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Schenectady, N.Y.
Wednesday, June 21, 1939.
Was in the Van Curler lobby registering at 8:10 AM and seeing a lot of people I know. Renewed contact with Dave McLenegen now at Bloomfield in air conditioning; he said his mother died two years ago and he has been married four – looks about the same. Ran into McKenney of Springfield, Cameron of Detroit, Zip Zimmer, Harry Bardin, Doc Ferguson, and all the Erie contingent of course. We had the Opening Breakfast at the hotel, ably presided over by Mr. Shreve (my idea of a good looking man), and then adjourned to Rice Hall for the start of the program.

The program opened with a playlet, "The House of Polo," depicting the business trials and tribulations of the ancient firm of Polo in Venice, which at that time dominated the trade in fine goods, lead the field. And they were pictured as encountering the same obstacles, doubts and hesitations the G.E. Co. faces today, all of which they faced courageously with the inspiration of young, wander loving Marco, the son of the house. Very neatly, they worked into it Marco's journey to the court of Kubla Kan(?) and his romance with Golden Bells. It was all symbolic of our business today, intended to show how these problems we face are old as man, will always be with us and with courage and vision and the exploration of new fields, we can march on today to success as they did then. The symbolism of Marco and Golden Bells was not entirely clear to me; I presume it meant that you would ever seek new worlds to conquer, would pick up the burden, push ahead to new and romantic and seemingly unattainable things, undismayed and courageous. I thought it was very well done and it certainly was to me at least, an inspiration that touched my sensitive side in just the proper way.

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