Another Great Gatsby!

-- By Cherie Oliver, ADSC President

"Can't repeat the past? Why, of course you can!" So said Jay Gatsby in the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel named after him -- and so say we!

he past returned to life Sunday afternoon, September 9, as the ADSC hosted our 17th Annual Gatsby Summer Afternoon, an elegant period picnic for 500 friends on the spacious lawns of Dunsmuir House in Oakland. This Gatsby was the most successful in years, with about 20 percent more guests attending than in 2000. A year of reaching out to new members and affinity groups -- from the Sacramento Art Deco Society and the Bay Area Costumer's Guild, to vintage car and swing dance clubs -- paid off by bringing lots of new faces to the scene.

One of those new faces belonged to Nick Langdon, who greeted the incoming crowds with seldom-heard songs from vintage movies. Nick came all the way from Sacramento to be with us, as did Doreen Sinclair, president of Sacramento ADS.

It was also a great occasion for seeing old friends again. Frederick Hodges performed with the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra for the first time since running off to Oxford University a few years ago. It was good to have him back; if only for a brief appearance. Don Neely, Carla Normand and the rest of the orchestra gave us incomparably authentic music for dancing, or just listening. And the afternoon was enlivened by the presence of Casey MacGill, a former RSJO musician, who sang a couple of songs with the band. We loved his jazzy, breezy style!

A major attraction at the Gatsby is always our "mini-concours" of antique autos from the prewar years; and this year we had a bumper crop! Walking away with the Jay Gatsby Award for Best Car were Ed and Donna Leal, owners of a spectacular yellow-and-orange 1925 Packard.

At the Gatsby, the guests are both the audience and the show. The vintage picnics that they bring add color and fun to a beautiful setting. This year's prize for best picnic -- the Daisy Buchanan Award -- was taken by a group from the historic Ainsley House, in Campbell. They brought along vintage toys, books, and dishes, and topped off their vintage-inspired picnic menu with home-made ice-cream, straight from the hand-cranked machine at their site!

Fashion Contest honors went to two well-dressed folks. The perfect Deco Dame was Sara Klotz de Aguilar: it was the period parasol, in colors that were a bang-on match for her dress, that put her over the top. And the perfect Deco Gent was newcomer Gary Hagen, whose three-piece suit topped by a brown derby -- not to mention his handlebar moustache -- caught the judge's eye. Winners of all our Gatsby contests receive an old-fashioned blue ribbon and a home-baked apple pie from the kitchen (and orchard) of Dan Jepson.

The most glamorous part of the Gatsby, as always, is the Bathing Beauty Revue, featuring our own Deco Belles. This year, in addition to the usual vintage bathing suits, the girls sported bronze-colored swim-rings -- they all seemed to have caught the brass ring at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk Carousel! They danced, appropriately enough, to Freddie Hodges's trademark song, "Hello Beautiful!"

Then, after much anticipation, came the crowning of our new Miss Art Deco -- it's Jessica Boscarello. Jessica has been a great help in our preservation and promotion efforts this year, and will now take on an even greater role in the year of her reign. Congratulations, Jessica!

Special mention must be made of two members who contributed extra touches to an already wonderful day: Jerry Wagner, who sponsored the Dunsmuir House Tours; and Ed Archer, who brought his antique Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream truck -- along with free ice cream cups for all! And we'd also like to thank the folks at Iron Horse Vineyards, who contributed their wine for the first-ever winetasting at Gatsby.

There was so much to see and do, hear and taste, experience and savor, that one couldn’t help feeling a deep and wonderful satisfaction as the day drew to a close.

Thanks to everyone who made the Gatsby Summer Afternoon such a "swellegant" success -- especially our dedicated volunteers:

Chuck Arella, Cynthia Arella, Lyn Bundy, Marla Caplan, Marc Chainan, Christian Chensvold, Bob Cooke, Russell Craig, Louise Denish, BK Doyra, Angela Elsey, Marlene Evans, Kathleen Ferrell, Cynthia Glinka, Ken Halten, Beth Hanson, Cicely Ann Hanson, Dennis Harrison, Dave Hedges, Diane Heinitz, Jack Hughes, Philip Johnson, Rose Kiehn, Bernie Lewis, Mary Martin, Luann Newman, Peter Oliver, Shawn Parsley, Richard Pochron, Mike Sarfatti, Ron Shea, Carol Sheerin, Jeanette Smith, Annette Stubbs, Nelson Thorpe, Joel Toste, Catharine Tullner, Berent Wahl, Dorita Wolff, Jeff Wolff, and Randi Wood.