Betsy-Tacy Convention 2025, Part 2

Breakfast on Saturday was back in the Convention Center and there were muffins. I had brought two books from home for the book exchange and placed Madensky Square by Eva Ibbotson on the table (don’t worry, it was a duplicate copy). I was delighted to run into Cindy Jett and her daughter Shelley, and my respect for Shelley increased when she insisted her mother would like Madensky Square and took it for her. I don’t think Cindy is the sentimental type but you can’t go wrong with Ibbotson!

Betsy's telephone (more or less)

I wandered into an intriguing sounding workshop given by Perri Klass and her daughter, Josephine Wolff, The Magic of Uncle Keith's Trunk: Workshop in Making Lists, Creative Journaling, and Writing Stories. This drew a big crowd but perhaps because I missed the beginning I couldn’t sit still and departed to get tea at a store around the corner.

Next, Lizz Lund led a discussion of Emily of Deep Valley (there was a lot of Emily at this convention, which was interesting because you either love that book, like me, or find it depressing). I pointed out that EoDV is Maud’s only book with a villain – Don – unless you count that man-stealing Irma, and his damage to Emily’s self-confidence and the way he makes fun of her home is unforgivable. Someone offered Rocky as a bad guy but I don’t think he’s as much of a jerk as Don.

The effervescent Cari McGann McGee led Do Your Colors!, a look at the Colors of the Crowd and a demonstration on someone named Michelle I did not know (but she looked good in orange, which few do). She analyzed Michelle’s skin tone, hair, and eye color by draping fabric swatches over her to determine if her undertones are warm (yellow-based) or cool (blue-based). I liked that Cari admitted if you feel good wearing a particular color you should wear it even if it doesn’t fit your alleged palette! This was fun to watch and I was interested to hear that one’s most accurate colors are based on your hair color at age 21.

At 1 pm there was a bus to visit Betsy’s and Tacy’s Houses. Although it meant missing a presentation on The Moorish Café: the True Story with Nancy Swanholm and Susan O'Leary, one cannot go to Deep Valley without seeing the place where Maud Hart Lovelace began writing. I did walk reverently through the house, where I always think about Elizabeth Riley, Maud’s editor, explaining how Lois Lenski insisted on visiting Mankato, Maud’s house, and Centre Street so she would be able to vividly and accurately illustrate the books. Outside the house, there are dozens of pavers customized by various BT fans. I was eager to see the three that were ordered to memorialize our beloved Kathy Baxter, who died earlier this year, by her many friends. At first, I couldn’t find them, then I saw them but freaked out because the three bricks were not together! Fortunately, it turned out they had not yet been cemented into place; I am sure the organizers were eager to make them visible before the fans arrived and will make necessary adjustments later. I rearranged them myself:

I got my picture taken on the famous bench with Mary Markland, who used to be the only person I knew from North Dakota but has moved to Oregon for her dream job as the Director of Hatfield Marine Science Center at Oregon State. It’s great when a librarian gets her dream job!

It was fun talking to some of those seeing the houses for the first time – no one was crying but there were many rapt glances and much purchasing at the gift shop at Tacy’s house. I left before the bus, however, to head back (passing a used bookstore – well, that implies that I didn’t go inside) to the convention center to see the Dances of Deep Valley led Shelby Kirchner and her very good-natured husband. I did not dance but admired those who tried the waltz, the Turkey Trot, and I think the Maxixe. Shelby’s mother, Kelly Reuter, who died in 2023, was one of the original members of the Betsy-Tacy Society, and I particularly wanted to convey my sympathy to Shelby and her family.  This workshop was a lovely tribute to her mother.

There was time for a drink with Deb, Ethel, Jessica, and Louise at the restaurant we’d eaten at the previous evening before we returned for a Costume Parade! I didn’t have time to plan a costume but greatly enjoyed the creativity of those who had. Marcia Goldberg and her husband (that Greg is a good sport!) were dressed as turn of the century nurse and doctor while Wendy Eisenberg stunned everyone as Carrie Nation, complete with hatchet. There were some elegant costumes but my favorite was Three Generations of Betsy Ray – a grandmother, mother, and daughter (in sailor type dress) who walked across the stage in sequence.

Dinner was uneventful but it was followed by a Legacy Panel featuring Jab Lloyd (Cab Edwards)’s grandsons Pete and Billy Steiner and Beulah “Betty” Hunt (Winona Root)’s granddaughter Bonnie Ruth. Cab’s grandsons seem very amused by the Betsy-Tacy fans but were clearly devoted to their grandfather. However, it was Winona’s granddaughter who was particularly interesting. She said her grandparents moved to St. Petersburg, FL and that Winona’s Pony Cart was based on her grandmother’s childhood and that the infamous birthday party and pleas for a pony really took place. She brought a replica of the painting that hung in near the piano that Winona did not like to practice. It is the high school Winona, based on a different friend, who Betsy said was full of the D. I had no idea what this meant when I read these books!

The final event of the evening was Mitali Perkins’ Keynote Speech about Emily of Deep Valley. We Boston people are especially proud of Mitali because she used to live in Newton, although she grew up in New York (after immigrating from Calcutta with her family), attended Stanford, and currently resides in California. Mitali loves Emily of Deep Valley for many reasons – she says she identifies with quiet and sometimes lonely Emily, but she also appreciates how “Auntie Maud” poses questions about race and belonging, and about welcoming strangers that are all too relevant today. As we know, once Emily musters her wits, she gains the courage and grace to stand up for the Syrians of Deep Valley.

An autographed copy of Winona's Pony Cart!