Towpath Lodge

So it turns out this vacation has not yielded as much project time as I had hoped/thought when it started.  This week's "free" time has to be devoted entirely to correcting and planning as next week's resumption of classes gets closer and closer.  I have, though, finished going through the written sources for the Founder's Era, with the huge exception of Pete Seeger's one-man student newspaper.  I am hoping to spend some time in the archives during January and February.  I also hope to get over to Hill-Stead fairly soon.
Kegley Notes did not yield as much information as I thought it might, but it does have some interesting information about the changes the army made to the physical plant while they were here.  Some - such as the addition of the sprinkler system - were essential to the future of the school.
One thing I did not know is that TPR bought a facility known as Towpath Lodge, which was on Old Farms Road at the edge of the property.  Towpath Lodge was a privately-owned "country house," but it was set up for sizable gatherings; there were tables and benches for picnickers, and there was a dance floor with a loft for the orchestra.  The owner rented Towpath Lodge to church and company groups for gatherings and also hosted sightseers who came from all around to see his colorful gardens and manicured lawns.  Mr. Kegley recalled that on summer evenings the music and laughter from Towpath Lodge could be heard clearly in the school's quadrangle.  He also recalls that TPR abhorred the idea of a "dance hall" so close to her campus.  Accordingly, she instructed an agent to purchase the property from its owner, and in 1928 Towpath Lodge was converted into stables for the school's horses.  One can only wonder how the good people of Avon felt about seeing their "dance hall" housing horses for a woman who did not even pronounce "Avon" the way they did.