Fish fry not a flash in the pan

Alicia Robinson

If you stop by the annual Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club fish

fry today and you’re hungry, you might want hit the hot-buttered corn

booth first.

By midafternoon Saturday, the first of two fish-filled days at

Lions Park, members of the Costa Mesa Orange Coast Lions Club had

gone through 12 of the 18 cases of corn they’d cleaned in preparation

for the event, and they knew they’d have to buy more to last through

Sunday.

“We’re doing really, really good this year. The people are

friendly, and what I like to hear is when people come back and say,

‘I remember when my mom and dad used to bring me here,’” said Ramsey

R. DeGeare, an Orange Coast Lion.

He was hawking corn to passersby, including Gary McClanahan, who

let himself be persuaded to have a second ear.

“I only want one if it’s as good as the one I had earlier,” he

told DeGeare.

McClanahan was helping out in two other booths to raise money for

the Estancia High School baseball boosters and a students’ trip to

Australia, because his son, Taylor, is involved in both.

Nearby, under a shelter house, things were sizzling. Members of

the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club were dipping planks of fish

in batter and dropping them into deep fryers for about three or four

minutes, then lifting out the golden, crispy results.

It’s a hot and messy job.

“This is not very glamorous,” said Newport Harbor Lion Jim

Ferryman, his hands dripping with batter.

The batter was mixed in a Newport-Mesa Unified School District

kitchen, but the recipe comes from Heinz Kaiser, for whom Kaiser

Elementary School is named.

Despite fabulously temperate weather, crowds were slim Saturday

afternoon. Few children were lining up for the carousel, train or

other rides.

But Newport Harbor Lion Mike Scheafer still was hoping 20,000 to

30,000 people would stop by during the two-day fish fry. The event

used to start on Friday and last through the weekend, but escalating

costs and shrinking membership in the Lions Club made it too hard to

run a three-day shindig, Scheafer said.

The annual fish fry is still a big deal in the community, though.

This year, Scheafer ran into someone he went to school with in

kindergarten. For other residents, the Lions Club event is their

once-a-year meeting spot for old friends.

“I like the fish, but I also like seeing all the old duffers

around,” said Garlan Wetzel, a retired teacher who’s lived in Costa

Mesa for 52 years.

He and his wife, Edyth -- also a former teacher -- often see past

students, who usually look different themselves but always recognize

the Wetzels.

While the Wetzels enjoyed their fish, cole slaw and French fries,

other guests watched dance performances by local children or tasted

funnel cake, snow cones and other treats.

A few local dignitaries even came by. Assemblyman Van Tran, who

represents Costa Mesa, had just flown back after giving a speech in

San Jose and drove straight over to Lions Park. He even promised to

fry some fish.

Supporters of Costa Mesa United, which is raising money for

athletic facilities at the city’s two high schools, used the fish fry

to announce the names of students who won prizes for their efforts.

A $500 scholarship will be awarded to Brian Senke, a junior at

Estancia High School. His name was drawn from a list of 31 students

who each raised at least $500 in the community for the athletic

facilities. Kayla Ortiz, a sixth-grader at Davis Elementary School,

also won a scholarship and other prizes for raising the most money of

any student. Ortiz collected $1,200.

“It was mostly in dollars and change,” said Costa Mesa City

Councilwoman Katrina Foley, who is working with Costa Mesa United.

“It’s pretty incredible to see that kind of commitment.”

The fish fry will begin around 11 a.m. and conclude between 6 and

7 p.m. today.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at alicia.robinson

@latimes.com.