2015 Convention Report

by Bill Gowen, PF-706

(Originally published in the May-June 2015 issue of Newsboy)

Another perfect weather weekend awaited members of the Horatio Alger Society as they arrived in Columbus, Ohio, for the 51st annual convention, "Fame and Fortune in Ohio." Our host, Bob Huber, had the hospitality room at the Courtyard by Marriott-Airport all set up as registrants began to arrive shortly after 1 p.m.

This promised to be a different convention than normal because the number of registrations was lower than usual, which along with a few late cancellations made this a very "compact" get-together. Regardless, Huber had organized an excellent program, and we were determined to make the weekend a memorable one, with a high-quality book and memorabilia auction and two of the finest area restaurants awaiting our visits for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.

Traditionally, Thursday is a time for Partic'lar Friends to renew acquaintances, either in the hotel or at dinner on their own, and a list of nearby restaurants was included in each registration packet. Columbus, the capital of Ohio, is a compact city, served by a well-designed system of Interstate highways that circle and bisect the city. For example, the drive from our airport-area hotel to Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant (our Friday dinner locale) in the Columbus' historic German Village, was just a 10-minuite trip by carpools. Our Saturday banquet was at the 94th Aero Squadron, located adjacent to the airport just five minutes away.

The one traditional official event on Thursday is the annual Board of Directors meeting, which was held in the late afternoon in the hospitality/conference room. In addition to the traditional annual reports from the executive director, treasurer, Newsboy editor and nominating committee, a wide range of important topics likely to impact the present and future of the Horatio Alger Society were discussed, and you are urged to carefully read Executive Director Bob Sipes' report on Pages 6-7.

Following dinner on our own, most of the evening was spent organizing the annual auction, with most of the books having already been entered into Bob Sipes' computer and laid out on tables encircling the meeting room. A number of auction lots also needed to be added to the spreadsheet, in particular the Tom Noonan consignment of Alger books brought to Columbus by Brad Chase. The rest of the evening was spent chatting about books other topics in the meeting room and hotel lounge.

Friday, May 1

The hotel offered an excellent pay-as-you-go breakfast, along with a Starbucks coffee bar. For those more budget-minded, there was always the option of an Egg McMuffin or "Big Breakfast" at the McDonalds next door.

At 9 a.m., host Bob Huber made the traditional welcoming remarks, going over details about the upcoming buffet lunch (included in convention registration) in the hotel's restaurant across the hall. Bob also outlined the day's other activities and asked for volunteer car pools to the German Village that evening.

H.A.S. President Jeff Looney followed with his official opening comments, and then he introduced the day's speakers: Newsboy editor Bill Gowen on "Harold M. Sherman: Boys Sports Books and Much More," and Carol Nackenoff's presentation titled "The Crusade to Get Children off the Streets in Alger's Era." Both talks were supported by digital slides, and questions were welcomed from the audience.

Following a short break. Looney led the annual H.A.S. business meeting, at which all attendees were welcome. Following the acceptance by the membership of the annual reports of the executive director, treasurer and Newsboy editor, placed in nomination and elected by voice vote for a two-year term as director was Arthur W. Smit-ter (PF-952) from Grand Rapids, Michigan. The other two director positions were left vacant while the Society restructures the makeup of its board over the next two years (this topic is covered in the Board of Directors meeting report).

The major discussion concerned the location for the 2016 convention, and Looney announced that Bob and Wendy Sipes, in the absence of other volunteers for a site, had offered to host the meeting in Columbus, Indiana, located about 45-minutes' drive south of Indianapolis. Since this would be the third time the Sipes have hosted (2007 and 2013 previously), they picked a location that would not give the membership a sense of deja vu.

Sipes noted that the city of Columbus (population of around 44,000) is known for its numerous examples of award-winning 20th century architecture. He also mentioned the availability of sightseeing in nearby scenic Brown County (including the town of Nashville), and the proximity of Columbus to Bloomington, home of the University of Indiana and the Eli Lilly Library, which has extensive juvenile holdings. The membership voted to accept the Sipes' offer to return to the Hoosier State in 2016.

President Jeff Looney announced the recent bequest of $5,000 to the Society from the estate of Robert J. Banks (PF-253) of South Carolina, the check made out to "Newsboy, Horatio Alger Society," which means emphasis will be placed on using this money toward sustaining and improving Newsboy. Looney said he would send a letter of appreciation acknowledging this gift (the letter is reproduced on Page 20).

With the conclusion of the business meeting, it was time to begin the auction, with host Bob Huber serving as the lone auctioneer with help from several other members bringing the various lots to the front of the room and distributing them to the winning bidders.

