This year’s San Saba Garden Club (SSGC) Christmas Party was a resounding success. Gail Bruner, club member for over 20 years, declared it the “best ever,” and everyone agreed it was an event to remember. Approximately 30 members and guests attended the December 6th party held from 3-5 at The Filling Station Diner where the affair was catered.
The Filling Station is Alan Trotter’s 1950s-themed diner housed in a 1930s Gulf Gas Station that Alan himself meticulously restored. According to Trotter, stations such as this are now an almost-extinct part of America’s early-twentieth-century memorabilia. His renovation of this oncethriving and now rare structure is a significant contribution to San Saba’s tradition of preserving the town’s history and adding to its hill country charm.
Kitchen manager Rhonda Waidman and her staff prepared a buffet of hors d’oeuvres and desserts that was as delicious as it was pleasing to the eye. Beautifully presented with a variety of gourmet refreshments, the menu included generous portions of the following savories: mini meat balls with cranberry barbecue sauce, crab rangoons, crostini with creamed cheese and smoked salmon, cold cuts-and-vegetable pinwheels, and a pimiento cheese and pecan ball with crackers. The entertainment committee provided Gouda cheese, summer sausage, green and red grapes, and mixed nuts, which Rhonda used to create a mouth-watering charcuterie board. For sweets to complement the savories, Rhonda, a certified Wilton decorating instructor, used her expert skills to create mini red velvet cupcakes and French vanilla cupcakes piped with towering vanilla buttercream icing. Melt-in-your-mouth chocolate mousse parfaits completed the sweet offerings. The Filling Station provided fruited water,, and SSGC hostesses provided white wine from Wedding Oak Winery.
The Entertainment Committee, chaired by Marjean Alexander, planned an afternoon of Christmas fun with more than a dozen door prizes and a fund-raising raffle with items donated by local businesses and committee members. Businesses participating included Body by Design, Open Door, San Saba Olive Oil, Three.Two.Five Salon, Wedding Oak Winery, and Kim Brown (Goldthwaite). Committee members were Rebecca Britton, Dianna Furlan, Mandy McCoury, Sandra McCrary, and Karen Sloan.
San Saba Garden Club is a civic-minded, environmentally conscientious organization whose mission is to beautify residences, communities, and our town through gardening. It has been in continuous existence for over 85 years and invites interested residents of San Saba and surrounding communities to join its roster of members.