180 Get Duded Up for Hoedown

About 180 city slickers donned cowboy boots and blue jeans for a “Country Roses & Western Wranglers” hoedown presented Friday by the Mental Health Assn. of Orange County.

Bales of hay, wooden crates and painted facades of old Western buildings gave the Turnip Rose in Costa Mesa a proper atmosphere for the dinner-dance and silent auction. The $100-per-person event raised about $17,000 for the county’s chronic and homeless mentally ill.

Chuck Wagon

The association chose the cowboy theme for its seventh dinner auction because “so many people are into the country-Western thing, and we wanted something different than the traditional, formal sit-down dinner,” said John Garrett, executive director of the local Mental Health Assn.

Mike Goode, event co-chairman and board president, found that playing the part of an urban cowboy didn’t come naturally.

“I’m not a real country-Western kind of guy,” he said. “I had to rent the boots.”

Guests moseyed from food cart to food cart, sampling party theme fare such as tequila lime chicken, steaks and “rodeo herb rice” as well as some international favorites, including pasta in marinara or Alfredo sauce and spinach Florentine.

After dinner they swung their partners to the sounds of a country-Western band.

Restoring Dignity

The association helps those with psychiatric disabilities find shelter, food, work and other necessities.

“Our goal is to get them off the street,” Garrett said. “If they’re homeless we can put them in an emergency shelter and start helping them find permanent housing.”

An estimated one-third to one-half of the homeless are mentally ill, he said. Most have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, manic depression or severe depression.

“With all of the cutbacks in (government) funds, there isn’t enough money to provide services for the mentally ill,” said Betty Koch, event co-chairwoman.

She and her husband, Gene, understand the plight of the mentally ill. Their son was 29 and on his way to becoming a doctor when he suffered a complete mental breakdown 10 years ago. He has since been in and out of jail and institutions.

“I joined the association because I wanted to be involved in an organization that actually provided services for the mentally ill,” Betty Koch said.

Others attending were: Dave and Illa Bessermin, Steve and Janet Brunette, Mac and Claire Burt, auctioneer Ron Cane, Allan and Sandy Fainbarg, Donald and Victoria Glass, Rose Mary Kotarski, Claire McNaire, Price Shapiro and Donald and Betsy Tarbell.