By Julia T. Rankin, Carnegie Library, Atlanta, Ga.
To chronicle the social side of the twenty-third annual meeting of the American Library Association is a pleasant duty. To recall all of the courtesies extended to us by our hosts of the Middle West would take more time than is at my disposal and more space than the Proceedings allot to the frivolous recreations of the strenuous librarians. Through the entire period of the meeting, the good people of Waukesha did everything in their power to make the time pass pleasantly and Mr. Walker, the proprietor of the Fountain Spring Hotel, worked early and late to make the members comfortable. Golf had a few members marked for its own, and these were not deterred by the 110°-in-the-shade-conditions. Dancing was in order every evening after the meetings (Sunday excepted) and the gentleman from Washington is said to have solved the problem of how often a man can dance with the same girl in a given evening. The piazzas were ample and as each led to some spring sooner or later, the "water habit" became popular. The dining-room was, in the language of the daily papers, "taxed to its utmost," but all shortcomings were treated with good-natured indifference when it was understood that the hotel had never accommodated so many people in its history, and the management promptly increased its force of servants to meet the occasion.
According to the program the social side of the conference should have begun on the evening of July 3 with "friendly greetings" at 8.30 p.m.; but as the New York party did not arrive until 9 p.m., and the New England party not until 2 a.m., it will readily be seen that the friendly greetings had to be postponed. Social amenities, however, commenced on the morning of "the Fourth" when the proverbial early bird, arrayed in cool flannels or faultless duck, promenaded the long veranda of the Fountain House and greeted the later arrivals. As the "later arrivals" had almost all come from a distance during one of the hottest weeks of the hottest summer known, and were consequently covered with dust and cinders, it was tantalizing to see the earlier arrivals in such cool array, and welcome speeches were cut short until the dust of travel could be removed.
The coolness of the evening found a refreshed, summer-attired conference wending its way to the Methodist Church where the public meeting was held. The speeches were interrupted repeatedly by the festive small boy and his Fourth of July crackers. The explosions caused untimely mirth when they punctuated or emphasized the well rounded periods of the orators. The formal meeting was followed by informal groups on the veranda of the hotel and at the springs where thirsty mortals never tired of drinking the "fizzy" waters, that have made Waukesha famous as the "Saratoga of the West," and, indeed, the place has many features similar to its famous Eastern prototype.
Friday evening was devoted to various dinner parties of the alumni of the library training schools, and the dining-room with its long tables and flowers presented a festive scene. College yells and class cheers resounded through the halls. One got a good idea of the number of technically trained library assistants now dispersed over the country.
Saturday evening the hotel management provided a dance for the guests and the great dining hall was transformed into a gay ballroom. Although Mr. Cutter was absent the dancing contingent was ably represented, and a delightful evening was enjoyed.
The program meetings were well attended and the many papers presented during the sultry days of the first week made Sunday a welcome day. The Rest Cure seemed to be the order of the day until after lunch, when most of the members went to Milwaukee to see the public library, where an informal reception was held. Misses Stearns, Dousman, Van Valkenburgh and Stillman entertained a party of 40 at White Fish Bay. A trolley ride to Milwaukee and on to this beautiful bay proved a good appetizer for the very excellent lunch provided. The view of the lake was keenly enjoyed and the day was clear and cool. Twenty miles home and an early supper, and most of us were willing to retire early, for the trip to Madison next day was scheduled for an early hour.
Although the day spent in Madison was not strictly a "social" feature of the conference, yet so delightfully did the citizens of Madison welcome the visiting librarians that the record of the day in truth belongs to the social chronicler. Its pleasures came as a complete surprise to those who had not prepared themselves with Appleton's guide and other works of ready reference. The building of the Historical Society is certainly one of the most beautiful and sensibly arranged libraries in the United States and its situation on the outskirts of the grounds of the University of Wisconsin leaves nothing to be desired. In fact it would be hard to picture a more beautiful situation for a university town than this. The lakes, the undulating landscapes and the beautiful roads extending for twenty-five miles and maintained by a committee of public spirited men, who also are responsible for planting the roadsides with hardy shrubs, trees and flowers, make the external conditions ideal. The whole party was driven through the town, the university campus, and through five or six miles of the park roads, and was then escorted through the library building by Mr. Thwaites, Mr. Bradley and the assistants. It was while the members were being driven through the town that the new library anthem was perpetrated, and
"Of all the cakes
My mother makes
Give me the gingerbread!"
will go down in A. L. A. history linked with