Leland poses wtih several party-goers and Shelley Lynn, who dressed up as Marilyn Monroe and sang "Happy Birthday." Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch Leland Ruddock and Kam Merzlak, one of the party's organizers, enjoy laughs together. Photo by: Bethany A. Monk Noelle Erosa, who has known Leland for about 10 years, poses with him and tells him, "Everyone's here for you." Photo by: Bethany A. Monk Leland stands next to the large paper cake Merzlak made for him. Later in the party, Laura Giannini jumped out of the cake for a birthday surprise. Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch Leland and his sister, Jane, arrive to the party in a limo. Photo by: Bethany A. Monk

Purple and gold balloons, tied to dozens of tables, reached for the sky. Huey Lewis and the News blared from the DJ's speakers in the background, and, out of nowhere, a snazzy, sleek limo drove up to the party-in-progress with Amador County's "most popular man."

Dozens of party-goers gathered around the birthday man, Leland Ruddock, as he exited the limo.

"You're the most popular man in town tonight," said Kam Merzlak, one of the party's organizers.

Dressed to the nines in a fitted black suit, Leland, the guest of honor, smiled at the crowd and said, "I want copies of these photos." Leland celebrated his 50th birthday with a big party; more than 350 tickets were sold for his party before the day of the event.

Merzlak said that he got the idea to throw a party for Leland from Connie Gonsalves, Jackson's vice mayor. Gonsalves and her husband, John, began entertaining the idea several months ago. The two formed a committee with Merzlak and several other community members, and brainstormed the event details and then put it together.

The party began at 4 p.m. at the Kennedy Mine in Jackson. People mingled beneath the tents, sipping wine. Beside one of the tents, many volunteers cooked up a dinner of raviolis and steak.

When asked why she thought so many people showed up for Leland's birthday party, party-goer, Rose-Marie Zwieg, said, "Because he's Leland. He's friendly. He's charming. You can't help but love him."

Ted Novelli, District 3 supervisor, told the Ledger Dispatch he's known Leland for 25 or 30 years.

"Leland walks in a business, or in city, county or other government building and knows everybody's name," said Novelli, who cooked and wore a chef's apron draped over his clothes. "He's always happy."

"He's everybody's son; he's everybody's friend," said party-goer Susan Underwood, from Volcano. "You can't help but fall in love with him."

"I think it's great," said Noelle Erosa, when asked about the party. She and Leland had just posed together for a photo. She then paused, looked at Leland and said, "Everyone's here for you."

Merzlak constructed a nearly 8-foot-tall, three layer paper cake, which Laura Giannini, one of Leland's many friends, jumped out of later in the party.

For the grand finale, Dennis Dalton, a longtime friend of Leland's and son of Jackson Rancheria Casino founder Margaret Dalton, presented Leland with a 2009 Toyota Corolla.

"He was stunned. He got choked up," John Gonsalves said of Leland's reaction. "He was speechless."

Other gifts included a San Francisco 49ers jacket and a proclamation from Connie Gonsalves. In addition to these presents, "all the girls lined up to give him a kiss on the cheek," John said.

One of Leland's many affable qualities, according to party-goer Bob Zwieg of Sutter Creek, is that he's always ready to help others.

"I've worked with him at Dandelion Days. ... He comes to Lion's Club luncheons. You see him all around town," Zwieg said, adding that Leland is an honorary member of the Jackson Lion's Club. "He helps everybody," he added. "We're all proud of him."

Brian Oneto, District 5 supervisor, who has lived in Amador County his entire life, said he's known Leland as long as he can remember.

"I've never seen anything like this," he said, referring to the 350-plus attendees at Leland's birthday party. Tickets cost $25 each, and were still being purchased as the party progressed.

"It was a magical evening," John said, adding that people were dancing until 11 that night.

Net proceeds, which will total more than $2,000, John predicted, will go to Leland.

As for the birthday guy himself, he said he was very surprised about the party, the limo, the whole ordeal.

"I'm totally shocked about all of this," Leland told the Ledger Dispatch, in a rare moment during the party when he wasn't being photographed with friends or engaged in conversation with guests.

"I've just got good memories for some reason," Leland said when asked what he likes about Amador County.

He then paused for a moment, smiled and said, "And I've got all my friends here."