It was to this place that the Brown family, below, came for their Christmas dinner on December 25, 1919.  Grandfather and Grandmother Brown had attained the age and family numbers had grown to the point where the Hotel provided the ideal place for that important family event that year.

A long table had been reserved for us in the main dining room.  As we arrived – there were four families of us then in Ames – we were directed by way of the elevator to the second floor ladies’ parlor to await the arrival of the rest of the uncles and aunts, cousins, and, of course, the grandparents.

But I will never forget the hotel lobby that day.  It was terribly cold outdoors and as we entered at the main doorway on the south side of the building, the burning log fire in the fireplace that was on the east wall of the lobby greeted us.  The lobby then was much larger than today, as it included all of the area today partitioned off for the present hair salon and also the area occupied now by a barbershop.  Original ceilings were high with “square” pillars that can still be seen although the very magnificent marble-looking cover has long since been removed or covered over.
Beautifully tailored drapes were a dark blue.  All of the Hotel drapes in the lobby and in the dining and ballrooms were monogrammed with the letter “S.M.”

In this setting a string ensemble was playing to one side of the huge fireplace.  They had several regular musicians who played every evening in the hotel.  One was Fred Snyder who was an engineer with the Highway Commission at the time.  Both he and his wife were accomplished violinists in Ames.  Another was Harold Kramer, a pianist, who played in the Sheldon-Munn dining room for several years, then went east where he made a name for himself as an entertainer.

After the family had gathered, we were called to the dining room on the first floor, entering through the lobby.  The dining room then extended to the Kellogg side and all along the alley side on the North.  The dining room ceiling, like the lobby area, was high with molded plaster scroll work along the ceiling corners.

By the time the main dining room was open, on holidays and on Sunday noons all through the year, the string trio or quartet had moved out of the lobby into an elevated alcove that was built into the south wall of the room.  It was reached by way of a curved staircase.  There was a piano permanently installed in this “elevated orchestra pit” and dinner music was a regular feature of both weekday and Sunday dinner hours and on holidays, of course.

Christmas dinner at Grandmother’s was always complete and two kinds of pie could be assumed.  The Sheldon-Munn proved to be no exception!

Before we ate, Grandfather gave the blessing but at the hotel it was something special.  With the main dining room full of dining couples or groups all smaller than ours, and all around us, how would he handle it?  Very simple, he just held up his hand.  He was, as I recall, a rather large man, by nature the “take charge” kind.  He glanced around the room as the musicians completed a selection and merely asked that “all be quiet for a moment.”  He then proceeded in his natural clearly spoken manner and gave them the same kind of blessing that he was accustomed to give.  And the room was hushed for a few moments – and then we were served.

Sheldon-Munn waiters were quite formal in those days.  Precise in manner, they omitted no expected move in their service.  The tableware at the hotel was a “lovely silver,” the tablecloths were white damask with all linen napkins.  Fluted goblets were used at all special occasions.  Like in the lobby, draperies were a rich blue with gold braid borders or ties with the S.M. monogram.  The chairs were sturdy, I think painted gold.  The multi-course dinner I could not have detailed had not Mrs. Rogers (daughter of the hotel’s first managers) shown me the 1919 printed menu for that day.

What a Christmas dinner – and all for a dollar and a half!

“Seventy-two guest rooms, a banquet hall, a dining room, a private dining room, a grill room, large sample rooms and the most beautiful lobby of any hotel in the middle west combine to entertain the guests in ease and comfort.”

The floor is said to be the finest dance floor in Iowa and when covered with a canvas makes the finest banquet hall in Iowa.  Three hundred banqueters can be seated at one time in this room, which opens to the air on three sides and is possessed of perfect ventilation. 

“It would hardly do to pass through this article without calling especial attention to the office and lobby.  Across the north side of the lobby an elegant office has been fixed up.  Large roomy leather chairs are at every convenient point, while huge davenports fill the odd spots.  A fireplace along the east side of the rooms adds a homelike appearance.  The desk is of the finest material with a cigar case along the west side.  In an alcove are a number of writing tables where men and women can do their correspondence without interruption.  A public stenographer has her office in the lobby.  A telephone system connecting the world with every room is an advantage that is seldom found in a town the size of Ames.”

“The banquet was one of the finest efforts of the kind ever pulled off in Ames.  The tables had been beautifully decorated and at the plate of each person was a sweet smelling jasmine.  The hotel dishes were used and the S.M. monogram in gilt letters were pretty as a picture.  The menus were handpainted and printed and were the work of an artist.  Those menu cards will long be preserved by the attendants as souvenirs of the occasion.”