PIONEERS OF BRIDGE Biography by Mrs. Nancy Weisz Gallagher
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From approximately 1967-1985 Valley View Bridge Studio in Dallas, Texas, was one of the foremost Bridge Studios in the country. It was the center of the duplicate bridge world in Dallas and the number one club for visiting bridge players. It played host to players of all levels and sectors including such luminaries as Sam Donaldson, Oswald and Jim Jacoby, Ira Corn, Bobby Wolff, Bud Creed and countless other avid players.
The reason for Valley View’s enduring success was because it was run by Harry and Claire Weisz, a couple who would be forever known in Dallas as Mr. and Mrs. Bridge.
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The club achieved stellar status because the Weisz’s ran the studio in the same fashion as a Five Star Hotel. They created a comfortable atmosphere, treated the players like honored guests, established rules that were fair for everyone, and were conscientious in always being friendly and attentive to everyone who walked in the door. It was a place where bridge players could play with their favorite partners, be matched with a partner, or elevate their skills by playing with a master teacher or Bridge Ace.
Harry and Claire were tireless in their devotion to the Valley View players. Games were scheduled twice a day with a buffet lunch served at the afternoon session. Harry directed the games and taught lessons while Claire was in charge of taking reservations, matching players, playing with students, supervising the all-important lunch and special holiday buffets, and occasionally directing as well.
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They were the perfect hosts. Harry directed the games with a big smile and the ability to solve problems and disputes fairly and Claire gathered everyone in like a mother hen able to make everyone feel at home and at ease.
Harry and Claire began their love of bridge years before Valley View was established.
I know this story well as I am their daughter, Nancy.
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For many years they lived in Chicago, Illinois. They raised a family of three while my father worked in the jewelry business. He first started in the manufacturing part of the business but found his calling as an auctioneer, who conducted public sales in jewelry stores, and whose owners wanted to raise additional cash before closing their doors. He traveled all over the country and often thought about leaving Chicago if he could find an ideal setting for the family. My mother was a stay-at-home mom who was content with her children and circle of friends.
Sidney and Anne Diamond were their closest friends. They often vacationed and found projects they could enjoy together. My mother and Anne made custom hats, my father and Sid went to cooking class and fished while all four of them played social card games. Through mutual friends, Sidney learned of a bridge instructor, Frieda Arnst, who was considered to be one of the best in Chicago. He was enthusiastic about taking lessons and wanted my parents to sign up too. As both couples loved card games they started immediately.
This was the beginning of what would eventually become the focus and major accomplishment in their business life.
The two couples soon became enamored with the game and all of its challenges. As they were good friends, they were able to play without arguments and used each problem as a lesson to further their skills. Soon they were playing tournament games and earning both red and black points to reach each successive level. I was in High School and my brothers in Elementary School so my parents had the time to pursue this new hobby. When my father traveled on business, he would find local clubs and play during his time off. Much later his experiences in those clubs would help him make Valley View so popular.
One of these business trips in 1954 took him to Dallas, Texas. He spent more than two months there on a sale and began to like the city. It was warmer than Chicago, the economy was vigorous and the cost of living much less than the Midwest. Upon his return he told my mother he had found our new home. Mother was less than thrilled, as she did not want to uproot and leave family and friends for the “Wild West”. Eventually, my father prevailed and we moved to Dallas in 1956. Luckily, favorite family members, the Hirschs, joined us so the move was easier for my mother.
We all moved into a large apartment block in the East side of Dallas. It had a country club atmosphere and a large recreation room for tenant events and special occasions.
My parents and our Hirsch cousins were outgoing and friendly as were most of the other tenants who gathered around the pool during the hot summer nights. Soon fast friendships were formed and my parents were delighted to learn that there were a fair number of bridge players in the group. They began inviting a few couples over for sociable games. We had a moderate sized apartment and soon there were more people who wanted to play than room to put them. My father asked the management if he could use the recreation room for regular bridge nights. These games became so popular that after a while it became apparent that a larger place would be needed on a regular basis.
What to do. At this point it was only a growing list of regular tenants and some of their friends who came to play a sociable game. What would happen if the location were moved? How could they pay for a commercial space?
During this time, my father’s business, an antique auction store in downtown Dallas was not doing well. His partner had personal problems that were affecting their income. It was time to find a new career. It took a bit for my mother and father to realize that they had a new business; they had just been thinking it was a hobby.
They got the information from ACBL, rented a space that would hold about 15-20 tables, figured out how much to charge per game, arranged to get their Master Teacher’s designations and Director status and off they went, never looking back and doing what they loved - teaching, directing and playing. They called this first club White Rock Bridge Club and were successful from the first day!
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From that first rented office in a strip center they moved to an unusual house on Valley View Lane. It was a separate building that had been built around a living tree by an eccentric Dallas millionaire and contractor Pat Howell. My parents were quick to see the potential in this quirky building.They hired an artist and had him paint bridge murals on the walls. The murals had stylized figures representing various plays and types of hands. My mother joked that as playing bridge was an art, it should be played in an artistic setting. The public loved it! Bridge players and their friends came for a game and ended up as regulars over the years. Marriages started and ended, friendships formed, gossip was traded, vacationers spread the word about this unique studio and, through it all, my parents became synonymous with bridge in Dallas.
