Chancellery

Chancellery Chancellery

By Chik and Polly Brenneman

The Chancellery Chapter had our post-COVID “2021 Coming Out Party” on March 28th. Like many chapters we have not been able to hold in-person events for the last year and it was only fitting that the last event we had in 2020 was our crab feed, only to start back up in 2021 with the same. This was to be our ninth annual crab event and we were determined to make it happen! Our Chapter was itching to get out and socialize. Chancellery Chapter Chargé d’Affaires Polly Brenneman and Gentle Lady Barbara Walker took the reins and proceeded to plan a successful event.

However, behind the scenes was the most important player in this endeavor, The Crab Man! Who could that be? The one and only Chuck Kelley, of course! Chuck is well known in his crab endeavors from piloting the crab boats that went in and out of the harbor at Fort Bragg, California to seeking out the best price. On a side note, Chuck and Barbara hosted this event at their beautiful home on the banks of the Sacramento River for years one through six. Year one was before my time as the Chancellery Commander and I am indebted to Master Commander Ernie Grossman, of the Tahoe Chapter, for making that first year happen, and establishing our tradition. Hats off to Barbara, Chuck, Chancellery Vice Commander Suzanne Oppegard and our Master Announcer Stan Oppegard to make these events happen for the next six years. With such a popular following, in the height of California crab season, we decided to move the event to other venues to accommodate more people.

In 2018, we moved the event to Baker Family Wines which I am proud to own along with one of major league baseball’s greatest players, coaches and managers, the one and only, Dusty Baker. Located in West Sacramento, the winery is in an urban industrial setting adjacent to the Port of West Sacramento and is the perfect place to view beautiful sunsets beyond the rice silos, packed with grain for export. Not quite as spectacular as the beautiful view we got at Barbara and Chuck’s place, but the ‘tongue in cheek’ consolation was that we didn’t have the noise of the jets on final approach to Sacramento International Airport interrupting our program. Perhaps I was the only one distracted back then as I love watching airplanes take off and land.

As California was still under the ‘current restrictions of the times’, we decided on a small event with 36 in attendance in a location where we could be outside.

Chuck and his crew of one, Dave Clesi, cleaned and cooked the crab and hot boiled shrimp appetizers. Dave’s Italian roots

kicked in when he saw Polly needed help with the pasta; a homemade marinara with penne. Dave put on his pasta hat and took over. Complementing the fare was Barbara’s Caesar salad and hot garlic bread. Wine, of course, was enjoyed by all, and flowed steadily throughout the evening.

If the last year has taught us anything, it is to think outside the box. Two of our newest members were in attendance. Steve and Claudia Siegal were supposed to be inducted in 2020 at our Spring Assemblage, which was canceled due to the new Covid restrictions. I thought it would be fun to perform an informal induction and introduce them to the chapter. We brought the sword and performed an abbreviated knighting, without revealing the mystery of the formal Assemblage.

We were lucky to have a beautiful evening; no rain and no heat lamps or extra blankets required. What a beautiful spring evening it was! We ended the evening with cookies, more wine, and the promise to gather again soon.