Long time community social groups are failing

Over the weekend I received a postcard from Yolo Cabrillo Club No. 26. The card stated it simply:

“It is with a heavy heart that the Cabrillo Civic Club of Yolo County No. 26 Board of Directors voted to dissolve the club effective Dec. 31, 2020. All remaining funds and supplies have been dispersed to the Sacramento Cabrillo Civic Club No. 5, the California State Council of Cabrillo Civic Clubs, Empower Yolo and Pregnancy Support Agencies.

“We are disappointed that after 54 years we can no longer continue the good work of the Yolo Cabrillo Civic Club due to insufficient volunteer support. We encourage you to pursue membership with our sister club, the Sacramento Cabrillo Civic Club No. 5 ... Thank you for your past support and we hope you continue to honor your Portuguese heritage and assist with community needs.” The note was signed by Elizabeth Castro Kemper, 2020 president.

I became an honorary member of the Cabrillo Club many years ago thanks to Annamarie Barros, probably because I was always willing to give publicity for their events. She was always writing press releases for the Cabrillo Club, some of which contained errors of time or date, which I invariably had to correct or check out. That was OK because she was also nearly always telling me about the errors she found in The Democrat. These things balance out. She also wrote some pretty darn good reviews of plays at the Woodland Opera House. But Annamarie is best known for being an ambassador for the Woodland Chamber of Commerce.

Annamarie died in May 2014 at age 82.

The reason I bring up the Cabrillo Club is because other groups are also facing dissolution, helped along no doubt by the coronavirus pandemic.

I’m a member of the Davis Odd Fellows, one of the oldest fraternal organizations in the world. In fact, I’m writing this column from an office in the Odd Fellows Building at the corner of Main and Third streets. The building is a three- story structure which at one time was entirely used by the Odd Fellows for meetings, social gatherings ( like dances and dinners) and community events. Around the turn of the last century, if memory serves, there was even an Odd Fellows conference held in Woodland. Lodge members from across the United States were greeted on Main Street at Third by a one- story arch entryway into downtown constructed solely for the event.

Yet, a few years back I attended the dissolution of the

Woodland Odd Fellows Lodge, when its remaining assets were absorbed into the Zamora Odd Fellows. ( If you didn’t know there was a Zamora Odd Fellows Lodge you’re not alone. I didn’t either until that visit). There were about eight members of the Woodland Lodge left with only about four attending that last meeting, and they were all in their 80s.

It was a sad gathering, primarily because it was a look into the past of a group which hadn’t changed when change was necessary.

By contrast, the Davis Odd Fellows has a lot of energy — or did until the virus hit and led to the cancellation of in- person meetings and participation in public events. We communicate via email, have a Facebook page, and rent out the Lodge to other groups.

I miss the social interaction, but decided to back away until it’s once again safe to gather in person, although I still get out as much as possible to help pick up trash along a stretch of Hwy. 113 that the Lodge “adopted.”

Many of the nearly 300 or more members of the Lodge are also professionals and a number of them are in their 20s and still attending university.

How the virus will affect the Davis Lodge is not yet determined, but I know it’s been tough bringing in revenue. And holding Lodge meetings via Zoom just doesn’t do it.

The point is, that individuals, businesses and community service groups are all being affected by the coronavirus. How many will emerge from the pandemic is yet to be seen. Hopefully, those that can adapt to the changing environment will survive, otherwise our community will suffer their loss.