Tsawwassen Order of Old Bastards - How It All Started
The TOOB organization was the brainchild of Wally Hill who conceived the idea of getting together a group of like-minded individuals with the express purpose of ensuring that no one in the Tsawwassen, Ladner and Point Roberts areas ever went without the groceries to put together a Christmas dinner. Wally had met a visitor from Australia who belonged to an organization called The International Order of Old Bastards and when it came time to put a name to the group, he used the name with the prefix ‘Tsawwassen’ and the Tsawwassen Order of Old Bastards or TOOB, was born.
TOOB is the acronym name for the Tsawwassen Order of Old Bastards. Our name was adapted from the International Order of Old Bastards, a group which originated shortly after World War II in Australia.
TOOB - Beginning Projects
In the inaugural year of 1984, TOOB took on a garage sale and a book sale. At Christmas time in the same year, TOOB started a Christmas grocery hamper project. Since 2001 Delta Assist has coordinated the program and vetted the potential recipients while the service clubs including TOOB have done the work of accumulating, packaging and delivering the hampers.
TOOB - Participating in Community Events
In 1984 TOOB appeared on site at Tsawwassen's Sun Festival. At that time, TOOB was the only and original food vendor at the Festival. TOOB's ‘Smokie & sauerkraut’ was a popular menu item at this annual event. The tradition continues to this day with the sauerkraut being replaced by onions.
“World famous” at least in South Delta - that is what they say about the TOOB’s curly fries. But where did they come from? And how did they get here? Legend has it that one of our members was on a holiday with his wife in southern California. They went to visit a country fair in a town nearby and he saw two guys splicing up potatoes with a jig and a drill. He made a sketch of the jig, brought it home, showed it to a friend with a machine shop and the curly fry was born. In the early years they sold a few dozen each year at Sunfest, but gradually their popularity grew such that now in a normal year, we turn a few hundred pounds of #8s, our spud of choice, into tasty treats that people line up to enjoy. TOOB and curly fries are now almost interchangeable.
TOOB's Goal
Today we support the residents of South Delta and assist the young, the elderly, and other individuals or organizations in need. We are able to achieve these objectives with the support of the people in South Delta through our annual fundraising events. We also receive an annual grant from Community Gaming Grants.
TOOB's Volunteers
While the original group was made up primarily of male members over the years the group has welcomed many ladies who have become stalwart supporters and workers for the group.