OAKLAND PRESENTS VAUDEVILLE SHOW Oakland has presented a vaudeville show! And that's putting it mildly. Rumor: That after the Oakland traffic department's delightful vaudeville performance on September 30, (1926), the Orpheum management planned on opening another Orpheum theater and on using only telephone talent in the new theater. Later returns have spiked this rumor, but haven't stopped anyone from talking about the wonderful show Oakland presented. Every act was a finished piece of work and a tribute to the Oakland telephone family. Over 1900 of our own people and friends witnessed the show in which one hundred girls actually appeared on the stage and sixty others took a very active part in making the show a success. When the idea for a vaudeville show was first referred to the offices for their approval, the response was as spontaneous as the show itself; each office started at once to develop its act. Such an undertaking was possible through the work of the district committee of the Employees' Plan of Representation, and in their endeavor to raise funds for use in promoting basket-ball activities during the coming season it was found that they all received as much pleasure and enjoyment out of the show itself as they did in planning for basket-ball. The various central offices are to be congratulated upon their splendid selections which they made for their acts. One of the original features of this show was "Little Mary Mischief," the official announcer, as portrayed by Miss Geraldine Bundy of Glencourt, her part, of course, having to be written specially for this particular show. The Fruitvale-Elmhurst-San Leandro-Merritt employees put on an entirely original act, planned and written entirely by the girls themselves with the help of the chief operators and traffic men. Miss Orr and Miss Weiss of Glencourt office worked out their own dance numbers, and, as was expected, made a big hit with the audience. Piedmont and Humboldt employees combined and selected from among their number the five girls that made up the cast for the delightful one-act play, "The Florist Shop." This one-act play was coached by Fletcher Talbot, a friend of one of the Piedmont operators, who is to be congratulated for his splendid assistance in making this act a success. The stage setting for his act was particularly beautiful and the flowers and floral accessories were loaned through the courtesy of one of the florist shops in the vicinity of the Piedmont office. The Alameda act, "School Days," was indeed a credit to an office the size of Alameda in that fourteen of their employees took part. This act was entirely original with the Alameda girls and was directed by Mr. Carlson and Mr. Weatherbe. Following the Alameda act the basket-ball trophies were awarded by C. F. Weatherbe, district traffic superintendent, and this presentation had been so prepared as to fit in with the rest of the performance, "Little Mary Mischief" making the announcement and taking part in the presentation. Mr. Weatherbe was introduced by Mrs. Georgia Goede, secretary of the employees' district committee, who outlined the part taken by the Employees' Plan of Representation in the basket-ball activities and announced the trophies that were awarded. The Fruitvale office team, which won the interoffice championship last season, was presented with a silver basket-ball trophy, the presentation being made to Miss Hazel Rarick as captain of the Fruitvale team. This trophy, which consists of an eight-inch silver basket-ball mounted flat to be framed in a regular picture frame, will be played for each year until some one office wins it three times. The winning office each season will have its name engraved on a silver bar which will be suspended from beneath the silver basket-ball. A silver plate will also be placed in the frame showing that the trophy was presented by the employees' district committee. The girls who were selected to play on the big team that represented the telephone company in the Industrial League and won the championship from the San Francisco team were each presented with a small gold basket-ball pin in the shape of a gold bar from which a basket-ball was suspended. On the front of the gold bar appeared the date "1926," while on the reverse side appeared the notation "From E.P.O.R." The gold basket-ball had a black enamel "O" superimposed upon it and on the reverse side of the basket-ball appeared the player's initials. Following the intermission the long-distance and information girls presented "The Music Box Revue," as directed by Miss Bernice Jahnigen, a pupil of Theodore Kosloff, the Russian dancer. While the scenery was being changed between numbers, Miss Martha Hollis of Lakeside office held the audience absolutely silent with her skill in playing the piano. Following Miss Hollis's number Lakeside office presented a one-act comedy, "Uncertain Silas," put on by three of the Lakeside office employees and Mr. Chamberlain. This act, which was directed by Mr. Weatherbe, was particularly noteworthy in view of the fact that none of the members of the cast had ever taken part before in any amateur theatricals. The central office committee selected the girls for the parts in order to have the type of each part properly portrayed and the success of this plan is evident by the way in which this act went across with the audience. Two sisters from Oakland office, Miss Cummings and Miss McKerricher, next put on a violin and piano selection. The final number on the program, a brief excerpt from the Duncan sisters' success, "Topsy and Eva," made a very colorful closing number for the program. This act, which had been worked up by the Ashberry-Berkeley-Thornwall girls, was directed by Mr. Bartlett, who, of course, also supervised in a general way all of the other acts and attended at least one rehearsal of all musical numbers. Miss Tudor as "Topsy" made a particularly big hit with the audience, and it was with difficulty that the act proceeded due to the amount of applause which she received for the solo which she sang. Miss Jackson as "Eva" showed the results of some experience upon the stage before she came to work with the telephone company. Another outstanding feature of the program was the playing of Miss Patricia Duffy, the fourteen-year-old sister of one of our employees. Miss Duffy played for a number of the rehearsals and took her regular place in the orchestra pit on the night of the show. From the flood of congratulatory telephone calls and letters received we are sure that Oakland's reputation of "doing it right" has been upheld.