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This was the most common remark that Mrs. Kay Houston of Austin, Texas, heard when she told her friends that she was going to start a club for unmarried men and women who were "forty and up."

But the pessimists were wrong. Contrary to their predictions, many older people in Austin were eager to join. From October of 1951 through March of 1952, Mrs. Houston planned entertainment every Tuesday and Saturday night for a houseful of club members—all of them single people over forty. Because of the heat, the club was suspended during the summer, but in October, 1952, it started up again. Now it is going strong in its second year of operation.

Most of the time, the members of Mrs. Houston's club meet in her own home. Mrs. Houston provides them with refreshments and all the equipment they need to have a good time. Gambling and drinking, however, are not allowed. The members play bridge, canasta, dominoes, or forty-two. They can also dance or, if they wish, merely sit around and have a good time chatting with their friends. On Tuesday nights, the party breaks up at 11 o'clock; on Saturdays, the dead-line is extended to 12.

Though meeting in Mrs. Houston's home is the rule, members sometimes decide that they would like a different kind of party. Mrs. Houston then makes arrangements for outside entertainment. Sometimes the members all go on a picnic or to a dinner club. On such occasions, the parties are always conducted on a "go Dutch" basis.

THE IDEA for the club first began incubating in Mrs. Houston's mind, when she was working for the Texas State Legislature with a staff of other single women. Many of these women would work all day and then return to their office typewriters in the evening. Mrs. Houston asked them why they put in so much overtime when it wasn't required. Almost invariably she got the same answer:

"Oh, I'd rather work up here than spend the evening by myself at home."

"That started me to thinking," says Mrs. Houston. "What a lonely world it is for unmarried older people—especially for women! I thought then how helpful it would be if there were some place where they could get together for a good time a couple of evenings each week."

It was not, however, until some time later that Mrs. Houston got the second incentive for starting her club. Her sister, who lived with her, became crippled with arthritis. As a result, Mrs. Houston had to quit her job. She also had to find some way to supplement her income by working at home.

"Why not," she asked herself, "start a club for unmarried people over forty? I could not only do a lot of good, but maybe I could make some money at it, too."

Despite the discouragement of some well-meaning friends, Mrs. Houston went ahead with her plans. First she started compiling a name list of potential members. She thought of all the unmarried older people she knew and got her friends to recommend other names. Then she began visiting and telephoning these people. She told them just what she had in mind—a club where older people could get together twice a week for a good time. If they were interested, wouldn't they come to her home for a first meeting and more information? Then they could decide whether they wanted to join.

In all, Mrs. Houston spent about two months in telephoning, interviewing, and checking on possible members. She estimates that she reached between 175 and 200 people.

This advance preparation paid off. At the first meeting, about sixty people who were not afraid to advertise their ages showed up. In other words, about one out of ever three persons Mrs. Houston had contacted was interested enough to attend the first meeting. To be sure, not all of them became members. A few of them did not meet Mrs. Houston's requirements; others decided that they weren't interested. But enough people did join the club to get it going.

Since that beginning, Mrs. Houston has been able to keep plenty of members interested. Many of the present members have been with the club since it started, but new ones are continually being added. Today, new members must be recommended by people already in the club.

The actual number of members varies from month to month. As a rule, between twenty and thirty members attend each party, though sometimes there are a good many more. The number of guests present at any given party does not, of course, represent the entire membership. There are always some members who are absent.

FROM A financial standpoint, the club has fulfilled its expectations. The dues, which are $5 a month, bring in a tidy income. Mrs. Houston, however, does not keep all the money paid into the club. Of every dollar she receives, she donates 10 per cent to the Cerebral Palsy Center of Austin.

Of course, she also has expenses. One of the biggest outlays goes for refreshments. Usually, Mrs. Houston serves coffee and cake. Figuring on the basis of an average attendance of guests, refreshments cost her about $2.50 a party. Then there are other costs: she periodically has to buy new phonograph records; playing cards wear thin and have to be replaced; the house has to be decorated for seasonal times of the year, and of course, she has to take into account the wear and tear on the house and furniture.

