Rat Pack revived at retirement home ‘pool hall’

As snow falls and the cold wind blows outside, a cue ball scoots across the table and the rack of balls cracks in the “pool hall” at Keystone Place.

But, forget the blue haze of smoke, the tipping of highball glasses and big bets on the table. This may be the Rat Pack at play, but it's not the likes of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop in ‘60s Las Vegas.

This is Joe Best, 95, Ralph Glider, 93, Merrill “Pit” Pitlick, 87, Dick Craig, 84, and, the youngest, Mick Thirnbeck, 83. It is 13 men in all, the pool playing, popcorn eating Rat Pack of the Keystone Place retirement home.

“I played off and on all my life,” says Ralph, who retired from his Washington County farm about 15 years ago. “I had a pool table.”

“I'd never played pool in my life,” laughs Joe, who retired as service manager at Rapids Chevrolet in 1982 after 30 years.

But, seeing one pool table at the retirement home after he moved in prompted him to take a shot. In October, 2007, he racked up the Rat Pack.

“I was lonesome, there was nothing to do,” Joe says. “I asked them if I could start a pool club.”

Joe met with three others - Dick Craig, Kent Johnson and Marv Smith (now deceased) - and Peg Miller, who works in the office, took their picture and dubbed them “The Rat Pack.”

Soon, the pool table was moved from the small room (now the library) into the former theater and a second table was added to the new pool hall. One wall features a photo of the original Rat Pack playing pool and is flanked by portraits of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe.

Sure as shootin', the new Rat Pack gathers at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, hanging around for a couple of hours before heading home.

“None of us would go out and try to make a living at it,” says Dick, who worked at Quaker Oats for 42 years.

“I haven't seen anybody fighting yet,” laughs, Mick, a retired tool engineer at Square D.

“We've got the rules,” Joe chuckles, pointing to them on the bulletin board, “but nobody pays attention to them.”

No need, since it's always a friendly game between new friends - most of the guys didn't know each other before these pool sessions began.

Usually the game is 8-ball with partners, although they play 9-ball and regular pool, too.

“It's a good bunch of fellas here,” says Pit, retired after more than 30 years with the Postal Service. “Sometimes, I just like to sit and listen.”