196 
P A R K A N D CEMETERY 
Cemetery Men in Biggest and Best Meeting 
Barre Convention of A. A. C. S. breaks records; Twenty-nine new mem- 
bers; royal entertainment and fine business program mark 31st annual. 
The 31st annual convention of the As- 
sociation of American Cemetery Superin- 
tendents held in Barre, Vt., during the last 
week in August was the laest attended of 
any gathering heretofore held by this or- 
ganization, more members were taken in, 
and it may be safely said that everyone 
present agreed with his neighbor that it 
as these people did. Mrs. Rowen also did 
her part most nobly and the visiting ladies 
were most affectionate in their farewells 
to their hostess. The big man in the ar- 
rangements and the carrying out of them 
was Ale.xander Hanton, superintendent of 
the Barre cemeteries. Mr. Hanton has ac- 
complished wonders under adverse condi- 
the world looks upon us as a farming 
community he would call attention to the 
fact that it is also the granite center of the 
world, the greatest marble producing state, 
the leader in slate production, the home of 
the greatest scale works in the world, and 
the birthplace of some of the men who 
have made America the greatest country 
1 - 
was the most profitalde and most enjoyable 
convention of the Association's history. 
The men, women and children of Barre 
turned over all the keys they possessed; 
their hearts and their homes were opened 
in glad welcome to the vistors, and endur- 
ing friendship between guests and hosts 
was the most important product that was 
manufactured in Barre during the conven- 
tion week. 
There was only one thing that equalled 
the wonderful hospitality of the Barre peo- 
ple, and that was the enthusiastic apprecia- 
tion of the visitors. Barre does not pos- 
sess a hotel as large as the Waldorf-As- 
toria, but it makes up in quality all that it 
lacks in size, and while it would be unfair 
to select any individual of the Barre Board 
of Trade as being more prominent than his 
co-workers in the entertainment, a passing 
word in praise of John 'V. Rowen, the Ho- 
tel Barre manager, and his wife, may ap- 
propriately be said. Only the most efficient 
of hotel managers could have made every- 
thing run as smoothly with 400 extra guests 
tions in the development of the Barre 
cemeteries, but his works in this respect 
were strongly rivalled by the executive 
ability shown Ijy him in the conduct of this 
affair. 
The trips to the granite quarries and 
manufacturing plants were highly instruc- 
tive. Men like Mr. Falconer considered 
this feature of the entertainment to be 
most profitable as well as interesting. 
The first session of the meeting was 
called to order in the Spaulding High 
School auditorium with the president. Dr. 
R. N. Kesterson of Knoxville, Tenn., in 
the chair. 
Governor Horace F. Graham was intro- 
duced to the audience and in typical Ver- 
mont fashion welcomed the assembly to 
the Green Mountain state. The Governor 
said that it is of no use for the Governor 
of Vermont to praise Vermont, because 
Vermont needs no praise. It is small in 
population and area, but it has behind it 
a glorious past, and it anticipates a still 
more glorious future. He said that while 
in the world. The thing that Vermont 
is proudest of is its men and women. 
W. F. Landes of Indianapolis responded 
in a most brilliant manner to the Gov- 
ernor’s welcome. He heartily thanked the 
Governor and the people. He spoke of 
the purposes of the organization and fore- 
casted a most profitable meeting. 
President Kesterson gave the annual ad- 
dress as follows : 
PRESIDENT KESTERSON’ S ADDRESS. 
Will you not first ijennit me to have just a per- 
sonal word by way of an attempt to express to 
you the peculiar feeling of gratification I have 
in coming as a son of Tennessee, one of the south- 
ern states, and one of those which undertook, a 
little more than a generation ago, to leave the 
Union, to this northern soil made sacred by the 
deeds of the Green Mountain boys, and bringing 
with me one more assurance of the fact that the 
sectional wounds of the nation are healed, that 
our country no longer knows any meaning of the 
phrase “North and South,” except as it conveys 
mere geograhical denomination? 
When I was first nominated for an official posi- 
tion in your body, my friend who placed me in 
nomination, stated that I would be the first officer 
to come from south of the Mason and Bixon line, 
and it is a matter of peculiar personal gratifica- 
tion to me that it falls to my lot to preside at a 
