Fashionables Put on a ‘Christmas Tea’

For some South County Fashionables, a Chapman College support group, driving to Fullerton on Wednesday for the group’s first annual “Christmas Tea” seemed a long trek.

Once there, all agreed, however, that the trip to El Dorado, the classic 3 1/2-acre estate that belonged to the pioneer C. C. Chapman family, was worth it.

President Mary Lou Hornsby and event chairman Rusty Hood had received permission from the Chapman Foundation to entertain the 170 attending members and guests with the tea and to sell Christmas items for the college.

The event netted $4,000.

Decorating chairman Gloria Hassett and her committee, Ilene Doolin, Ginny Smallwood, Myrna Saftig and Mary Ann Wells, used only the outdoor patio overlooking the vast lawn for the sale, but guests were allowed to tour all areas of the home.

Elaine Redfield, a neighbor of the estate and tea server at the event, said, “It’s nice to have everyone come up this way for a change” instead of her having to drive to the South County for meetings.

Caroling through the crowd in Dickensesque attire were Chapman students Elaine Haussels and Amber Davidson. Fellow student Chen Hong entertained at the piano.

Tea, canapes, scones, cakes and other sweets were served in a high-ceilinged dining room lined with perfectly matched birch wood.

Standing nearby was Cathy Ponce, caretaker of the estate. She said she “enjoyed having people in the house again.” It has been closed for three years. She said the pattern of the wood paneling is called “fletching.”

“It’s a lost art,” she said, pointing out a section of the wood in the living room. “This was matched especially for Alice Chapman to form owl eyes.”

Chapman family member Stanley Chapman Jr. attended the tea and chatted with G. T. (Buck) Smith, president of Chapman College.

He talked about the home his father, Stanley Sr., bought in 1931.

“The house isn’t old enough to be called historical,” Chapman said. “My sisters and I were really raised in the old house, which was Spanish Mediterranean. What started out as a remodeling in 1954 was torn down and actually rebuilt.”

Smith said he was grateful to the Chapman Foundation for letting the college use the home. “We’ve used it for staff retreats, seminars--our students made a film here, and we’ve used it for parties to meet prospective students and their parents.”

At the end of the afternoon, a large number of the ornaments went unsold, but Hornsby was undaunted. “This is the first time we’ve had this sort of event, and it was difficult to judge how much to buy. We’ll just bring them out for Christmas in October next year.”