Chapter Three - "Fractured Fandoms"
The proliferation of U.S. fan organizations
Richard Lynch
P.O. Box 3120
Gaithersburg, MD 20885 USA
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PRELIMINARY OUTLINE FOR A PROPOSED FAN HISTORY BOOK OF THE 1960s
Comments on this outline-in-progress are requested!!!
(last updated on January 10, 2001)
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(historical overview here)
The history of science fiction fandom in certain ways is not unlike the
geological history of the earth. Back in the earliest geological era, all the
land mass of the earth was combined into one super-continent, Pangeia. The
earliest days of science fiction fandom were comparable, in that before all
the myriad fan clubs and splinter fandoms came into being, there was once a
solitary fan group, the Science Fiction League.
The SFL was created by Hugo Gernsback in May 1934 issue of his science fiction
magazine, WONDER STORIES. Science fiction fandom was already in existence by
then, but was mostly isolated individuals publishing fanzines with one or two
fan clubs existing in large population centers. Gernsback changed all that.
That issue of WONDER sported the colorful emblem of the SFL on its cover, of a
wide-bodied multi-rocketed spaceship passing in front of the earth. Inside,
his four-page editorial summed up the League as an organization "for the
furtherance and betterment of the art of science fiction" and implored fans to
join the new organization and "spread the gospel of science fiction."
The response was almost immediate. Fans from various parts of the United
States wrote enthusiastic letters, many of which were published by Gernsback
in WONDER's letters column. Some of the respondents started chapters of the
SFL in various cities; to become a SFL chapters, and most of the science
fiction clubs that already existed became affiliates of the SFL. Among the
first affiliates were clubs in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, which still
exist under different names.
The SFL was not destined to be long-lived. In 1936, Gernsback ran into
financial difficulties that cost him control of WONDER, and as a result, the
SFL as well. Even before this, the organization had begun to crumble as
independently-minded fans in some of the larger SFL branches successfully
advocated their members to renounce SFL affiliation, while other smaller
branches of the League passed from existence due to lack of interest. Leo
Margulies was the publisher of THRILLING WONDER STORIES, the magazine that
replaced Gernsback's WONDER; although he publicly stated his support for
continuing the SFL, it wasn't the same. Rival parent organizations, such
as Fred Pohl's Science Fictioneers, came into existence, but these too were
not destined to play any significant part in the future direction of organized
fandom. Science fiction fandom had evolved during the two years of the SFL's
existence, and its future was not a pyramid organization under the control of
one person or group of people.
This fracturing of science fiction fandom resulted in dozens of independent
fan groups by the late 1930s. By the 1960s there were a myriad of fan groups
not only in the United States, but also in most parts of the world.
In the United States, perhaps the most obvious place to start in this overview
of the various fan organizations of the 1960s is in Los Angeles, where the
largest of these was located.
* Los Angeles
- LASFS
> the first organized Los Angeles fandom came into being in 1934, as the
fourth chapter of the Science Fiction League
-- the main organizer was an otherwise obscure fan, E.C. Reynolds
-- by 1937, the Los Angeles chapter had gained the status of being the
largest fan group in existence
>> meeting attendance had been steadily growing since its formation,
and quite often meetings featured visits by prominent science
fiction writers and personalities, such as Dr. David H. Keller and
Henry Kuttner, and visits to places of fannish interest, such as
the home and office of Edgar Rice Burroughs in Tarzana
>> however, the most significant event in the early history of the
LASFL was Bruce Yerke's success in promoting his idea that the
club ought to publish a fanzine
--- the result was IMAGINATION!, a fanzine that...
>> perhaps the leading fan in the organization was Forrest J
Ackerman, who had arrived in L.A. earlier in 1934 after moving from
San Francisco
--- Ackerman was instrumental in making the LASFL known to the
outside world, through fanzines such as IMAGINATION! (which he
co-edited with Bruce Yerke) and activities such as his
celebrated trip to New York City in 1939 for the first
Worldcon, where he appeared in a costume out of a Frank R.
