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As The Daily Memphian celebrates its seventh anniversary today, I wanted to — alongside a group of longtime readers — take a minute to remember the late Jennifer Biggs, one of the site’s first staffers. 
Biggs didn’t just review restaurants — she created community. Before she died in 2023, her work was part of the rhythm of Bluff City life, inspiring groups of friends and coworkers to turn her dining recommendations into itineraries.
One of those groups, MahJ Squad 901, started meeting for weekly games years ago, pre-pandemic. But for the past two years, they’ve been making every fourth meeting a luncheon and started by checking out one of Biggs’ recommendations. 
“When Jennifer (Biggs) came up with this food thing, we were really excited about it,” said Callie English Bolyard, the group’s unofficial spokeswoman. “We just wanted to keep it going.”
Bolyard and one of her friends decided to add their own twist to the monthly lunches typically held on the third Friday of each month: Mahjong.
“We just wanted to have fun,” she said.
Biggs’ legacy recently led me to Ronnie Grisanti’s for lunch with MahJ Squad 901 and as Callie’s guest. Over shared plates of warm bread, hearty appetizers and delicate fish (the salmon was incredible!), I watched Biggs’ influence come to life. These brilliant women laughed, traded stories and passed dishes as though the food itself was part of the conversation. Many of them first met attending Biggs’ monthly luncheons.
“You just meet people, and you become friends through this game,” Bolyard said. “Little by little, we just started getting all these people together.” 
They even taught me how to play mahjong, guiding and encouraging me with patience to my first, clumsy win.The ladies — who are mostly retired — gather for weekly gameplay. Local restaurants like Bog & Barley, SkiMo’s, Villa Castrioti, Redfish Asian Bistro and more have already opened their doors to them. And they say that they hope to discover other eateries together, just as Table Talk has introduced them to restaurants worth trying.
I left Grisanti’s with gratitude — for the meal, the laughter, the lessons and, above all, for a city that continues to prove food is the thread stitching past, present and future together at the table.
https://dailymemphian.com/Email/Article/55206/ArticleEmail/0?token=72veUcCRWkKQwIJIAW3ldA%3D%3D
 
 

The Memphis City Council ResolutionWHEREAS, the City of Council honors Mahj Squad 901 in celebrating the anniversary of "Lunch and Play" which recognizes the social bonding, community building, and engaging nature of the group since its beginning; we are pleased to join you in celebrating friendship and the joy of playing mahjong which is certainly worthy or recognition, and,WHEREAS, Mahj Squad 901, led by Pat Ford, Sandy Sissom, and Callie Bolyard was created to honor the monthly lunches founding by Jennifer Biggs, of the Commercial Appeal on Oct 17th  2023, andWHEREAS, through Pat Ford's teaching of Mahjong, Mahj Squad 901 grew from a small group of friends gathering monthly to have lunch and play mahjong to a growing group who has welcomed new-learners and "foodies." while creating lasting friendships, andWHEREAS, Mahj Squad 901 has expanded its outreach throughout the Memphis Community; garnered interest in the culturally historic game of mahjong,  and contributed to the economic development and social awareness of local small businesses, who hosts their "Lunch and Play" monthly.NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Memphis City Council applauds and celebrates Mahj Squad 901 and declares October 17th as  Mahj Squad 901 Day﻿
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.MEMPHIS—Rib joints in Tennessee to department stores in Oklahoma are filling up with women Charlestonning their way through a resurgence of mahjong.
Mahjong is a tile-based game that originated in 19th-century China and was brought to the United States in the 1920s.
The game surged in popularity after the coronavirus pandemic, as people, especially women, sought to reignite their social circles with a little friendly competition.
There are approximately 1,026 mahjong clubs across the United States, according to research published by Bam Good Time in April.
States with the most clubs include Texas, Florida, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
The rule-filled hobby is not easy to learn, but can be addictive once mastered, as players match patterns on domino-style tiles to those on a universally used pre-approved card.
he pre-approved mahjong cards most groups play with include The Official American Mahjong card published by the National Mah Jongg League, and The Big Card, published by the Mahjong Line and I LOVE MAHJ.
Health and Social Benefits
                        Both cards are distributed nationwide annually, with new patterns each year. The new patterns aim                         to mix up matches in competitions; players describe the game as a mix of chess, bridge, and the                          social aspect of a book club.
                        The Epoch Times dropped into one meetup at a barbecue restaurant in a suburb of East Memphis                         on June 19. It was filled with dozens of gaming women attending a “Lunch and Play” afternoon put                          on by the group MahJ Squad 901.                                                                                                                                                       The group was founded by sisters Patricia Ford and Sandy Sissom shortly after the pandemic.
                       "We just started playing, and it just kept growing and growing,” Sissom said. “And now we teach all                           over the mid-South.”
The retired sisters wanted to build a thriving community that would stand the test of time after they watched their mother struggle with losing friends as she aged.
“When you get older, your circle gets smaller, so we want to have a circle that’s big enough and diverse enough that we’re never the last one standing,” Sissom said. “You’re always bringing people in, so your circle is always growing.”
Their group even hosts events in the home goods section of Dillard’s and separately has raised thousands of dollars for local charities.
Their community-building efforts even sparked a domino effect for other mahjong meetups across the South.
Annette Mastron, who attended the East Memphis meetup, expanded her hobby and started a swimming pool-based event called the Mah-Jongg Mermaid in her backyard.
The unique event uses custom, floating mahjong boards.
Mahjong meetups have continued to blossom, with social media platforms and websites offering women new ways to connect, tile by tile.
The sisters behind MahJ Squad 901 charge $60 for a 10-hour class and access to all of their events.
Ford urges all newbies to do their due diligence before investing hundreds of dollars in teachers who could be looking for a quick buck, as some charge hundreds for quick lessons.
Despite the learning curve, Ford said the game is “medicine you didn’t know you needed,” adding that it’s a wonderful way to reset a person’s mind and communication skills
The National Institutes of Health concluded in 2020 that playing mahjong for 12 weeks “improved the executive function of elderly people” with mild cognitive impairment, a condition that affects between 10 and 20 percent of adults over 65.
Mild cognitive impairment is described as “a critical transient period of cognitive decline between normal aging and early dementia