Our roving reporter stopped by the community room on Tuesday, 06 May 2025, to meet the members of the Elks Kampers from Elks Lodge #6 out of Sacramento. What she experienced can only be described as a happy accidental glimpse into a community spirit. Please enjoy her report.
As our park blooms beneath the warm air of spring days and the cool Delta breezes, the campers return. For the full-time residents and long-term parkers, the campers represent intriguing activity. In singles, pairs, or groups, from early May to late September, RVs pull into the rows reserved for visitors. They unhitch their pick-ups, open their toy hauler compartments, and set up awnings. Children scamper over to the tennis courts or, from Memorial to Labor Day, the clear cold water of the pool. Folks who make their home in the park smile at the cheerful vacationers, perhaps with a bit of wistfulness at the carefree saunter of the retiree or the sight of a portable grill beside a trio of lawn chairs.
This week, the Park saw a group of fourteen spanning our longest camper row, A-Row at the far back. A buzz of excitement heralded their impending arrival, as winter leaves and wind-blown branches succumbed to the careful ministrations of the park’s ground crew. Word got round that our old friend Orrin Anderson would be bringing the Elks Kampers of Elks Lodge #6 in Sacramento. Orrin and his wife Pegirae Ross-Anderson kept a boat at the Delta Bay Marina. Orrin had also joined a panel at one of the Park’s tiny house events, having guided a crew of students in a tiny house build. Folks who had been at the Park for a few years knew Orrin and looked forward to his cheerful face.
In the last year, the community room in the Park’s clubhouse has undergone a face lift. Now outfitted with a new stove and an expanded host of kitchen tools, furniture, and furnishings, the refreshed contours of the clubhouse’s main common area provided a perfect setting for the Kampers to gather after a day of golfing and sight-seeing in the Delta. They ascended the stairs with plates, bottles of wine, and meat to be grilled on the patio of the clubhouse. The Elks Kampers of Elks Lodge #6 boasts 35 rigs, fourteen of which pulled into the Park for the week’s events, with twenty-six Elks aboard. Many attended the dinner, and most remarked on the beauty of the park which sits on the levee road adjacent to the San Joaquin River. Most had never visited the Park, though they all knew the history of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta as a rich cultural and agricultural jewel of Northern California.
Elks Lodge #6 prides itself on being the sixth Elks Lodge established in the United States out of over 2,000 currently in existence. Paired with the lodges of the state of Hawaii, Elks Lodge #6 combines a social focus with a charitable one in the Elks tradition. Cathy Baroni, a twenty-year veteran of the Lodge, described its main cause. the Purple Pig. “We enable children who need therapy to get the services and equipment that they could not otherwise secure,” she explained. “Physical therapy, visual, whatever they require, wherever they are. We bring the therapists to them, provide the training, and purchase the equipment.” These services are given at no cost to the families, throughout California and Hawaii. Johnny Henman, a forty-plus year member of Elks Lodge #6 and former officer, estimated that thousands of children have been assisted over the years. “I couldn’t even tell you how many. We do whatever we can to help these kids.” His wife, Barbara, smiled at his side in agreement.
Each of the Elks at the gathering that evening mentioned that they originally joined the Elks for camaraderie as they neared or entered retirement. Questions about the charitable work that their club does caused them to shrug, none willing to concede their own considerable virtues as people. Only with close questioning did they acknowledge helping Scouts, high schoolers, and veterans in the Sacramento area. It seemed a given; they seemed to have the kind of generosity of spirit that would lead them to do good even if they didn’t belong to a philanthropic organization.
As the evening progressed, Orrin announced that the grill was ready for use. People drifted outside. In the kitchen, Grace and Dan Norton staged potluck contributions and stirred something fragrant on the stove. Kelly Strong strolled through the cooking area, stopping long enough to introduce her wife Jane Carney and pose for a picture. She mentioned that she joined the Elks eighteen months ago, after retiring from twenty years with the Dunnigan, California volunteer fire district and as the third generation to run her family’s restaurant. “I have to admit that I joined because I wanted a club to RV with,” she laughed. “We have a 30-foot rig” — she mentioned the model — “and we’ve gone on two trips so far. We love it.”
There have been a lot of gatherings in the Park Delta Bay community room over the years, including potlucks, weddings, and birthday parties. Each group has its own dynamic, some rowdy, some quiet. These Elks emitted that tranquil sense of folks unabashedly content with where they find themselves, who appreciate the people around them, and have come across exactly what they want to do with their time. As they filled their plates and took their seats, their conversation lowered to a soft murmur, flowing through the open windows into the pleasant chill of the gathering evening. To the east of the clubhouse, trees rose high above the rows of RVs; to the west, the setting sun sent its rosy glow across the horizon. If you had driven past and looked into the windows of the Park Delta Bay Clubhouse at seven in the evening, on the 06th day of May, 2025, you would have seen the delightful gathering of the Elks Kampers of Elks Lodge #6, and you would have been quite grateful to behold such a splendid group.
Click on the gallery to open and scroll through. Many thanks to the Elks Kampers of Elks Lodge #6 for allowing our roving reporter to wander through their gathering.
For information about long- or short-term rates at Park Delta Bay, please call the office at 916-777-5588. For information about slips, please call the Delta Bay Marina at 916-777-4153.