Even so, the club provides Mrs. Houston with a substantial income. "During the six months that I operated the club last year," she says, "I made as much as I could have made by working every day at a full-time job."

This is not to imply that running the club is easy. It involves a good deal more work than might be apparent and is, in fact, pretty much of a full-time job itself. "But," says Mrs. Houston, for anybody who likes people it is a pleasant job."

Each party, says Mrs. Houston, involves a full day's work. For one thing, she has to get the house ready and prepare the refreshments (she usually does her own baking). Then there is the time she spends as hostess, and, after the party, the big job—cleaning up. She always washes the dishes and straightens up the house before she retires. "Sometimes," she says, "I don't get to bed until 3 o'clock."

The rest of the time, too, Mrs. Houston is kept pretty busy. "I spend a lot of time on the phone," she says, explaining that she tries to keep in contact with members all through the week. "That way," she says, "I prevent interest from lagging." She also devotes considerable time to finding new joiners. For instance, she recently sent out 250 letters to potential members—most of them to men.

Mrs. Houston has never had any trouble getting women to join the club, but she admits that it is sometimes a bit difficult to interest men. "It is easier for men to find something to do in their spare time than it is for women," she explains. "Then, too," she adds with a smile, "I think the men sometimes suspect a matrimonial trap."

Although Mrs. Houston strives to maintain as close a balance as possible between the sexes, the club by no means has match-making as a primary objective. Mrs. Houston intends the club to be merely a place where older men and women can get together, make friends, and have a good time.

Of course, if romances do blossom, nobody is going to object, least of all Mrs. Houston. And the record in this department is pretty good. So far, the club has been responsible for three marriages. "More, I suspect," says Mrs. Houston, "are to be expected soon."

IT IS a constant source of gratification for Mrs. Houston to see people find happiness in the club. Many members have told her that it has entirely changed their lives. Some of them, before joining, hardly knew anyone to go to the movies with. Now, as a result of friendships formed at the club, they never lack friends with whom they can enjoy activities carried on outside as well as in the club.

The strength of such friendships was well reflected during last summer. Though the club was suspended, the members did not lose contact with one another. Sometimes the whole group got together for barbeques and picnics.

On the basis of her experience, Mrs. Houston believes that clubs similar to hers could be started in almost any fair-sized town—with profit both to the community and to the person running it.

"In almost any place," she says, "you will find middle-aged people who live by themselves. They are lonely and eager for a chance to make friends. But usually there is no place for them to meet people their own age—unless somebody starts a club especially for them."

Mrs. Houston believes, too, that anybody who really likes people could make a success of such a club. But a genuine liking for people is, she stresses, absolutely necessary. A hostess must be the type of person who doesn't mind turning her house over to her friends. "Some women, I realize," says Mrs. Houston, "would go mad if they had their house overflowing with people all the time, but I have always liked that sort of thing."

Another point a hostess should consider, says Mrs. Houston, is that a certain amount of damage to her house and belongings is to be expected. "You can't entertain a houseful of people twice a week and not expect a few accidents." she points out. "Things will get knocked over; cigarettes will sometimes fall on the rug; and dishes will occasionally be broken."

TO START a club, you do not have to have an exceptionally large house, says Mrs. Houston. Of course, the larger the home, the more guests you can entertain. However, membership can always be limited. It is essential, though, believes Mrs. Houston, to have room enough for couples to dance. Dancing, she has learned, is one of the most popular activities.

As for special equipment, a hostess would probably have to buy a few items. Although Mrs. Houston already had a record-player and a large stock of dishes, her initial expenditures for starting the club amounted to $300. Most of the money went for card tables, chairs, and playing cards (cards alone cost her $22). If she hadn't already had her record-player, she could have counted on spending at least an additional $100. Assuming that a person starting a club had to buy everything she needed, she would probably need about $400, estimates Mrs. Houston.