It was raining cats and dogs on Tuesday, Jan. 5, and at 1 p.m., I seriously considered calling Minerva Club President (aka information central) Angie Engelbrecht to check if the scheduled program, The Art of the Tea, was still on for 2 p.m.
Would anyone turn out in the dicey weather for a Minerva Club meeting? My bets were on cancelation. It was one wet day.
But optimism prevailed, and I soldiered on to the clubhouse on Boone Street.
Apparently, neither sleet nor snow nor wind nor rain could shut down a Minerva meeting. More than 40 members braved El Niño’s gifts and arrived with boots and umbrellas.
The program was a tea along with a speaker, Chef Dawn Peters, the owner of Decadence Fine Cakes & Confectioners in Buellton.
This interesting lady brought a professional-size mixer, a hot plate, and an industrial strength (literally) saucepan with which she demonstrated how to whip an egg white, how to make a French merengue, and how to put together exquisite lemon curd. Dawn dressed for the part—she wore her traditional chef’s jacket with her name embroidered on it.
While introducing her, program chairperson Diane Beebe told us that several years ago Dawn was on the committee that considered the establishment of a culinary arts department at Allan Hancock College. Dawn was the first teacher in the new program, which is still going strong.
After the program, we sampled Chef Dawn’s mini-cream puffs, lemon curd meringues, and faultless chocolate truffles. These were served along with traditional tea fare: small sandwiches, nuts, mints, dried fruit, and, of course, tea and coffee.
Tea chairperson Kathy Boyd hovered about the crowd that included Dorothy Elerding, Charlotte Ochoa, Marge Embry, Ginny Rosebrock, Barbara Godwin, Pat Haley, and Lenore Watson.
Judith Martin brought her collection of teapots to display in the foyer. Margaret Paden sported a purple ribbon that proclaims her a 50-year member. The inimitable Audrey Mussell made a fashion statement with English riding boots.
The Minerva Club is central to the life of many of its members, many of whom are longtime Santa Maria residents, and some of whom are daughters and granddaughters of Minerva members.
The Minerva Club is not just a collection of pretty faces. Every June, these ladies present $15,000 in scholarships to high school seniors. They collect toys for Toys for Tots and they collect food for the food bank.
They also think it’s OK to have fun. So far, in this club year (October to June), they traveled to Hearst Castle for an evening tour and dinner in Cambria, and in December bought out the house for a Santa Maria Civic Theatre performance. For the theater event, the members brought food and wine for before the show and during intermission.
Upcoming in their busy schedule is their popular bingo fundraiser, lunches catered by Chef Rick, a formal English tea and fashion show, and a road trip to the gardens in Santa Barbara.
The club meets every Tuesday and many Thursdays at its lovely clubhouse on Boone. They have regular afternoons of bridge and games for members.
If you think that the Minerva Club is your cup of tea, give Angie Engelbrecht a jingle at 937-2433 and ask her about membership.
If you want to hobnob with Helen, you may contact her at helenthom232@yahoo.com.
This article appears in Jan 21-28, 2016.