MILL VALLEY CHAPTER NO. 219, O.E.S., HISTORY
FUN ACTIVIITIES (Meet me in St. Louis, Louis)
Eastern Star members form a family. We are here for each other in good times and bad and always hoping for and planning for the good times. One way we do this is through cheerful companionship and social enjoyment. Bobbie told everyone about some of the Chapter’s fun activities.
The early years of our Chapter focused on skits and games before and after the meetings. Card games (with fabulous prizes) were often the bill of fare after the meetings, most mentioned were Whist and Bingo. Members also competed in flower arranging and hat decoration. A tradition of the Chapter was to give spoons as gifts to our District Deputy Grand Matrons and to new arrivals from the stork. This tradition was reinstated in 2000 when the Chapter held a baby shower for three new Eastern Star babies.
We have had fun themes for meetings including Holidays at the wrong time of the year, sock hops with waitresses on roller skates serving root beer floats and skits that went along with weddings, kindergarten awards, the circus, people’s court and the Lawrence Welk show complete with singing, dancing and bubbles. We have had a Noah’s Ark theme for a meeting with Bill Cosby’s description of Noah’s Ark as entertainment. Members were known to do interpretations of the Beatles and to do the Hula. We have had a Worthy Patron who sang operatic aria’s and a Worthy Matron who thought she was a bubble bath. Even initiation nights were not off limits. The theme for one night was "To Our Song Bird" and the decorations included live birds in a cage in the East which were very cooperative and didn’t sing during the initiation ceremony.
It seems though that most of the special activities of the Chapter included both fun and food. This easily goes back to the year 1913 when the Chapter held a dinner dance at the tavern on Mt. Tamalpais. The entire event, including the train up and down the mountain cost $1.50 per person. We have taken the ferry boat to San Francisco for lunch, a bus trip to the East-West Game at Stanford (with coffee and donuts on the bus and a box lunch included in the cost of the ticket). We had hot dogs and cracker jacks at a Giants Game at Candlestick Park and a sumptuous banquet in San Francisco celebrating the Chinese New Year.
We have always had great cooks in the chapter. Lottie McDermond put on Smorgasbords before meetings, Ella Umland would provide whole salmons (caught and cooked by Carl), Phyllis Burch made wonderful hors'd'oeuvres and the brothers provided self baked cakes for Brother’s night. Suzie Basho put on a fantastic Indian dinner for us, Eileen Bassett was known for her cherry cheesecake tarts and we have had interesting dinners before our meetings including our recent "green" dinner.
We have gone to an ice show (included cookies), a trip to the Sunset House Gardens with lunch, an outing to a glass blower who made angels and then had lunch at the Cliff House and many yummy lunches and dinners associated with Past Matron and Past Patron meetings. Even work meetings to plan special events usually ended by the hostess providing coffee and dessert for us to enjoy after all our hard work was done.
This year is no different. We still have planned Miniature Golf and Lunch and a trip to the Monterey Aquarium. You are all welcome to join us. The more the merrier, after all, we are all family.
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