Following is the substance of a talk that Dr. Melvil Dewey, Club president, gave in Forest Music room Monday afternoon, July 11 to a large gathering of those interested in both Clubs, Placid North and Lake Placid Club in Florida.
  20 years ago, we printed reasons why we must, when our Adirondak club was enough developt to allow it, have similar club in the very best climate for members who seek the supreme charm of perpetual June-in-winter or who must for physical safety go south because of bronchitis, pneumonia or other difficulties, recent or of long standing, or because of not having enough vitality to withstand our northern winters.
  For 18 months we have given this intensiv study.  Our leading officers motored 32,500 miles in the search, repeating the great care with which 35 years ago we selected Lake Placid as best location for an ideal, all-year home.  Having found that Florida stood first, we spent 8 months seeking the best of its 35,000,000 acres.  Friends who believd profoudnly in our Club ideals and also that Florida's best is the ideal winter home, told us to study the whole state till certain of the best location for our club and that they would giv the practical backing wihtout which we could not undertake so great an enterprise.  Our study for 8 months of West, North and South Florida, East coast and West coast, proved that the Ridge or back bone, of the state was clearly best.  This is 80 miles long, 2 to 5 miles wide and largely covered with wonderful orange groves. Being new and till very recently without state roads it is therefore little known.  Visitors to older, widely-advertized sections have not yet learnd the great advantages of the Ridge.  Consulting hundreds of people familiar with the whole state reveald almost complete agreement that this limited 'Scenic Highlands' (the common name which charms of the Ridge have now won from everyone)  was decidedly best for our Club.  We went over this Ridge scores of times and finally chose the south end, 15 miles below Sebring, county seat of Highlands county.  Here our friends have given a warrenty deed of the best 3048 acres to our LPC Education Foundation, which now was received as gifts every share of the voting stock of Placid North, and therefore owns and fully controls Club, LP Company and its subsidiaries, LPC Stores and Northwood Estates.  This movement to build in Florida a great club with exactly the peculiar ideals and standards that have won first place for Placid North has met with enthusiastic commendation and offers of cooperation all over Florida.
  The main clubhouse will stand 52 feet above and 1100 east of Lake Placid, heretofore known as Lake Childs.  West it looks over Lake June-in-winter (on maps as Lake Stearns).  Club's 3048 acres are

in a semicircle of 9 lakes.  Placid and June are about 5000 acres each.  Mirror lake (on maps as Persimmon), McCoy, Pearl and Serena are about the size of our Mirror lake North; the other 3 are much smaller.  Adjoining our lands on the north was the small city of Lake Stearns, known as 'Florida's roof garden', because of its most beautiful location on the crown of an elevation shaped like an inverted saucer.
  Atlantic Coast Line, the south's greatest RR and famous Nr 8 or Scenic Highway state road run thru it.  At its south border is the Cros-state paved road open this year as the great direct artery from Ft. Pierce on the east to Sarasota on the west coast.
  After 3 mass meetings of citizens and many conferences with the city management, it was voted unanimously to let us make an ideal charter from the club stand point, changing name of city, PO, RR station, etc, to Lake Placid and giving the club forever power to name 1 of the 5 commisioners to govern the town under the very successful commission form.  We spent 2 months on this new charter which was past by the Legislature and on June 6 signed by Gov. Martin.  Being made from the standpoint of an ideal town for our club home its 50 pages contain many unusual features.  It authorizes immediate issue of $500,000 town bonds, which will pay for improvements to be completed this summer.  These include golf course, golf, yacht, boat, bath and fishing clubhouses, polo field and ball diamond, tennis, croquet, roque, and bathing, fishing canoes, row, sail, and motor boats; also paved streets and walks, water works and town nursery to provide ornamental trees and shrubs for extensiv planting.  Atlantic Coast Line has agreed to cooperate by giving the most attractiv new station on that part of their line.
  All this work is being pusht to completion this summer.  But the main club buildings, 2 miles from station and bank center, will take probably 2 years to complete.  Meantime our Florida supporters have bought and turnd over to our complete control and ownership the new Hotel Stearns costing $151,000 and lacking only 2 weeks of completion, and ahve furnisht us also $75,000 cash for additions bringing it up to club standards.  Contractors complete this by Nov 1 and then Lake Placid Lodge will be our home during the building of the big plant.  It has 68 guest rooms and 50 baths and with club table, beds, equipment and atmosphere will be the most attractiv in central Florida.
  Booklet with full information will be issued in July.  As there are only 68 rooms, early application is important.  Standards of admission and administration will be identical with Placid North.
  Those who like life and atmosphere of the many hotels which cater to the ultra-fashionable, fast set won't like Placid Lodge and are not wanted there, and if they get there by mistake will be induced to migrate.  But the Lodge will be the envy of 'our sort of people' who can't get in this winter because they did not apply early enough.  Address till Nov.1, Placid Lodge, Lake Placid Club, NY.  After Nov.1 address Lake Placid, Fla.