The Faculty Club Newsletter

October 2005

           Now that the semester is under way the Club has been very busy and it’s good to have so many activities on the calendar. We had a great wine tasting in September and our football Saturdays are attracting good crowds. Many thanks to the staff for their fine work during this busy time. The Events Committee and I have planned many more interesting member events for the rest of the academic year. Make plans to attend some of them. If you know colleagues who are not yet members, please invite them to join the Club with six months of dues-free trial membership. Have them get in touch with me directly, at 540-5678, ext. 9, and I can help them get enrolled. This month we’re offering a free glass of wine with any Kerr Dining Room dinner other than the Early-bird special. We’re also planning for further new furniture in the Club. As always, I am available at the Club to help you. Feel free to contact me. Thank you.

       Traditions, traditions. Here it is, October again, and we dig out the dirndls and the lederhosen. How’s your yodeling? There’s still time to practice! Join Club members on October 14th for a reprise of one of the Club’s more popular events. Our chef will be planning a special buffet dinner to accompany selected beers (and wines). Then dance the evening away to live music. Reception will begin at 6 p.m. and the buffet dinner will be at 7. Reserve now at 540-5678, ext. 224. Cost is $30 per person, all inclusive.

       Gloria Brown Brobeck, a member of the Club’s Golden Girlfriends group and a professional artist who has exhibited widely throughout the U.S., including a solo exhibition at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, is once again our artist, for the month of October. She studied at Mills College, the California College of Arts and Crafts, as well as in the Art Department here at Cal.

       So California is going to the polls again on November 8th. Some of us are eager followers of the latest news on the issues we’re to vote on, while others are just plain confused. On October 21st join Professor Jack Citrin at an informal reception and presentation-discussion of the issues. Come at 5:30 for drinks and snacks, and join the audience at 6 p.m. All for just $10. Jack Citrin, as many of us know, is a lively speaker who is guaranteed to challenge our ways of thinking and force us to hone our arguments. He’s also fun to listen to. Reserve: 540-5678, ext. 224.

       As the concert and theater season starts to heat up, it is time to start enjoying the bargain dinners in the Kerr Room, especially before events at Zellerbach Hall and Cal basketball games. This is the biggest dining bargain in Berkeley. And now you can enjoy our new evening look in the Kerr Room. Come any weekday evening before 6:30 and enjoy a three-course dinner for the remarkable price of $13.95, including a choice of soup or salad, and dessert. A pleasant summer evening spot. Reservations at 540-5678, extension 0.

       The next luncheon meeting of this group will be on Wednesday, October 12th. Members will be getting invitations in the mail. Barbara Dales will be telling us something of her life experiences at archaeological digs in Pakistan. This warm and welcoming group is open to all widows of members. For more information, call Phyllis Schafer at 510-704-9951.

       Our November 18th winemaker’s dinner will feature Geyser Peak winery. The owners have some special selections from their products for us to enjoy. As usual, their staff will plan with our chef to produce a fine, coordinated meal. The evening starts with a reception at 6 p.m., and dinner at 7. Take advantage of the opportunity to order Geyser Peak wines at a special Club rate. The cost will be $60 per person, all inclusive. Seating is limited, so please make your reservations early, at 540-5678, ext. 224.

       From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, you can join your friends in the Bar for a gin and tonic, a beer, a glass of good wine, or a mineral water. There’s a bonus now in the Bar. For people who want a quick snack before going back to the lab, or off to a concert, there’s now a Bar menu of sandwiches and the like. Try them soon.

       This year we launched both a new dinner menu and a complete new look to the Kerr Dining Room after 5 p.m. The wait staff enjoy their new maroon shirts and the color scheme provides an elegant setting for a quiet dinner. Why not come in soon and enjoy the new look and the new dishes. With all dinners other than the early bird special, you will get a free glass of wine during October.

       Our Golden Bear is not just the Cal mascot. When the California Republic adopted a flag, the grizzly bear was its main feature, and it remains there today, on the State flag. But this icon has had a less than happy role in the history of the State. From earliest days, the bear has been hunted and slaughtered as much as it has been extolled. Susan Snyder of the Bancroft Library has written a book on the subject, drawing on the rich pictorial resources of the Library. On November 10th she’ll be making a presentation of some of these images at the Club, along with a talk on the fate of California bears. Come at 5:30 p.m. for the reception, to be followed by her talk at 6 and dinner at 7. Cost for the evening will be $25. Susan suggests you come armed with your own tables. She says that everyone seems to have a bear story. Our illustration dates from 1849 and shows a miner fighting a bear for a 16 ½ pound gold nugget. Don’t ask about the monkey!

       Park early and leave late! Avoid the crowds by coming into the Club for lunch on game days. Then join your friends for a friendly glass in the bar when it’s over and Cal has won (or even if, sob, we lose). Salad bar, sandwiches and burgers available, with seating in the Great Hall and bar. If the game is to be on TV, call for Club hours

       We are continuing the Club’s bargain breakfast special. From 7:30 to 10 a.m. you can come by the Kerr Room and for $2.99 enjoy juice, eggs, coffee, and toast. Pick up a newspaper on the way to the campus and relax after that commute or uphill bike ride. And tell your friends! You do not have to be a member to take advantage of this special.