Those of us in the South Bay are fortunate in having a group of service clubs and others akin to them doing their bit in helping others. In these trying times it is comforting knowing that there are such entities around who, on a moment’s notice, will lend that helping hand when and where it is needed most.
One of the most prominent of these units is the Bonita Optimist Club. This club was chartered in September of 1975 and has been serving the community since then. It is a service club of more than 100 members who boasts of four charter members who regularly attend.
Greg Cox, John Dunn, Al Monahan and Chuck Moore were around at that time, 35 years ago and can still be seen at the regular Thursday breakfast meetings.
I had a pleasant meeting with Optimist Club president, Walt Krager, at the Bonita Golf Club the other day and he filled me in with many of the current activities of the unit as well as a short history.
The club came into existence after John Crouse of the Chula Vista Optimists suggested Bonita needed its own organization.
At first the club met at the Chula Vista Municipal Golf Course, probably because the club’s first president was Wayne Jones, a golf pro at the course.
The club caught on, the membership grew, and they soon saw the need for a better and more permanent meeting house.
Some of the club members had an eye on what was known as the Colonel Goode estate on Sweetwater Road.
It was owned by the city of Chula Vista and was part of the Rohr Park and the Rohr Mansion that was next to the Goode house.
The Optimist took it over and it was not too long before the building took on a Bonita significance, known all over as the Optimist Center.
It was at this location that the club started its signature event, the Annual Optimist Barbecue, that for many years signaled the culmination of the year’s Bonitafest.
The barbecue was on the order of a luau. A pit was dug, the fire was started and the prepared meat was slow cooked underground for many hours.
The chief cook at this event was the late Art Mays. Many barbecue attendees still remember the one in 1984 when the music of the dance orchestra was drowned out by the play-by-play of the Padres defeating the Chicago Cubs and advancing to the World Series.
The Goode house was declared dangerous by the city some years ago and the club made another move, this time into the Rohr Manor.
This too is a structure that has been around for some time and needs much repair. Krager told me that the club has undertaken some of this work, doing painting and minor repair to roof and siding.
As club president, Krager knows that he is in lofty company. The club, since its founding has been a growing concern with membership increasing over the years.
He has been a club member for eight years and has lived in the valley since the mid 50s.
He is a semi-retired businessman who sees the need for the philanthropic work that can be offered by the Optimists.
He is especially excited by the club’s annual sponsorship of the Optimist Basketball Tournament that is staged each year between Christmas and New Year at the Bonita Vista High School gym. Almost all the South Bay high schools will be involved and they have lined up a number of business establishments that have agreed to sponsor the event.
It is one of the major fund raisers for the club, funds that will be used to assist in the needs of others.
Krager, and Lorraine, his wife of 41 years, live in Bonita. They have two children who are on their own and live elsewhere.
Krager is one of those individuals who give credence to one of his favorite sayings: There is hope for this old world yet!
