FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) - Between the 12 members of the Ol Dears sisterhood, there’s thousands of hours of tennis-playing represented as well as dozens of United States Tennis Association titles and a lot of road trips, the details of which they’ll never tell.
The group of women, ranging in age from 77 to 93, aren’t playing tennis these days, but they still have a love for the game - and each other.
The Ol Dears began in 1981, founded by Ann Megar. The idea was to create a special comraderie between female tennis players, age 50 and older.
“We knew we had a special group and to have a name just made it better,” said Edith Meeks, a longtime member of the Ol Dears.
“It became quite a badge of honor to be an Ol Dear. It said to the world, ’Hey, we’re not spring chickens anymore, but we can still play tennis, and pretty well, too.’ “
The group began a namesake tournament, the Ol Dears tournament, that continues today. Some of the Ol Dears still make it a point to attend some of the activities associated with the tournament.
For Mary Riley and the others in the original group of Ol Dears, friendships bloomed that are still treasured today.
“I’m 80 now, so 50 seems very young to me, but back in that time we had ladies actually anxious to turn 50,” Riley said.
The group still gets together to reminisce about old times. Ideally they try for twice a year, but health and other issues have prevented that the past couple of years.
The group got together before Valentine’s Day for lunch and some laughs.
Rosalie Stephenson retired from teaching and got active with the Ol Dears, playing tournaments and traveling with the group. She jokes that when she first learned of the group, she was too young to join.
“As soon as I was old enough, I got in there with them, though,” she said. “We had such a good time together, and we laughed ourselves silly on our trips. We agreed many years ago, that what went on, on tennis trips, stayed on tennis trips.”
Today, Stephenson is the ’baby’ of the group at 77.
Etoyle “Star” Manush is the oldest of the group at 93. She stopped playing tennis four years ago, and took up golf, which she continues to play regularly.
When asked why she stopped playing tennis, Manush said, “because my opponents got too old.”
“I loved all the people I played tennis with,” she said. “Those were some great times, great memories.”
And every Ol Dear has a story. Riley, the team captain, has earned multiple state championship titles.
Shirley Self, who was stricken by polio as a teen, started playing tennis to regain her strength, and she didn’t let up until recent years.
Martha Ann Parker was inducted into the Tennessee and Mississippi Tennis Hall of Fame.
Ferrel Mefford, Betty Whitten, Di Sanford and Mary Lee Wann are all accomplished as well, each playing the senior tennis circuit, then super seniors for ages 60 and older.
Meeks said it’s almost as fun reminiscing about old times as it was to live them.
“We’ve found that even in our later stage of life we’ve taken great joy from this group that has so many fond memories together,” Meeks said. “They’ve been a blessing.”
Cathy Turner, the health and wellness director for the YMCA of the Shoals said the formula for good health in later years is simple and falls in line with her personal motto: “You have to keep moving to keep moving.”
“These (Ol Dears) kept their bodies acclimated to those movements and it certainly contributed to their longevity in the sport,” Turner said. “Movement and the joy of it is vital to staying active, both mentally and physically.”
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Information from: The Dothan Eagle, https://www.dothaneagle.com
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