Player Feature – Lucille “Bucky” Buckner of Lake Havasu, AZ

Written by Eddie Hurt

I want to tell the bridge players of Northern Arizona and the whole country about a very special lady that we have here in Lake Havasu City. Her name is Lucille Buckner. She is "Bucky" to all of us who know her. Here in Lake Havasu we tend to take Bucky for granted. The reason that so many of us take her for granted is that she seems so much like the rest of us. She plays bridge three or four times a week. She drives her own car to where ever she goes. She does her own food shopping and any other shopping she needs to do. She lives alone and cares and cooks for herself. No frozen dinners for Bucky. She also cares for her two dogs and does chores around the house and in her yard. She has a lot of friends who dearly love her. So you see, she seems to be like anyone of us. But she is not. Bucky will be 99 years old this year. Bucky's father, John Hart, was a ten year old boy when he watched from his barn and saw the Union Soldiers move across their land in General Sherman's march to the sea during the Civil War. Bucky was born Lew Seal Hart on October 1, 1908 in Fitzgerald, Georgia. Fitzgerald is about 150 miles south of Atlanta. She was the middle child of eleven children. The spelling of her first name was changed to Lucille when she started school. She grew up a country girl on her parent's cotton farm in Fitzgerald, Georgia. She was picking and chopping cotton from about age eight or nine. She went to school riding in a one horse school wagon. There were a lot of card games being played in her house when she was growing up. They played pitch, set-back, canasta, and hi-lo jack game. She played jacks with peach seeds that she had filed smooth herself. With so many siblings in the house there was always someone to play with when there was no work to be done. She was captain of the girls basketball team when she was in High School. After high school in 1926 she went to Vero Beach, Florida where she got a job waiting tables at local diner. It was there she met her husband, Elvis "Buck" Buckner, when he came into that diner. They were married in 1927. He was working for the railroad when they married. Then the depression hit and they moved about the country working in CCC camps and then in 1940 both got civil service jobs working for the Air Force. They lived in Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Ohio, before returning to Warna Robins, Georgia in 1951. Buck, Bucky's beloved, died in 1953 after 25 wonderful years of marriage. They did not have any children. During their marriage Buck taught her to play auction bridge and she loved it. After Buck's death Bucky's job took her to Memphis, Tennessee in 1954 and to San Bernardino, California in 1958. It was in San Bernardino where Bucky learned to play contract bridge. She played at noontime with her boss and fellow workers. Her boss also introduced her to duplicate bridge and they played once a week at a local bridge club. It was during these years that she would see flyers in her office telling about Lake Havasu City. In 1965 her job took her to Ogdon, Utah where she worked until she retired in 1971. Bucky and her good friend Jean, whom she had worked with all her years in civil service work, were looking for a place to retire to. After looking in Phoenix and Tucson and not being too happy with the big city, Bucky remembered the flyers from years before telling about Lake Havasu City. So they came to and settled in Lake Havasu City on July 14, 1971. She loved the area and the clean air and has been here ever since. Bucky lived with her friend Jean until Jean passed away in Dec. 1995. Bucky has been active in bridge groups and clubs all the years she has been in Lake Havasu City. In all Bucky has been playing bridge for over 79 years. Contract bridge as we know it wasn't even invented until 1929. Bucky is a no nonsense woman who tells it like it is. She is a very happy woman who is never without a smile on her face. Bucky is very humble and she loves all people. She loves her bridge. But she is a tough opponent at the table. Everyone has had their share of bad boards from Bucky. Bucky with her regular partner, Glady Kost who is a mere 88 years old, has won several duplicate games at the club since she turned 98. That should be a goal for all of us. Bucky is a very happy woman and says she has had a great life. She is very thankful for all the good years that God has given her. We here in Lake Havasu City want to have Bucky around for many more years. Everyone should have the chance to meet and get to know her. After all, Bucky's drivers license doesn't expire until October 1, 2009 when she will be 101 years old. And then she can renew it for another five years!