Staff writer
Every weekday a group of regulars gathers around a pair of pool tables, assembling their cues and picking partners for a few games of eight ball.
But they aren’t in a dimly lighted pool hall; they are at Hillsboro Senior Center.
A group of eight senior citizens meets for pool and coffee from 2 to 4 p.m. every weekday.
While waiting for everyone to arrive, a couple of players discussed health issues they were facing. The players randomly determine teams.
Skill levels among the regulars are mixed, but none are former professionals. Occasionally someone will run the table, pocketing all of their balls without missing a shot or committing a foul. Once, two players ran a table in the same day, Bill Marston said.
The gathering is a friendly affair. “Good shot” is heard numerous times as players compliment one another on difficult shots. When someone fails to make an apparently simple shot, other players gently joke about it.
Oliver Mohn began playing at the senior center after retiring in 2001. There are three rules: have fun, no betting, and no swearing, but the third rule is occasionally overlooked, several players said.
The group takes a break for coffee and conversation every day around 3 p.m. On Thursday, Marston brought cake to celebrate his 81st birthday. Between discussing the start of the high school football season and unofficially review restaurants where they have dined, players said they play for the fun of it.
“It’s all for fun,” Mohn said. “We all play to win, but we learn how to lose.”