Decades of dealing hand and foot

No one can quite remember when Betty Easeley brought the hand and foot card game to Socorro. Some say the ‘60s, others the ‘80s, because as soon as Easeley started organizing weekly card games the rest became history.

Easeley, who will turn 89 on Dec. 20, said she learned the game from American doctors who were visiting Mexico to care for children at the same time she and her husband were spending time there. She said her husband likes to take their boat out, and she preferred to stay on-land and get into a rousing game of hand and foot. 

On her return home to Socorro, she brought back the game and set about organizing weekly get togethers to share the fun.

“There were probably 30 or 40 people who used to play,” Millie Sigman said. “We had a calling tree—everybody’s name, address and phone number—and we played at people’s houses.”

She, along with Easeley, Louise Dano and Jackie Yohe are a foursome that have stuck together over the years, meeting on Thursdays to play cards, socialize, and have lunch at a local restaurant. Easeley said at some point some of the original players decided to branch out and form their own groups, changing the rules of the game a little here and there.

“I said, that’s just fine, but I’m not changing the rules,” said Easeley, who has kept true to how she first learned the game all those years ago on the beaches of Mexico. 

Hand and foot is a variation of the game Canasta where players are dealt two sets of cards and aim to create sets of seven cards of the same rank.

Over the years, the group has shuffled through nearly every suitable spot in town, including local bars, steakhouses, cafés and restaurants. Wherever they landed, the routine stayed the same: four players to a table, food ordered, cards dealt.

The game itself is simple—four short rounds, points added up at the end—but the appeal goes far beyond winning. For the players, the real draw is companionship.

“It’s the socialization,” Sigman said. “You get out, you meet friends, you make friends. It keeps your mind sharp, and it’s something to look forward to every week.”

That consistency took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, which scattered the group for a time. Still, the players eventually found their way back to the table.

At the center of it all is Easeley, a lifelong organizer who once ran a trucking company with her late husband and later coordinated everything from swim aerobics sessions to monthly group breakfasts. Known for her fiery personality, she has never been shy about taking charge.

“She’s a very good organizer,” Dano said. 

“Even though she’s frail now, she’s a formidable player,” Sigman said. “She wins most of the time.”

Easeley has also left her mark in quieter ways, crocheting small, colorful card holders for her fellow players—distinctive accessories that have earned them recognition around town.

“People see us playing and say, ‘Those are the ladies with the card holders,’” Sigman said.

“It’s just fun,” Dano said. “You can talk, you can visit, and you’re together. That’s what keeps it going.”

In a town where people sometimes wonder what there is to do, a deck of cards—and decades of friendship—continue to provide one answer.