The major part of the auction was comprised of two large consignments, from Arthur P. Young (PF-941) and William Thieme (PF-1109). Young's consignment consisted of a limited number of Alger books, along with a large amount of vintage Alger-related publications, selected documents, reference books and ephemera. Thieme's consignment was mainly Alger books, including eight first editions and many reprints from high-quality publishers such as Loring, Porter & Coates, Henry T. Coates, Penn, A.L. Burt, Winston and Ogilvie.

The auction moved along briskly, and after about an hour we took a break for the buffet lunch, and resumed the auction shortly before 1 p.m. Because of the limited number of available bidders, ground rules had been announced to keep certain lots from being virtual "giveaways," and if those lots did not draw a respectable opening bid, they were withdrawn and set aside for inclusion at next year's convention. However, more than 170 lots were successfully auctioned off, with total bids coming in at $2,841, and the Society netted a total of $601.80, including several donations totaling $42.

The top-selling item was a Loring first edition of The Telegraph Boy, which Keith Thompson won for $225. Even your editor, usually not a very active bidder, took home 11 lots, including some nice H.T. Coates reprints. (For complete auction results, see Pages 10-13).

At 5:30 p.m. we gathered in the lobby for the short drive to Columbus' historic German Village, location of Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant. Our buffet-style dinner, in an upstairs private room, consisted of a well-chosen selection of German specialties, including salad, entrees and dessert. One of the main selections was Schmidt's award-winning "Bahama Mama" spiced bratwurst.

Following dinner, we held our annual Horatio Alger trivia quiz, a tradition begun many decades ago by the late Ralph D. Gardner (PF-053). The 2015 winner was executive director Bob Sipes.

Upon our return to the hotel, several of us spent the remainder of the evening socializing in the meeting room and hotel lounge.

Saturday, May 2

Following breakfast on our own, it was time to set up the annual book sale in the meeting room. This event over the years has become more of a social gathering, since fewer members bring large quantities of books to sell like in the "good old days." Exceptions this year included Jeff Looney's table of Ralph Henry Barbour books and Brad Chase selling his Alger reference books, along with a selection of quality series book reprints brought from Connecticut on behalf of Partic'lar Friend Jim Towey (PF-975).

By 10:30 a.m., the sale began to wrap up, which meant we had free time on a sunny Saturday to spend book-hunting or sightseeing. Your editor joined Bob Huber, Carol Nackenoff and Keith Thompson for a visit to two popular downtown bookstores, Acorn Books and Karen Wickliff Books, along with a large antique mall on the eastern edge of the city. Jeff Looney met us at our first stop, Acorn Books, where he found a very scarce Frank Channon title in dust jacket, Jackson and his Henley Friends.

By about 5:45 p.m. it was time to gather for our annual banquet, and we met in the hotel lobby for the five-minute drive to the 94th Aero Squadron restaurant, profusely decorated with period military equipment and regalia inside and out. Again, we had an excellent meal with three main entree choices, served by an attentive staff.

Following dinner, it was time for our awards ceremony, led by the annual Strive and Succeed Award presentation. Host Bob Huber introduced the recipient, Susan Hagos, a senior at Lincoln High School in the nearby suburb of Gahanna, who attended the banquet with her younger sister, Hiriti Hagos.

Susan Hagos, one of eleven children, was born in Asmara, Eritrea, and as a young child endured many personal hardships in that country and in neighboring Kenya, living for five years under oppressive political and health conditions before leaving with her family for America.

Susan plans to attend The Ohio State University, where she is yet to choose a major course of study. Huber presented her with a certificate, a check for $1,000 and a copy of Alger's Strive and Succeed.

The annual H.A.S. awards were then presented by president Jeff Looney. The Carl Hartmann Luck and Pluck Award went to Richard Hoffman in appreciation for his hosting of the very successful 2014 convention in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Newsboy Award was presented to Robert Eastlack for his research and article on early A.L. Burt formats, as well as his preparation of a comprehensive Newsboy index, now posted on the official Horatio Alger Society website.

The Richard Seddon Award was presented to Newsboy editor William Gowen, given annually to the member who typifies the spirit and comradeship of the late Dick Seddon of Massachusetts, who hosted the 1977 convention, "Booked in Boston."

The final event of the evening was the keynote address by H.A.S. director Bob Petitto, a longtime Oliver Optic collector whose talk, appropriately, was titled "Collecting Optic: Mystery, Discovery and Conjecture." One of the many fascinating aspects of the presentation was a series of digital slides showing various cover formats issued by early publishers of William T. Adams' books, prominent among them Lee & Shepard.

The annual banquet concluded, we made the short drive back to the hotel where we gathered in small groups in the lounge for more book-talk before retiring for the night.

Sunday, May 3

On Sunday morning, it was time for our "farewell breakfast" in the hotel restaurant, and then we headed for our cars or the shuttle to the airport for the return home. Next on tap is 2016 and our visit to "another" Columbus — this time Columbus, Indiana.

Bill Gowen
Newsboy Editor
Horatio Alger Society