Betsy-Tacy Convention, Day 1

Betsy-Tacy fans from all over the US and Canada headed to the Twin Cities yesterday and today for the 2018 convention, organized by Josephine Wolff, who only a short time ago was a well-read 8-year-old and is now an adult and accomplished member of the RIT faculty.   Although Delta tried to tempt me by offering me $500 to give up my 8:00 am flight, I made it to MSP and found the shuttle bus to the hotel.   It turned out that Mary Gebben, recently moved to Massachusetts from Georgia, was on my flight, along with a congenial family whose daughters (5^th and 7^th grades) attend my alma mater.

Where the Violent Study Club met

The Hawthornes' home

Once at the hotel it was fun to see so many familiar faces!   Lots of hugging!   I had lunch with the inimitable Kathy Baxter, Radhika Breaden, Jan and Mike Sasser, and when you are with Betsy-Tacy friends you forget that you haven’t seen them for 9 years!   We barely tore ourselves away in time to get on the bus for a tour of some key Minneapolis sites.   These included 4941 Lyndale Avenue South, the home of Jimmy and Marbeth Cliff, hosts of the Violent Study Club, and 4649 Dupont Avenue South, home of the Hawthornes (and Sally Day) where Delos proposed to Maud.  

Left to right, Nancy Downing, Jessica Weissman, Julie Chuba

Then we went to Mueller Park, which is the site of the Rays’ Minneapolis home.   I did not see the commemorative plaque because I had lingered outside the Canoe Place House at 1109 West 25^th Street and started talking to a neighbor who was curious about all the women taking pictures.  Sorry, Jen, it’s important to proselytize My bus partner, Mary Koger, had to call me and tell me to hurry up, the bus was waiting!  We also got to see the interior of Betsy and Joe’s first apartment – Bow Street – located at 2400 Aldrich Avenue South.   The good-natured young man who lives there had probably never seen anything as crazy as the women who paraded through, and many (like me) wanted to see the back door (now covered by a refrigerator) where Mr. Ray had groceries delivered.

The Bow Street apartment - Betsy's window

The back door where Mr. Ray's groceries were delivered!

Then we went to Lakewood Cemetery to see Maud’s parents’ graves.    The cemetery was very pretty and by now the day was warm and sunny (although there was hail when Josephine went running this morning) but first we found the wrong Hart grave!  Jen had to phone for reinforcements to find the correct tombstones.

Jia Tolentino

Mary Koger brought Kate's Sutherland's poems to be autographed

The keynote speaker tonight was New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino, who had delighted the listren last year with an impressive article about Emily of Deep Valley and how the lessons learned from Deep Valley’s Syrian community are so relevant today.   Maybe I will get a chance to ask her if she got any reader mail – surely the article inspired some new Betsy-Tacy readers?   She spoke tonight about Emily of Deep Valley and her attentive audience supplied boos for Don and cheers for more deserving characters and themes.   She got a standing ovation from an audience pleased to share such deep appreciation for one of Maud Hart Lovelace’s lesser-known books.

Left to right, Brandee Murphy, Stephanie Murphy, Heather Vogel Frederick, Marlena Boggs

Tomorrow we go to Deep Valley!