JoAnn Stellwagen, left, and Rosemary Schroader watch Carol Podkulski throw the dice during a recent bunco game in Mokena. The women have gotten together each month for 55 years around the game, forming strong friendships along the way. (Mary Compton / Daily Southtown)

It was kind of a big deal when a group of south suburban women, mostly stay-at-home moms, got together for their first bunco night.

“We were all dressed to the nines,” said Karen Yarbrough, of Frankfort. “We wore pearls and high heals with full makeup and hair done.”

After all, it was more exciting than staying home and watching the new episode of The Andy Griffith Show. It was 1967, and the women started what would become a regular outing that night at Rosemary Schroader’s home on a dead-end street in Mokena.

The group, who call themselves the Bunco Babes, still gather once a month to play and socialize. Some are the original group who gathered in 1967. Others joined in the early 1970s, but the group has mostly stayed the same for the last five decades.

A few things have changed.

“Now we wear sweatshirts,” Yarbrough said.

JoAnn Stellwagen, of New Lenox, shows photos of the Bunco Babes enjoying nights out. The women have become as close as family over their decades of monthly game nights and other outings. (Mary Compton / Daily Southtown)

The gatherings center on a dice game played by eight or more people divided into groups of four that involves jubilant shouts of “bunco!” to mark dice rolls that meet certain conditions.

“The first Tuesday of the month is bunco, and the only reason to miss bunco is you’re on your deathbed or you’re having an affair,” JoAnn Stellwagen, of New Lenox, said with a laugh.

She wasn’t kidding, though.

Fellow Bunco Babe Carol Podkulski recalled wrapping up a game one night before heading to the hospital to give birth to her daughter.

“We take bunco seriously,” said Podkulski, of Mokena. “You don’t miss.”

A few of the women are family members. Yarbrough is Schroader’s sister, but any sibling rivalry is resolved through throws of the dice.

“We are all so compatible; there has never been a fight or disagreement,” Yarbrough said. “I didn’t know anyone except my sister when I first came. After 55 years you get to know everything about everybody.”

It’s gone from being a game club to a sisterhood for all the members.

“This means so much” said Schroader. “I tell my daughter, women need to form a Bunco group, even if you never played. True friendships have formed from this great group of women.”

Kathy Englert and Kay Grobarcik, both of New Lenox, and Karen Yarbrough, of Frankfort, page through a scrapbook of memories from 55 years of Bunco Babes game nights and trips and other mementos of their friendship. (Mary Compton / Daily Southtown)

Besides game nights, the Bunco Babes celebrate their family events, and even have taken trips together.

“When our kids were little, all of us Bunco Babes would take a trip in the fall and in the spring to spend some girl time,” Schroader said, noting Bunco Babe Nancy Osborne, of Mokena, owned a scrapbook shop, and the group all began documenting their travels and friendship. “I’m so glad we have these photos to remember them all.”

Besides the trips and invites to anniversary parties, the women have been there for each other during tragic times as well.

“There is so much history we have together,” Schroader said. “We have lost husbands, we’ve lost children, and all have lost our parents. It’s one reason we won’t replace a member.”

At one point, Stellwagen’s son needed major surgery, and she became emotional relating how her friends helped her through that time.

“We were on a trip when I broke the news to them,” she said. “I was scared so much. All the ladies gave me a hug and told me they are there for me.”

The Bunco Babes catch up on news from their families on a recent afternoon in a backyard in Mokena as Rosemary Schroader’s dog Cocoa sits nearby. (Mary Compton / Daily Southtown)

Food is a big part of the Bunco Day. Chocolate treats always are a favorite.

“I’m a chocoholic” Stellwagen said. “We were at Rosemary’s to play bunco. She decided to go on one of these health food kicks and served fake chocolate that night.

“I remember going home and telling my husband about the fake chocolate, and for the first time didn’t get full at bunco night.”

These days the Bunco Babes serve up kolaczkis, paczkis, brownies and other delicacies, but no more fake chocolate.

Bunco nights usually start with dinner, and then the dice rolling can last for hours.

“The companionship of the women is what I enjoy the best,” said Kay Grobarcik, of New Lenox.

The Bunco Babes are, bottom from left, Kathy Englert, Carol Podkulski, JoAnn Stellwagen, top, Kay Grobarcik, Nancy Osborne, Rosemary Schroader and Karen Yarbrough. (Mary Compton / Daily Southtown)

Kathy Englert, of New Lenox, joined the Bunco Babes in the early ‘70s.

“Most of us were stay at home moms,” she said. “Sometimes I would get home at 1 in the morning from a bunco night. We would get together, talking and laughing and wake our families up when someone would scream bunco!

“We have all bonded so much over the years, the good times and the sadness. We laugh together, we cry together and we’re there for each other. ... No matter what we do as a group we always end up on the comforting side.”

The definition of the word bunco means swindle, but for the Bunco Babes, it means a bond that can’t be broken.

“Today if I was in a desperate situation, I can call any of these ladies and they would be here,” Schroader said. “I can always count on them. You know you’re never alone.”

Mary Compton is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.