Hobby Days are Here Again!

THERE ARE, hobbyists, and then there are Hobbyists.

They have much in common but are not the same. All are engaged in an activity they enjoy and that brings them fulfillment, whether it’s a craft, a sport, or a more cultural pursuit like travel, music, or fine wines. For Hobbyists with a capital H, though, there’s an essential added element of social engagement, fellowship, and opportunities to engage in local humanitarian work with other retired gentlemen in Ridgewood and surrounding towns.

The Hobbyists Unlimited is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, nonsectarian, nonreligious group that began in Ridgewood with 16 members in 1966. 60 years later, their ranks have swelled to 449 retired or semiretired men from every walk of life—white collar and blue collar, lawyers, accountants, coaches…even a former weatherman—who bond over shared interests and a yearning to expand their circle of friends.

ACTIVITIES ARE APLENTY

While membership is men-only, Hobbyists Unlimited’s offerings are anything but gender-exclusive. Many of the activities appeal to couples by design. Peruse the organization’s website, and you’ll see photos of decidedly mixed groups enjoying trips both regional and international, as well as dinners, dances, and picnics in Ridgewood and other nearby Bergen County towns.

Member meetings, held at First Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood at 8:45 a.m. on the first Thursday of every month except for July and August, begin with an hour of fellowship, followed by a formal discussion of club business, and conclude with a talk from a scheduled speaker. It’s not unusual for various groupings of members to head out for a meal at the Daily Treat or another local spot afterward.

In between monthly meetings, there are dozens of opportunities to engage with the club’s activity groups, which are broadly categorized into Sports & Games, Personal Interests, and Social Activities.

For their $60 annual dues, members can take part in as many activity groups as they like—or as many as they have time for, anyway. “If you go on the website and look at the calendar, you see that you can be busy every day of the week,” says Don Peterfriend, whose term as club president ended toward the end of 2025.

 That wasn’t just a figure of speech. The December calendar showed at least one activity-based get-together every day of the month except for Christmas Day. On the most packed day of the month, Dec. 11, a Hobbyist could have started his day by heading to the Duck Pond to join peers in the Walking club at 9 a.m., then go on to play pinochle, bridge and blackjack, followed by a discussion of Italian heritage and finally putting a cap on the day by meeting with the Beer Appreciation group at 6:30 p.m.

New activity groups can be added if there’s sufficient interest among among the membership, with the latest new idea being a discussion group on navigating retirement.

MORE THAN FUN AND GAMES

The opportunity to make new friends while engaged in something you enjoy is its own reward, clearly, but for the core “audience” Hobbyists Unlimited is courting, the benefits can be even more satisfying—and beneficial.

Research published in the scientific journal Nature found that people aged 65 and older who engaged in a hobby were less likely to report depressive symptoms and more likely to

report good health, happiness, and overall life satisfaction than peers who did not engage in a hobby. In turn, those factors have been found to positively influence life expectancy and promote healthy aging.

Don Peterfriend is one member who can confirm the positive effects of hobbying—particularly in the organization—on his own post-retirement life. “When I retired in March of ’19, I’d still get up at like six in the morning, get dressed, and then read every single word in the newspaper from cover to cover,” he recalls. “All of a sudden it was nine, and it was, what do I do now?”

That all changed once he joined the Hobbyists. “Before, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do on a daily basis,” he says. “Now I don’t know what I’m not going to do on a daily basis!”

GAINING MEMBERSHIP

Hobbyists Unlimited does not engage in formal advertising or promotion. However, accolades like winning gold in a wine competition, as the wine makers have more than once, probably raise the group’s profile a bit.

Typically, prospective members either learn about the club through word of mouth or are invited directly by a member. For his part, membership committee chair Bob Mosher is quick to strike up a conversation with a prospective Hobbyist and ready to hand them a club business card that displays the activity offerings and the web and email addresses (www.hobbyists-unlimited.com and hobbyists1966@gmail.com, respectively). They added 38 new members in 2025, a trend they’d like to see continue.

The process begins when the prospective new member completes the membership application online. The group then sends them orientation documents. New members can start participating in activities right away after paying the $60 initiation fee at their first meeting, but aren’t officially eligible for induction until their third monthly business meeting.

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A SELECTION OF ACTIVITIES

Sports & Games

Bocce

Bowling

Bridge

Chess

Fishing

Golf (indoor and outdoor)

Hiking

Pickleball

Pinochle

Poker

Tennis

Walking

Personal Interests

Book Club

Camera Club

Gourmet Cooking

Hobbyists Songs (parodies reflecting club interests)

Investors Club

Italian Heritage

The Jazz Bunch

Military History

Movie Lovers

Music Lovers

Science & Technology

Wine Appreciation

Wine Making

World Affairs

Social Activities

Dinner/Dances

Habitat for Humanity

Hobbyists Concerned (which offers support for members in need)

ROMEO (aka, Retired Old Men Eating Out)

Trips & Tours

Volunteer Service

BY HARRIS FLEMING