Page 44 - Sonoma County Gazette - June 2018

Mother of Bodega
I hope we all enjoyed celebrating our mothers last month. Before honoring our fathers in mid-June, I want to join in the celebration of Mama Evelyn Casini, owner of the Casino Bar and Grill for 69 years, since July 1, 1949. Evelyn took over the bar only ten years after it began.
Have you ever seen better weather? It has been sunny and any wind came at night after we were once again housebound. We still need rain, but it is hard to complain about perfection. We have had a spate of calls promising to send us to exotic climes. They are strangely quiet when I tell them that I live in the most beautiful place in the world and have no interest in going to the Bahamas or Las Vegas (now Scotland, might tempt me.)
Evelyn reported that in the beginning it was really hard work. She had only waited tables before and bartending was tough, especially since it was a man’s job thus she had to “earn respect from people.” It helped that she was a local, born at a ranch up on Bay Hill and that she was beside her husband Arthur, whose family has been here over a hundred years. They were a power couple.
The Bodega Bay School after school program had a very successful Cinco de Mayo dinner. The posole was excellent and the friendly reception was capped by the children singing Uno Dos Tres. Whenever you are lucky enough to watch children totally enjoying themselves go to one of the events put on by our Spanish-speaking friends. (If Murilla and Oswaldo are the cooks the food will be good too.)
It’s almost time for elections. As I have discussed in prior columns, the Sheriff’s race is a tough one. We can just be grateful that these qualified men are willing to put up with the angst the winner will suffer. We will be at the Grange Hall June 6 for those who have not voted elsewhere or for those who just want to return voted ballots. The Grange Hall is the site of a major tree- cutting project. The new owners of the adjacent house had the trees leaning over their roof and interfering with their PG&E. Unfortunately the major tree removal project affected the phone line of Dr. Michael Trappani and made him concerned enough to e-mail his patients and tell them that he had no service. Progress always has a price.
We have received one nearly every day. I finally called Publishers’ Clearing House who the scammers try to get us to believe is the sponsor. They are VERY frustrated. They gave me the scammer line and urged me to call whenever someone calls to tell me that I have won money, but they have to go to the bank to get the certified check. The number to call is 1-800-392 4190 (which may just be Publishers’ Clearing house.)
She told me that they’ve always had a good following. A customer named Chris stated that the Casino is the “best bar in the world!” Evelyn said that they have “good clientele—people are just people and you have to play it by ear.” Subtle things vary daily and everyone must roll with the punches. For example, the bar opens daily at 9 a.m., however the closing time varies between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. depending on customers. If the bar wasn’t flexible and able to adapt, it would not prosper.
Even the best of sheriffs can’t stop the hacking phone calls.
More wise words from Evelyn include to keep it simple, treat people how you like to be treated and people are interesting if you listen.
She gets to meet people from all over the world and is fascinated with people, where they are from and what it’s like there. She also loves entertaining local guests from regulars to countless bachelor or bachelorette parties and holds a couple special holiday parties, a grand Thanksgiving afternoon potluck for the whole community and a Christmas morning gathering with light snacks.
The most recent report about scams comes from a local woman. She was contacted by repairpersons who said they knew she had overpaid Microsoft. They said if she gave them her bank account data they would refund the $200 she had paid Microsoft. She had not paid Microsoft (she does not have a working computer) but she has received repeated calls saying that she had overpaid for repairs and they would refund it if she gave them all her bank data. Fortunately she did not do so, but the calls continue.
Speaking of snacks, they have some great food there at the Casino, conveniently in the middle of our charming little Bodega. They have a yummy Grill Menu open daily 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. as well as a delicious dinner menu every day 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Also, they seasonally offer barbequed oysters at their outside patio from April to Labor Day, depending on weather.
She also warned about multiple calls from those promising a trip—to various sites. She believes the same people are behind this, since the accent is similar— not an American accent. Apparently they are based in China, but she now just hangs up.
For fun, this busy Mother of Bodega likes to have lunch with friends, play the game machines in the bar such as pinball, and watch her one 15-year-old great granddaughter play softball, basketball, or whatever sport she is into at the time. She sure seems to enjoy her work, too. Who wouldn’t? it’s a lively place to enjoy refreshments, community, history, and appreciate exciting new experiences.
Personally I continue to have calls (usually at 6:30 a.m.) saying I had won $5,000,000. All I have to do is meet them at WalMart and get a credit card that would pay them $500—and I would get five million dollars. We have asked them to stop calling. The calls continue, even though we request that they stop. It is great to see that at least one robocaller has received a HUGE fine.
Evelyn says that the local watering hole serves like a community center, is a hub during big floods and consists of people who are always looking out for each other. She is quite an open book and thinks most people know her relatively well. She pronounces, “In spite of all the ups and downs, it’s been very interesting. I’ve met a lot of people from all over the world. The people around here are more like family than neighbors.”
This is the time of year for graduations. For those of us whose grandkids are finishing their formal education, we are the proud recipients
of multiple graduation announcements. What do you give as a gift to these wonderful young people who are setting up housekeeping, but don’t want any “stuff.”
I am proud to call Evelyn Casini the Mother of our tiny town and am glad to have her nearby in times of need for comfort, support, nourishment and libations.
The reality of today’s youth is that many of them view their college graduation as just one more step in their education. Many of them plan to go to graduate school, or medical school, or even law school.
44 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 6/18
BODEGA BAY cont’d on page 45
The only drawback is the slow salmon season. There is now no abalone season. The crab season left much to be desired and now the salmon season is sparse. These are tough times to be a fisherman.
The birds are loving it. Every morning we are awakened by the doves trying to mimic owls. We see nests in our gutters; we see all our flowers with the heads nipped off. But we love our wildlife. My hummingbird feeder is constantly busy. The blue heron that has staked out the end of our street as a repeated site to visit thrills us. I love the picture John Hershey took of the blue herons (which hangs in my living room) but nothing equals the inter vivos view of the visitors to the bay.