Havana Calls: Seventy-Sixth Stated Annual Convention of Delta Kappa Epsilon. Havana, Cuba, Christmas Holidays, 1920-1921 by Delta Kappa Epsilon - 1920

New York: Delta Kappa Epsilon, 1920. First edition. Pamphlet. Near Fine. Slim 12mo, stapled photo-illustrated wraps; unpaginated, but 12 pp. including the wraps. A few stray (un-erasable) pencil marks to the wraps, else fine. In 1918 the third president of Cuba, President Mario Garcia Menocal, invited his old fraternity, the Delta Chis, to hold their annual convention in Havana. Wartime conditions precluded this, but in 1920 the invitation was reissued, and was enthusiastically accepted, making the Dekes the first American fraternal organization to hold their convention outside the United States or Canada. This prospectus, issued in May 1920, outlines the proposed convention program, which includes a steamer or train expedition from New York (with stops in either Jacksonville or Savannah to "accommodate members from the south"), departing "the evening of the day after Christmas, so that all our members living as far west as Chicago can have their midday Christmas dinner in time to take the boat." The five days in Cuba will include "excursions by automobile" into the country surrounding Havana, opportunities for meeting "leading people of the city" at various receptions, a grand Ball which will be "one of the leading social events of the year in Havana," golf outings, a "Grand Banquet" at the Tennis Club, a chartered-train expedition to a sightseeing picnic at Matanzas and the Yumuri Valley, and more, with the convention business itself taking place at the New Palace, hosted by the President himself. Depending on the number of members interested in this excursion, a special steamer (flying the DKE flag) will be chartered, and Cuban dignitaries will be sent via presidential launch to receive them upon their arrival; entertainment while shipboard will be provided by the talented members themselves (Glee Club, orchestral selections, theatrical performances, educational lectures, and the like). Although "An exact estimate of expenses cannot be given at this time," a general estimate is listed nonetheless: A grand total of $258, including incidentals. Evidently the idea was quite popular, and the event went off as planned, albeit by rail rather than steamer: Per Wikipedia: "Private trains were hired from New England to Florida where the invited men and their families could travel in comfort and style, and upon arrival in Cuba each man was gifted a gold-trimmed box of cigars." Scarce - none in OCLC, none currently (or recently) available in the trade, none at auction in the last 30+ years.