OK, I'm exhausted so this will be brief, but here's the report from day three of the Betsy-Tacy Convention! We rose early for breakfast with everyone and then got ready for our trip to Murmuring (really Madison) Lake. Many of us wondered how long it would take to get there by bus, but we figured it couldn't be too long since Betsy used to go via horse and buggy. Our first stop was the farm where Mr. and Mrs. Ray first met and later married. We saw the tree under which they chatted, when Mr. Ray came up to the house to borrow a cup of salt (why he needed a CUP of salt remains a mystery.) And here's a picture from the outside of the bow window in which they were married. The view from the window over the lake is quite beautiful.
We then drove around the lake to Point Pleasant, where Betsy and the family spent many summers renting a small cottage. The cottages are gone, but we did have dinner in a house somewhat like the one that everyone would go to three times a day to eat. We enjoyed fried chicken, cole slaw, corn bread, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes and....Lady Baltimore Cake! Very yummy.
Upon our return we spent the afternoon resting (and I wrote my speech for tonight's legacy panel). At 5:30 we returned to the convention center for a theatrical rendition of Betsy's Wedding, which was absolutely adorable, and I realized half way through that having a mock wedding was a very Betsy-Tacy like thing to do as well (though there were actually men playing the men in this mock wedding). The wedding reception that followed was a typical Ray family Sunday Night Lunch, complete with onion sandwiches, potato salad, coffee and wedding cake (I have had A LOT of cake this weekend).
At 7 Maud's Legacy Panel began, including yours truly along with Kelly Reuter, who had known Maud; Pat Neville-Downe, niece of Vera Neville; Louise King, daughter of Carney, and her daughter Caroline King; and Billy and Pete Steiner, grandsons of Cab Edwards. The panel was wonderful. Kelly Reuter shared stories of her correspondence with Maud as well as her visit with her in California. Pat Downe showed us original illustrations that her aunt had made, including one of Betsy in a deck chair that was made for Betsy and the Great World and never used! We all swooned over this. I didn't get a picture of this one myself, and can't get the one off my sister's camera tonight, so stay tuned for that.
Louise and Caroline King shared stories of Carney, and talked about actually sleeping on the sleeping porch. Louise was surprised to hear it was still there so we shared with her a picture someone had taken the day before. Louise remembered when Maud would come to visit and she and her mother would sit and talk for hours and hours.
Cab's grandsons were hilarious, sharing several stories about Cab, who was quite the bad boy at times, shooting the cannon in Lincoln Park off one July 5th, but who was also a sound businessman and always impeccably dressed. He and Maud, they reported, were friends for their entire lives. They also brought along Cab's flask and unveiled it to much laughter and applause.
The legacy panel was followed by the announcement of several winners -- of the 5K race, the trivia contest and the essay contest. Jen Davis-Kay of the New Betsys won for her essay on the woman in the Betsy-Tacy books that she most admires: Tacy. She read her essay which was wonderful.
I had every intention of joining the perfectly awful girls following all these festivities but you can only tote a 7 month old so much in one day, so we ended up back at the hotel. Good thing as tomorrow starts early with breakout sessions - I'm hoping to attend the one on Vera Neville and to learn how to do the modern dances. And after that...our keynote speaker is Meg Cabot!
It sounds like you're having a wonderful time! I can't believe your baby is 7 months old already!
Posted by: Kathy | July 20, 2009 at 07:39 AM
Great pictures! It looks like you had a good time.
Posted by: Kelly | July 20, 2009 at 09:02 AM
I need to read these books so I can follow along. It sounds like a wonderful time!
Posted by: Ti | July 20, 2009 at 06:21 PM
It looks like a wonderful time! I commented on another one of your posts with the ice-breaker questions, but don't want it to get lost--I've been loving all your reports from Deep Valley (Mankato!) The pics bring back such memories, I was there for a big weekend, probably ten or twelve years ago now. (I think they had just bought Betsy's house, but we could go in Tacy's). The bench, the houses, the museum with that mannequin in the wedding dress--it's all so great! Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Julie H. | July 20, 2009 at 08:44 PM