My father loved to teach. As the games were going on all of the time, he had to think of a way to find the room and time to teach and attract new players. During the 1960s one of the largest department stores in Dallas, Sanger-Harris was encouraging shoppers by holding classes in their special events rooms in all of their Dallas and Ft. Worth locations. They were having decorating, cooking, and other classes that would appeal to shoppers and keep them in the store after the classes ended.
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Harry Weisz was a natural promoter and always recognized a sales potential. He headed off to Sanger-Harris and offered to teach two six session courses on beginning and intermediate bridge. He would start at one store and, if successful, would travel to all of them on a regular basis. At first the store managers could not see the connection between bridge and shoppers. My father pleasantly educated them about the game’s popularity and the number of people who were calling the studio wanting lessons. At last a special events coordinator agreed to go out on a limb and give it a try. The room was booked, the ads went into the paper and I was “hired” to help register the incoming students.
Jim Jacoby and wife Judy were frequent players at Valley View. Jim was the son of bridge great, Oswald Jacoby and his wife Mary Zita. Jim was following in his father’s footsteps and would soon become one of the original Aces Bridge Team. Jim loved to play, Judy wanted to teach and direct and was qualified to do both. Most important they shared my parents’ hospitable philosophy. As the friendship grew, a perfect arrangement was made. Judy would direct as well as teach small classes at Valley View. Jim and Judy’s names were added to the sign in front of the building attracting established players and my father was free to attract and teach every potential bridge player in Dallas.
The classes were advertised as “Play as You Learn Bridge with Expert, Harry Weisz”
The ad requested reservations be made in advance as space was limited. We were so proud of those ads! “Expert, Harry Weisz”! How my parents delighted in that recognition. He was confident that the classes would be successful despite some lingering doubt by the Sanger-Harris management. Prospective students called the department store directly to make reservations. They called, and called and called. Sanger-Harris had a winner on their hands. Over 500 students continued to sign up each week. It was a successful partnership that would last over fifteen years.
My father prepared meticulously for these lessons. He and my mother had been teaching at Valley View and were co-authoring a column in several local papers called “Bridge Bits”. The column featured Mr. North, his wife and expert, Mrs. South and their anonymous opponents, East and West. Each column was a lesson that incorporated a familiar saying or event and the good-humored repartee between the married couple.
The columns (written in the 1960’s) were not only well written but also brilliantly conceived. By making Mrs. South the diplomatic expert, my father helped women develop confidence in their ability to master the game, and in a subtle way, encouraged men to accept and respect good women players.
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He took all of the important elements of bridge and put them in a simple and logical self-printed book called “Practical Bridge in 10 Easy Lessons”. These books were sold for a nominal $2.00 at the lessons so no one would have to be distracted by taking notes.
My mother assisted at all the lessons, answering questions and helping as the students ended each session with a play of the hand. Although I was now married and raising a family of my own near Dallas, I often helped with registration and book selling during the first lesson. I watched my father teach the same lesson over the years and was always entertained and amazed by his teaching style.
His years of auctioneering made him comfortable with ten or ten thousand in the “tip”, the auctioneers word for a crowd. He was charming, funny, could think on his feet like a politician during an election campaign and was able to tailor any lesson to the needs of any person in an instant. Students were delighted. Sanger-Harris took the credit for recruiting him and graduates of his classes became happy Valley View players. It was win-win all around!
Shortly after the classes began at Sanger-Harris, Dallas began a major expansion on the North side of the city. A new freeway called LBJ (after the President from Texas, Lynden B. Johnson) was scheduled to begin construction. Valley View Studio was directly in the path of the new freeway. My father talked to the owner, Pat Howell, and Pat made my father an offer he couldn’t resist. If my father would help oversee the building of a new motel just north of LBJ on Central Expressway and manage it after completion, Pat would build in a new studio on the second floor of the main building. Well, it was an easy decision. My father had never taken on a project like this and was totally unfamiliar with the process. Of course he’d do it!
And he did. In addition he planned and built a small 18 hole putting green because he loved to play golf and figured the guests would like it as well.The Motel was called “The Country Club Inn and the Valley View Bridge Studio" and occupied the entire second floor as promised. My brothers became the pool maintenance crew and we all pitched in and worked when any of the staff failed to show up. Remember the cooking classes mentioned earlier? One memorable night, the entire kitchen staff quit and my father put on his chef’s hat and guided my brothers and I through a banquet meal for twelve. There was never a dull moment while they were there.
My father had a remarkable ability to see problems clearly and solve them with good humor. His approach to management was the same as his approach to the bridge hand: take a good look at what you’re dealt, understand the logic behind finding a solution, and, do your best with each action you take. It worked in life and at the bridge table.
