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"The Fredericksburg Fourth - Convention Report"


By Jack Bales (PF-258)
Convention Host

It was the convention that almost didn’t happen. On Friday, April 26, I found out that the hotel’s new owners had arranged for renovations even though the two meeting rooms had been reserved-by me! On Saturday I went to the Hampton Inn, and Tony, manager Chris Jones’s assistant, who had helped set things up during each of the Fredericksburg conventions, showed me the two connecting meeting rooms. They looked pretty awful, with furniture and debris piled everywhere. The owners’ solution was that we needed to go somewhere else! (I checked around, and at that late date, there were no large meeting rooms available.)

Rob Kasper and I talked about it all, and we wondered whether we might even have to cancel the convention. Fortunately, Tony stepped up, and he spent the next few days moving things out of one of the meeting rooms into the second and repeatedly scrubbing the floor to remove the odor left from the recently removed carpet and pad. I went to a local hardware store and got a few tubs of odor removing gel. On Wednesday, H.A.S. member Liane Houghtalin and I checked out the room, and we both gave it a thumb’s up, and as it turned out, the convention went on smoothly with just one meeting room instead of our usual two.

This was, as the name implies, the fourth convention here. I have always enjoyed the catered buffet in my home for early convention arrivals, and on Wednesday evening, H.A.S. members had both excellent food and lively conversation as they sampled shrimp cocktail, carved turkey breast, Swedish meatballs, cheese and roasted vegetables, as well as chocolate mousse and assorted petit fours.

The convention did not really begin until Thursday afternoon, but I was sure to be on hand early that morning in case people stopped by. The convention packets were all set, too, and Tony had arranged for plenty of coffee. As usual, I had various types of snacks, and there were also plenty of drinks on hand. Boxes of books were stacked for the annual auction, and I spent time that day helping Bob Sipes list them all. We took a break for the regularly scheduled Board meeting, and that evening Bob, Peter Walther, our special guest, Michael Dirda, and I had a fine meal at Legends restaurant across the street.

We had a full morning of presentations on Friday. The final program was a lively conversation on book collecting, and joining Alger Society members Jeff Looney, Keith Thompson, and Peter Walther were Porter Blakemore, retired professor of history, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Michael Dirda, the well-known weekly book columnist for the Washington Post. Michael is also the author of a number of books, and I have especially enjoyed reading his fine memoir, An Open Book: Coming of Age in the Heartland (which of course I had him sign for me)!

It was fascinating to hear the panelists’ observations on the pros and cons of buying books online and in brick-and-mortar stores. I recall that Michael said that “you may not find something you are actually looking for in a bookstore, but you can usually find something you will like.” (In fact, on his way to the convention, he stopped at a bookstore and among the books he purchased was a copy of his own Classics for Pleasure, which he signed and gave to me.) Also, we all enjoyed Porter Blakemore’s story of how he found a rare signed book by Ansel Adams for a nominal price, tucked away in the corner of a bookstore.

Friday afternoon was devoted to the annual auction. I was this year’s stand-in as auctioneer, and once again Lisa Chase and Debby Jones provided ready assistance.

I have eaten at Hope Heroes Southern Kitchen several times during the past few months, and I was looking forward to introducing its southern food to convention attendees Friday night. We had a private room, and each table was decorated with photocopied pages of Newsboy. The servers were extremely pleasant and attentive, and they even took the time to chat as they walked around the room to be sure all was going well - and that there was plenty of food! The buffet included marinated grilled chicken, Cavatappi pasta, macaroni and cheese, street corn, sauteed vegetables, “hope cakes” (southern corn bread), and banana pudding.

Of course, a highlight of the dinner was the presentation of this year’s Strive & Succeed Award, which I gave to high school senior Quinn Enriques. Incidentally, I sat with the Enriques family, and we had a marvelous time. They even stayed for quite a while after the dinner, mingling with Society members and talking with them.

One of my favorite historic sites in the area is Chatham Manor. Located in Stafford County and overlooking the Rappahannock River and the city of Fredericksburg, Chatham served as a Union headquarters and hospital during the Civil War. After taking a bus to Chatham on Saturday, Park Service ranger Ryan Quint gave us a tour (unfortunately somewhat abbreviated due to that day’s light, though fairly steady, rain).

The hotel’s meeting room downstairs was not suitable for our banquet, but we had the entire dining area on the first floor instead. Tony and I arranged all the tables in an attractive fashion, and the caterers came early and helped set things up. The menu included herb grilled chicken breast, vegetable lasagna, roasted red potatoes, green beans, and chocolate layer cake.

I received the Society’s Carl T. Hartmann Luck and Pluck Award for hosting the previous convention. David Kirk Vaughan, who’s articles have appeared in Newsboy, received the Newsboy Award for his Flying Adventurers: Juvenile Aviation Series Books in America, 1909-1964 (McFarland, 2023). David, by the way, donated three signed copies of his book to the Society’s auction, which were all snapped up by collectors.

Bob Sipes, who received last year’s Richard R. Seddon Award, presented this year’s award to Arthur Young. The plaque refers to the “admirable qualities and warm companionship of Dick Seddon.” Bob mentioned those characteristics while talking about Art, who as Northern Illinois University Libraries Dean (1993-2006) helped launch the Horatio Alger Repository in 1994. The university had hosted three “Dash to DeKalb” Alger Society conventions: in 1999, 2004, and 2012. As Art noted in the January-February 2006 Newsboy, “Northern Illinois University is proud of our partnership with the Horatio Alger Society. Together, we have forged an important resource which serves as a living memorial to an important writer and an even more important symbol of our national strivings and socioeconomic dialog.”

I enjoyed very much hosting four Horatio Alger Society conventions in Fredericksburg, and I would like to point out that each year I was ably assisted by three Virginia Society members: Liane Houghtalin, Rob Kasper, and Jeff Looney, as well as by other H.A.S. friends who never failed to volunteer their time and support.

Incidentally, Liane’s drawing for convention attendees to win a gift basket of “made in Virginia” items has always been a welcome attraction to Saturday’s banquet. This year new member Nathan Thompson (son of longtime member Keith Thompson) was the lucky winner. Another popular feature is Liane’s candy bowl in the meeting room, which she always kept well stocked.