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08/17/2017 12:01 AM

Time to Play Croquet


Participants from a recent croquet match Photo courtesy of the Old Saybrook Historical Society

A croquet event is being sponsored by the Old Saybrook Historical Society (OSHS) on the south lawn of the Gen. Wm. Hart House, 350 Main Street, on Sunday, Aug. 27 at 4 p.m.

Croquet is a colorful and competitive game for which players dress in white and use mallets to gain favorable positions by hammering black, blue, red, or yellow balls through a course of wickets.

First played by French shepherds 600 years ago, in the 1870s the game arrived in the U.S.. where it became a popular lawn sport for the one-percent crowd. After briefly declining in popularity because it became associated with gambling, drinking, and unsavory behavior, it revived when rules were standardized in nearby Norwich—often considered the home of croquet in the U.S.

Friendly competitors of all skill levels are invited to participate in the OSHS event. Gambling, drinking, or unsavory behavior is discouraged. White dress, while impressive, is not mandatory.

Allen Klibanoff and Bill McLaughlin examine a close call. Photo courtesy of the Old Saybrook Historical Society
Croquet on the south lawn of the Gen. Wm. Hart House, 350 Main Street, Old Saybrook. Photo courtesy of the Old Saybrook Historical Society