Margaret Kidwell is one of the most active, gracious and friendly members of
our bridge community. Though a stroke slowed her down briefly in 1998, she
recovered and is now able to attend most club games. She drives herself in a
specially equipped car. Margaret is a volunteer at the Riverside Club on
Wednesdays—stratifying players and assigning seats. She is a former Unit Board
member, and she has chaired two Rogue Valley Sectional Tournaments.
Margaret
was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and lived there, most of her life, until she and
her husband moved to Rogue Valley Manor in 1994.
Little Margaret remembers
genteel bridge luncheons when she was growing up. Once a week her mother's
foursome played Auction Bridge while Margaret prepared thinly sliced bread and
butter sandwiches for their tea break. In high school it was fashionable to
have bridge luncheon parties. Margaret and her friends dressed in stockings,
gloves, hats, and their best dresses for the occasions. Margaret went to the
mainland to attend Stanford University after high school, giving up bridge for
her studies. She graduated magna cum
laude in Economics and Sociology in 1939.
After college, Margaret returned to
Honolulu where she married her husband, Baird, and gave birth to their
children, Alan and Frances. As a young married woman she returned to her
bridge foursome and later tried Duplicate for the first time. Her first
experience was memorable. A director paired her with a psychotic lady "who was
very weird." Not knowing any better, Margaret walked out in the middle of the
game.
Baird, a
lawyer and judge on the Supreme Court of Hawaii, and Margaret lived a rich
life of travel to all parts of the world; they were avid campers and hikers.
They were dedicated to community service. Margaret played a significant role
in developing and preserving the State and County park systems in Hawaii. She
served on the boards of many civic organizations and
foundations, and she was the founder and
developer of the Girl Scout mountain camp at Paumalu,
on the island of Oahu. She was active performing as an actress and puppeteer
in children's theater and she was a docent at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. A
well-known potter, Margaret was forced to abandon the activity after her
stroke.
Margaret
now spends her days and evenings, when not enjoying a bridge game, reading,
participating in book clubs, and attending local theater productions and
concerts. Her son, Alan, who lives in
Hawaii, is a welcome visitor to our bridge clubs when he comes to Medford, and
he and Margaret often win.
Margaret is the proud grandmother and
great-grandmother of seven. Daughter Frances visits when she can; she
lives in Tasmania. Margaret's beloved husband, Baird, passed away a few years
ago.
Though she
has many master points, Margaret says she has no aspirations to accumulate the
pigmented points necessary to become a Life Master. She simply plays for
pleasure, and she truly enjoys all the friendly folks with whom she plays
bridge.
Our hats are off to Margaret and her many
accomplishments, her friendliness, and her service to our organization.
