P.G. Wodehouse is not a household name. Some people think he should be. He was a funny British-American writer who produced stories and novels and wrote for Broadway musicals.

His best-known characters are Jeeves, a problem-solving philosopher-valet, and Bertie Wooster, a member of the "idle rich" who depends upon Jeeves to save him from disaster.

At the St. Paul Hotel last weekend, P.G., Jeeves and Bertie lived again.

An international gathering of Wodehouse fans, including representatives from 30 states and as far away as Japan, came for the biennial convention of the Wodehouse Society. (His name rhymes with "good house,'' not "road house,'' he liked to say.)

We could find no mention of the P.G. gathering in our local media. So we spoke to Kristine Fowler, a University of Minnesota librarian and outgoing president of the Wodehouse Society, as well as a leader of the Minnesota affiliate, known as the Northwodes Society. She said the group is dedicated to the appreciation and popularizing of the works of P.G. Wodehouse.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman declared last Friday to be "P.G. Wodehouse Day" in St. Paul. Wodehouse fans from Holland presented the Minnesota chapter with a rediscovered local treasure: a copy of the Pioneer Press Sunday Magazine from Oct. 10, 1926, which contains the Wodehouse story "First Aid for Dora.''

The group heard a local singer belt out lyrics written by Wodehouse, including his most famous song, "Bill,'' from the musical "Showboat." They heard talks about horse racing and pig husbandry in the age of Wodehouse — two of his favorite subjects. The group made a trip to Canterbury Downs, and a group of Wodehouse fans met with a group of local Sherlock Holmes fans.

They took a riverboat cruise on Saturday night, costumes optional. One favorite was a man in 1920s golfing attire who had butterflies affixed to his club. This was a reference to a character in "Ordeal by Golf" who became easily riled on the course. "He missed short putts because of the uproar of the butterflies in the adjoining meadows," Wodehouse wrote.

Most of Minnesota did not notice the Wodehouseians in our midst. We apologize. Belatedly, we bid them welcome and farewell. Those interested in P.G., Jeeves and Bertie can visit the Wodehouse exhibit on the fourth floor of the Wilson library at the University of Minnesota. The exhibit, for which Fowler is one of the curators, runs through the end of July.