The Taming of the Wild, Wild West

The smells of gun smoke, horse flesh and mail-order after shave thickened the air Saturday as some of the baddest desperadoes this side of Palm Springs shot it out on the ornamental lawns at Ramona Sahm’s Texas-sized spread in the rolling badlands west of Lake Hodges.

The Hole in the Wall Gang, an astonishingly authentic-looking Wild West riding group from Lakeside, brought their guns into play repeatedly for the exquisite delectation of about 500 supporters of the Voices for Children Auxiliary, the child advocacy group that staged its second annual “Foot Stompin’ Madness” fund-raiser as a chic re-creation of the Wild West.

The Old West probably was never populated by quite so high a proportion of dudes, most of whom rode their Jaguars and BMWs into Sahm’s version of Dodge City with air conditioners blazing and trigger fingers itching to draw tortilla chips through the chili con queso dip. Their Western pedigrees were in some cases suspect--the guest list included a Black Bart from Buffalo, a dance hall girl from The Bronx and a Danish desperado from one of the more fashionable neighborhoods in Copenhagen--but they came with open hearts and ready to stomp their feet madly in a chorus of support for Voices for Children.

The men arrived mostly in the shrink-to-fit persona that comes as naturally to transplants as to native Californians, but most of the women affected the rhinestone cowgirl look that came in with the Reagan years and has yet to be relegated to the attic.

Gambling Hall Holdup

Party chairwoman Margie Ward orchestrated the event as a kind of Saturday Night Live at the OK Corral, and even scheduled the Hole in the Wall Gang to rob the gambling hall, which seemed redundant in light of the string-tied dealers’ skills (all proceeds were added to the net take, which contributed more than $50,000 to the children auxiliary’s coffers).

Ward’s co-chair, Claudia Munak, who founded “Foot Stompin’ Madness” last year with a wildly successful hoe-down in Guatay, said the party unquestionably has earned a place on the annual fund-raiser calendar.

“This is a neat party to put together,” said Betty Mabee, founder and president of the child support auxiliary. “The children who are dependents of the Juvenile Court system--the abused, abandoned and neglected--will be better off after “Foot Stompin’ Madness,” because we’ll be able to recruit and train more volunteers.”

The auxiliary specifically trains and supervises volunteers to assist children who become wards of the court, staying with them until they are placed in foster or adoptive homes. Mabee said the program is costly to maintain, and San Diego’s program has attracted national attention because it is the only one in the United States to receive the support of a volunteer auxiliary.

Previous Gala

The setting did look off to dusty hills, but it nonetheless was amusing to see the place populated solely by the booted and be-jeaned, since the ultra-modern Sahm mansion also was the site of the first three “A Night in Monte Carlo” balls given for the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, and as many as 200 guests in black tie have been seated around its indoor swimming pool for gala Christmas-season dinners given for the San Diego Symphony. Yet hostess Sahm, who often summers in Wyoming, set the right mood, and the guests joined in, bucking and rearing when the Savery Brothers Country Western Band offered up the Texas Two Step, whinnying along with Brandy King and the Southern Country Band and generally horsing around during the auction of a Renaissance portrait and a pair of tickets to Super Bowl XXV.

Some far-flung travelers returned to town in time for the party, including Jeanne Lawrence, back from taking a three-month course at Sotheby’s auction house in London, and Barbara ZoBell, back from her annual month’s hiatus on the Cote d’Azur. The guest list also included Georgia and Al Blatz, Sue Teasdel with Brick Allison, Audrey and Don Kaufman, Jeanette and Bobby Foushee, Julie and Jay Sarno, Susan Farrell, Bea and Bob Epsten, John Mabee, Karen and Don Cohn, Betty and Al deBakcsy, Junko and Larry Cushman, Virginia and Glenn Napierski, Barbara and Joe Harper, Kay and Bill Rippee, Lynn Schenck and Hugh Friedman.

SAN DIEGO--Tiny lights sparkled in the branches of the antique trees at Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala Friday, twinkling in competition with the constellations overhead and casting a platinum patina over the tables for 400 set out for the annual summer gala given at the historic church.

A seven-piece mariachi band blazed away during the cocktail reception, setting the Mexican theme that always prevails at Mission parties.

“All we wanted was a colorful party--color is our theme,” said gala chair Elsie Weston, who saw to it that fat clay pots crammed with summer flowers bloomed on the tables.

Msgr. I. Brent Eagen, the long-time pastor of the church, said the evening celebrated a pair of anniversaries, the 220th of the mission (which was founded on July 16, 1769, or nearly seven years in advance of the Declaration of Independence) and the 40th of the University of San Diego. The latter occasion was marked by recognition given USD President Author Hughes and his wife, Marge, who were named the evening’s guests of honor.

Eagen added that the proceeds, expected to reach about $40,000, would be the cornerstone of a planned $200,000 fund to purchase a pipe organ for the venerable church.

The guest list was headed by visiting Bishop Robert Brom of Duluth, Minn., who will assume episcopal duties in the Diocese of San Diego in July, 1990, and by Bishop Leo T. Maher, who will retire at that time. Others were Sally and Bob Kazmarek, Linda and Frank Alessio, Phyllis and Anthony Terzich, Lillian and Bill Vogt, Mim and Al Sally, Lynn and James Kinder, Lee and P.J. Maturo, Sue and Bill Regan, Pat and Ed Keating, Edyth Giaque, Maureen and Allen Blackmore, Rita and Joe Neeper, Dolly Ragan, Gretchen and Gus Colachis, Jacqui and George Gardner, and Lori and Larry James.