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About three years later, the property was sold to a large hotel chain and the Country Club Inn was torn down. My parents wanted to find a location as close to the Inn as possible and on Central Expressway. They found an ideal space just a few exits to the south and moved into their fourth and final location.
My father always enjoyed competitive play in the Men’s Pairs Division. In 1973 he became a Life Master, one of the proudest achievements in his life.
Sue Emery in the “Scorecard” wrote:
Harry Weisz making Life Master … Harry and his charming wife, Claire, have had one of the leading studios in the nation in Dallas for nearly 20 years. We have talked with countless bridge players who have stated that they never would have continued with the game except for the fact that these two always went out of their way to make them feel comfortable and arrange fine partnerships. In addition to their great work teaching and encouraging novices at their studio, Valley View, they have taught at the leading department stores in Dallas for many years.
Lee Wilkinson in “The Bulletin” called him “Maestro of Valley View Bridge Studio” and “the leading bridge impresario in North Texas”.
The bridge community in Dallas recognized them in many ways. They were given the honor of directing Omar Sharif at an area tournament, had a flight named for them that continues to this day. They were named Mr. and Mrs. Bridge in a special ceremony and were viewed and treated as celebrities in Dallas.
My parents loved to eat out and we frequented restaurants all over the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Invariably, someone would come to our table, smile and say,” Aren’t you Harry Weisz?” My father would be unfailingly polite and gracious and my mother would beam with delight for him.
“I took lessons from you at Sanger-Harris years ago”, they’d say. “I really enjoyed each lesson and still have the book!” He would smile as though it was the first compliment he had ever received and would spend a few minutes in pleasant conversation. He loved the attention but was never vain about it. He was always pleased that he had contributed to someone’s pleasure.
In the late1970s my parents began to realize that it was time to take life a little easier. Judy, Bud Creed and others were able to direct the games and my father wanted a change of pace. He ended the lessons at Sanger-Harris and learned about luxury cruises that employ bridge directors for passengers who want to have games as part of the entertainment package. They packed their bags and cruised to Alaska, Panama and Hawaii. The trips were enjoyable but they were always glad to get home and spend time with the family.
After three years they decided to stay home for good. They visited the studio on occasion and supported all of the local and regional tournaments with their presence. My mother acquired a private student and played in many of the studio games. Now in their seventies, they began to adjust to a slower pace. My father took sailing lessons and fulfilled one of his dreams and that was to have his own small sailboat and enjoy it on Dallas’ White Rock Lake. He invited me to join him in the lessons and I was the first one to sail alone with him. He was a great sailor. I was not. On our first trip, I capsized the boat and we both ended up floating in the water, hanging on to the side. Neither of us panicked, but I was ashamed, embarrassed and worried about my father’s reaction and possible injuries. I looked over at him and to my complete surprise, he still had his hat on and was laughing and laughing! “What?” I squeaked. “Well”, he said. “ Your mother was worried that I might go out in the boat and drown. Now I can tell her we fell in, it turned out OK and she won’t worry!”
I remember that story because it is the essence of my father: ready for a challenge, calm and cool under fire, a great sense of humor and always having my mother first in his thoughts and actions. Traits that made him a great father and a successful man.
In 1980 Valley View was sold to new owners.
My brother Michael moved to Los Angeles, soon to be joined by his twin brother Richard and me. My parents wanted to be able to drive out and visit us at least once a year and he wanted to complete a project he had been working on for several years, a revision of “Practical Bridge” . He had written a third book earlier,” Duplicate Bridge at Home” that had moderate success and now wanted to turn “Practical Bridge” into an expanded “Enjoy Playing Bridge” which would include many of the published “Bridge Bits” columns. My cousin, Susan Hirsch, worked with him on the final editing and printing details. The book was received well and sales were good. He was proud of the revision and knew it would be helpful to anyone wanting to learn the game.
About a year after publication, he began to experience some confusion while driving and started to have memory problems. We were all concerned and gave my parents as much support and assistance as possible. Alzheimer’s was a word we reluctantly added to our vocabularies and our lives.
Harry Weisz died peacefully in his sleep July 4, 1992. My mother, now in her nineties, lives in a retirement community, still plays bridge occasionally and often visits with former students and Valley View regulars.
| Claire Weisz | Harry Weisz | |
| ACBL Master Teacher ACBL Certified Director Bridge Newspaper Columnist |
ACBL Life Master ACBL Master Teacher ACBL Certified Teacher Honored Membership in "International Bridge Press Association" Author of: Bridge Newspaper Columnist with Claire: Duplicate Data and Bridge Bits |
What can I say that would be a fitting tribute to my parents? They gave the best they had to establish a wonderful business and created a legacy for others to follow. They were amiable, honorable, fair and intelligent in their dealings with everyone they met. Their devotion to each other and to the family was the foundation of their lives. All else stemmed from that. I guess the best thing to say is that if all the heads of state ran their countries the way the Weisz’s ran the Valley View Bridge Studio, the world would indeed be a better place.
We are more than happy to update and add any accomplishments not mentioned here.
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