs are made every time “so you can have a chili dog if you want,” Jamrozy said.

Then there are the homemade desserts, “which are huge,” Jamrozy said.

“They’re very well-portioned, and they also serve ice cream with certain desserts.”

Food is served until the games start, then again at intermission.

The bar is open the entire night, so drinks and soda are readily available, Jamrozy said.

Attendance can fluctuate, depending on the weather — many of the clientele are older and don’t go out in snowstorms — or if people are on vacations.

“A lot of them we know and are people who come all the time,” Jamrozy said.

They even keep track of their regulars.

“If they’re sick and don’t come, we keep an eye on that too. That’s how friendly we are,” Jamrozy said.

As the pot climbs when nobody wins, so does attendance.

“Then we have people we haven’t even seen before come,” Jamrozy said. “Once the progressive was at $5,000 and we had more than 215 people there.”

Another key to the event’s success is the caller. Saukville’s own Linda Hillebrand, also known for her extensive hobby of sending weekly greeting cards to people to cheer them up, keeps it fun.

“She’s really cool. She’s an awesome caller. She makes it,” Jamrozy said.

“She announces different birthdays and anniversaries because we know so many people.”

The Legion family is so dedicated to the event that it rarely gets called off. Holidays don’t stop it, and Jamrozy said aside from the pandemic, bingo has only been canceled once in the last several years. That was because a few of the people running it were sick.

Others volunteered to run it, but Jamrozy said that wouldn’t have worked.

Some players come in more mission driven than others.

“These ladies are serious. They come with their bingo bags and their 10 different dauber colors. And they have items next to them for luck,” Jamrozy said.

“We’re serious, but we’re not that serious. We make money, of course, and then we give it away.”