It
is the middle of June, 1952. You, a hardworking
department store manager from Battle Creek, are
looking into the possibility of treating your
wife Mary and your two children Tom and Sara to
a vacation. Unfortunately you don't have the time
nor finances for a long trip so you'll have to
settle for a destination you can visit during
a weekend. Then it hits you! Why not pack the
family into the car and take them to Detroit!
Your
family has never been to Detroit. You, however,
had gone there on business once. You didn't get
to see much of the town but you remember staying
at the Fort Shelby Hotel, not a bad place. It
seems natural to select the Fort Shelby as your
hotel for this trip.
Then,
while reading your morning paper, you spot this
advertisement. "No room charge for children
under 14!" the ad proclaims in flashy text.
On the bottom you note it is an ad for the Hotel
Statler. You had heard of the Statler hotels before.
Several friends had stayed at Statlers before
and gave them rave reviews. The features sound
great, and the price is right. The memories of
the crowded conditions of hotels during the war
are still strong. You send a teletype to the Statler
requesting a reservation for a double studio room
for the weekend after next.
Your
family is naturally pleased to hear of the coming
trip to the dynamic city, and no less pleased
to hear that they will stay at a Statler!
With
the arrival of the following Friday, you pack
your wife and kids into the car and hit the road.
Luckily for you its only a two hour drive so you
don't have to put up with "Are we there yet?"
too many times.
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