The Blanche Hotel was the center of activity downtown for a lot of years and even more so at the holidays. From what we have been able to gather so far the hotel had a grand party almost every Christmas and New Years. It seemed to take on the elements of tradition when O.K. Holmes and his sister, Rebecca took over the management of the hotel around 1925. They both joined the local Rotary club which formed and began regular luncheon meetings at the hotel about the same time. One of the first Christmas parties to make headlines was posted in the December 31, 1926 Lake City Reporter:
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Rotarians and Rotaryanns turned back the calendar some twenty or thirty or more years last Thursday evening, cast dignity to the four winds, attired themselves in the habiliments of care-free youth and assembled in the Rotary room of the Hotel Blanche to welcome the Patron Saint of Children.
That they have all been good little boys and good little girls was evidenced by the shower of toy-presents the great tree bore and that a grand and gracious Santa Claus bestowed upon them everyone. The prize for the best “boy” rigging went to Fred Young who appeared as “Little Lord Faundleroy;” Walter Hackney received favorable mention as “one of the gang.”
A turkey dinner was served and an even fifty were seated about the ladened festal board, which had been decorated with flowers, flags and holiday tinsels.
The program was as motley, hilarious and impromptu as any childish heart might long for and the faces of the present lost the stress of daily cares and took on the glow of bubbling children.
The session closed with the tinseling of Christmas Atheron. It was a charming event for which we have the Program Committee to thank and many of those in attendance lingered about the room as if loath to once again fall into the realm of work-a-day world and the hubdub of reality.”
