“We are the Saturday Night Ladies!” laughs Sylvia Wagner, 84, of Potomac when introducing the circle of women who gather for games and friendship once a week. “Most of us are widows and don’t want to be alone. But many couples don’t realize how important it is to include their single friends in their social lives.”
Unhappy with that situation, Wagner joined forces four years ago with longtime friend Ellen Forman, also a widow, to write a new script for Saturday nights.
“At first we just went out to eat,” says Forman, 88, of Potomac. “But then I thought, why not do something different? Why not play games, too? Other friends, friends of friends heard about it and asked to join us.”
Since then, the Saturday Night Ladies or SNL has grown to include 18 women. Most of its members are in their 80s (the youngest is 73). They all live independently.
On one Saturday in February, it’s games night at the Park Potomac Place condominium building, where Wagner and Forman reside along with several other members. The wood-paneled clubroom is prepped for the party—wine and soft drinks arrayed on the bar, and platters of cheese, crackers and kale dip laid out on the coffee table by the fireplace.
The main attractions, however, are the four card tables neatly set up for mahjong, bridge and canasta.
At the mahjong table, the women expertly flip over the white tiles, scanning the colorful symbols, such as bamboo, Chinese characters and circles, to find the ones they need to win the game. The play is fast as the women quickly assess, rearrange and discard tiles in practiced, fluid motions.
“I’ve been playing mahjong for 50 years, ever since I was first married,” says one woman. The others nod in agreement, acknowledging the decades of experience among them.
In the back of the large room, the bridge players take turns bidding, trying to signal to their partners which suit they want to play based on the strength of the cards they are holding. “One club. One heart. Two clubs. Pass. Three hearts. Pass.” Once trump is settled, then the action begins. Hands fly, scooping up tricks.
“I find bridge very stimulating mentally,” says Ruth Lee, 86, of North Bethesda.
Two tables are dedicated to canasta, a fast-paced card game that is a variation of rummy. “Canasta is a lot less stressful than bridge or mahjong,” Wagner jokes.
The weekly SNL gatherings, however, are more than just fun and games. The women also help each other navigate the minor and major transitions of older age, from needing a ride to a doctor’s appointment to moving out of a beloved home or losing a spouse.
“My husband, Stanley, died a year ago. We were married 65 years. He used to tease me about this group, but now I say, ‘Thank God for the widows,’ ” says Ellen Albert, 86, of Potomac. She attended elementary school in Baltimore with Ruth Lee and another SNL member, Sondra Snyder, 86, of North Bethesda.
Friendships and good companions later in life may slow down the aging process. According to a 2024 report from the Population Reference Bureau, strong social connections boost mental acuity, improve sleep quality, and help older adults weather traumatic events and maintain their independence longer, among other advantages.
Potomac’s Karen Friedman, 60, believes her mother, Barbara Kenner, 89, benefits from being a part of the group. “These are really smart women. They’ve figured it out. They keep an eye on each other. They’ve gone through life’s journey together. This is another part of that journey.”
But it takes work to have fun.
“You have to force yourself to do things, even if you don’t want to,” Lee says. “The most important thing is to keep busy and be social. We all try to keep up. Some women take courses, others still volunteer.”
Forman and Wagner encourage the women to make suggestions and take turns organizing their events. If someone is not comfortable with computers and sending out emails, then another will help them.
“This is our shared project. Everyone contributes in their own way. A lot of these women were very active before—lawyers, pharmacists, teachers, business owners. Now this is another aspect of having a fulfilling, productive time in our senior years,” says Wagner, who traces her friendship with Forman to 1977.
What’s coming up next? An NIH Community Orchestra performance, dinner at an Indian restaurant followed by Rummikub, and possibly, one day, a short cruise.
“Maybe Bermuda. We’ll play cards and just go wherever the boat goes,” Forman says with a laugh. “I wanted to start something to make people happy. Now, 18 people are happy. I hope others will be inspired to do the same thing, to keep inventing a new chapter of their life.”
This appears in the May/June 2025 issue of Bethesda Magazine.
