Imperial Valley press., 1927-06-24
'DEAN" HALE IS
ROYALTY FETED
BY ASSOCIATES
Veteran of Cantaloupe
Industry Guest of Hon
or At Dinner.

I. Dodge Hale, "dean Of Imper
ial Valley cantaloupe men, sat befor,
/ 500 of his friends at the Planter
hotel in Brawley last night on tn,
occasion of the testimonial dinner
to celebrate the 25th anniversary Of
, his connection with the industry, ant
heard himself and his work lauded
by q score Of prominent business
men, railroad and shipping leaders
and his associates in the cantaloupe
game.
And there is no doubt that the
dean" deserved all the nice things
said about him. He took his honors
modestly and proudly shared them
with his wife, whom more than one
speaker declared to be the real
power behind the "dean 50 sue
cess.
An outsider would have difficulty
deciding who enjoyed it the most,
his friends to have an opportunity
to say what they think about him,
or the dean to learn just what
he means to the thousands in Imper-
ial Valley, and the other thousands
scattered throughout the country
who take active parts in Imperial
Valley S big cantaloupe crop.
The various speakers reviewed the
growth Of the industry from the
first shipment mode by Hale in
1902, to the enormous business that
is represented today.
After they had dined him and
told him what a real fine man he
is his associates put on rafting
good entertainment for the "dean -.
and then, seated on a throne, with
a toga about his shoulders, and a
cantaloupe scepter in his hand,
they crowned him liking of I'm
perial Valley and showered gifts
on him, while movie cameras ground
ont the thc scene for the :ilms.
Fred Hilvert acted as tod..tmaster,
an Fred Mcclellan func.ione3 4,
master of ceremonies, directing the
riapClatr entertainment program.
Among the speakers were T. H.
Williams, assistant general mana
ger of the Southern Pacific; II. B..
VOOLFOLK, valley shipper; Leo Sci
bert, American Fruit Gsowers; F..
f. Scott, assistant freight traffic
manager of the Southern Pacific;
c. l.. McFaul, representing the Rock
Island road; Clyde F'uke, presidcn.
of the Brawley Kiwanis club; Tom
Elliott, of the American Railway
Express; o. G. Horne, Pacific South
west bank; r. Y. Watson, represent
ing the Ell Centre chamber of com
merce; j. +. Collins, of the Imperial
Ice and Development company. The
dean responded briefly and fit
tingly to the nice things said about
him.
Friends Send Congratulations
A whole sheaf of kilograms from
prominent railroad men and Pacific
coast leaders, expressing congratula-
tions to the "dean'' and regret at
their inability to be with him, were
read by the toastmaster.
Dinner was served in the patio of
the hotel, termed for the occasion
the cantaloupe gardens" Behind
the speakers table stage had been
erected, and upon this a score or
talented artists gathered by Ira F..
Gay Of Los Angeles, joined with
the Wooda Blesey dancers of this
city, in presenting a program that
met with the whole-hearted appro-
val of the diners and several hund
red more who gathered to enjoy 1t.
To mention individual acts would
require too much space. 1t might
be stated in passing that mere man
was left out of the program al
together, the ladies being the whole
show literally and figuratively.
Ranked side by side with profes
sionals, the Wooda Blesey dancers
covered themselves with glory, their
various numbers being we'll receiv-
ed. In particular the "Gates Of
Love-" the difficult "Serpentine
Dance" and the "Perisian Dance, -
being well executed.
Herb Freeman and his Southern
Club orchestra provided music for
the occasion, with Doug Deeble
capably filling the role Of accom-
panist for the various artists.
Miss Linda Burrage, presented as
Miss Imperial Valley" crowned
the "kine' at the close Of the pro
gram, and as a loyal subject gave
him a smacking kiss, a. which the
genial "dean" never batted an eye.
lash, but eemed inclined to come
back for more, with one eye beam.
ing on fair Linda and the other
keeping watch to see how the Mrs.
down in the front row was taking
it. 1t was the "dean S" night, and
his "boss' applauded as heartily
as any present.
AS the eal of the long program
finally arrived, his associates gath
eyed round to give the "dean y
4 little hazing, and make plans for
his golden jubilee in 1852. at which
',e solemnly promised to be present