Anderson spells 'community' in different ways

Living in Anderson for the past several months has taught me that this bustling South County city spells 'community' in many different ways.

Each one is slightly different. Each one has its own flavor. And each one draws a different mix of people.

I was reminded of this phenomenon several times this past week, starting with the weekly gathering of Anderson Rotary Club at the gazebo at Anderson River Park.

Seated at wooden picnic tables, the nearly 50 club members and an assortment of a dozen guests enjoyed an evening of conversation punctuated by delectable bites of barbecued steaks, green salad and corn on the cob.

Strains of the Mosquito Serenade wafted gently over the trees separating the gazebo from the Gaia Hotel Amphitheater where The Straight Ahead Big Band was playing music primarily from the 1940s and '50s to a very different crowd out enjoying the spacious and shaded park.

Nearby, various members of the Italian-American community were warming up their Bocce skills in anticipation of the two-day tournament that is one of the perennial highlights of Paesano Days that started Friday and continued until well after dusk on Saturday.

Friday night, Kim Chamberlain and I made it back out to Anderson River Park after work to enjoy a steaming plate of home-style spaghetti made with the special sausage flavors found only at gatherings of the Sons of Italy Shasta Lodge #2453.

Scrumdillyumptious!

We spent several hours chatting with friends and listening to The Lou White Band. A special musical treat occured when Lou White and his wife Kathleen invited Linda Regan-Bott to join the band for a number. The former Dean Martin Show Gold Digger has a fabulous voice and gave a moving vocal tribute to her husband, Carl, who was listening from one fringe of the crowd.

Afterwards, The Lou White Band played the ever-popular "Chicken Dance" song for all of the youngsters and the young-at-heart to strut their stuff on the gazebo dance deck. Watching them dance brought a smile to my face.

Sunday morning, Kim and I found ourselves at the Frontier Senior Center enjoying a delicious breakfast prepared by a large group of volunteers. The first-Sunday of every month is when this event takes place, and it is a fund-raiser to help the senior center pay its utility bills.

For the bargain basement price of just $4, a person can enjoy several cups of steaming hot coffee or a glass of orange juice, meet and greet old friends and make news ones, catch up on all of the latest gossip and eat a hearty breakfast of French toast, pancakes or a generous buttermilk biscuit split in half and topped generously with Trish Clarke's world-famous pork sausage gravy.

Later that same day, thinking we might have missed a few folks who slept in Sunday morning, we stopped by the Top-ings frozen yogurt shop, where the other half of Anderson gathers for a sweet, cold treat.

It seems everyone finds ways to mingle and mix here.