Paul painting
-- even though the Science Fiction League, for practical purposes, was
defunct by the end of the 1930s, the Los Angeles fan club continued
to be known as the LASFL until late in 1939, long after it was
obvious to most everyone else that the SFL had passed from existence
>> however, it didn't adopt the name 'Los Angeles Science Fantasy
Society' until March 27, 1940
--- the new name was actually a compromise of sorts, to avoid any
possible inferred connection to either the Science Fiction
League, which was still theoretically in existence, even then,
or Fred Pohl's rival organization, the Science Fictioneers
> (LASFS in the 1940s and 50s, in brief)
> at the start of the decade, fandom in Los Angeles centered around LASFS
-- by 1950s, things had changed, with Ackerman's influence as a mover
and shaker on the wane as he was moving on to prodom with his FAMOUS
MONSTERS OF FILMLAND and related projects
>> in his place, the motivation of the club had passed into the hands
of a newer generation of fans, including Rick Sneary, Len and Anna
Moffatt, and Ted Johnstone (the fannish pseudonym of David
McDaniel)
--- (mini bio of Johnstone goes here)
>> however, by late 1950s, it was Bjo Trimble who had inherited the
role as the lifeforce of the club
-- at start of 1960s decade, many of LASFS lived in so-called Fan Hillton
(sometimes spelled with a single 'l'), a large house on West Eighth Street
[source: BPelz 4Oct99 email]
>> according to Ted Johnstone, "It had once been a rooming house, and
sported seven bedrooms upstairs, two huge gathering rooms, a studio,
a back workroom, a large kitchen, and miscellaneous closets
downstairs. It was more or less love at first sight."
>> full-time residents included Bruce Pelz, Ted Johnstone, Bjo and
John Trimble, Jack Harness, and Ernie Wheatley
--- name of the house derived from 'Fan Hill', an area around White
Knoll and Figueroa Terrace where many of the residents lived prior
to moving into the house [source: BPelz 17Oct00 email]
>> there were many part-time and transient residents, including the
improbable Karu Beltran
--- Karu was a magician by trade, and an accomplished sleight-
of-hand artist
--- Karu was also an accomplished cook, which made him invaluable
to the residents of the Fan Hillton
>>> was once sketched by Bjo standing at the stove over a huge
pot, with a tentacle writhing over the edge
--- Karu had an old car parked behind Fan Hillton, which was said
to contain at least one of everything in the world
>>> once, Bjo needed a mortar and pestle for a spice recipe
she was working on, and Karu had one in the car's glove
compartment
>>> another time, the fans in the Hilton wanted to watch a
special TV program that had been advertised, but they
didn't have a TV set. Karu excused himself, and returned
from his car with one.
>>> "Just a minute, I think I've got one in my car" became a
catchphrase in L.A. fandom
>> was site of much fan activity, from fanzines to convention
planning to parties
--- many fanzines were produced in the former dining room, and
duplicated by mimeograph in an area of the house that used to
be a back hallway
>> LASFS met in the large downstairs living room
--- another room served as the mimeograph room, though there was
fanzine production going on in practically all areas of the
house [source: BPelz 16Oct00 email]
--- (could use a reprinted quote of some kind here, about the Fan
Hillton as a LASFS meeting site)
>> in October 1961, fans were forced to move out, as the building was
torn down for redevelopment.
--- Ted Johnstone later wrote, "The night we finished moving out,
I came back with Bruce Pelz for a last look around. The
electricity had been turned off for the last time, and we went
in the wide open front door with a flashlight. I stood in the
hall downstairs and looked around, and thought about what a
lot of fun we had had in this house, and all the wonderful
things that had gone on in there in the last year and a half.
Fandom was poorer for its loss."
> LASFS embarked on a meeting site odyssey during the 1960s
-- the Fan Hillton was just the first of several LASFS meeting sites
during the 1960s [source for below: BPelz 4Oct99 email]
>> the next stop after the Fan Hillton was 222 South Grammercy Street
--- this site lasted for less than a year, until neighbors
complained a few times too many about the noise and commotion
>> after that was the Alpine Playground, which was used only for about
three months, between February and April 1962
--- the club decided to move fairly quickly, because of the bad
neighborhood
>> then came the Silverland Playground Gymnasium, at Silverlake and
Van Pelt Streets in Los Angeles, north of the downtown area
--- this site proved more stable, and LASFS remained there until
May 1967
--- they might have remained there longer, but the Playground
started to enforce its policy for charging fees to any
organization using it that collected dues; the fees were too
high for LASFS to remain
>> so in June 1967, the meeting site moved to a place called 'The
Lab', which was located at 330 S. Berendo Street
--- the name was short for 'Labyrinth of Valeron' and it was the
residence of several fans
>> the stay there was short-lived; by the end of June there was yet
another move, to 'The Hill', another fan residence, on South St.
Andrews Place
--- but alas, the building was sold in October 1968 for demolition
and so the club temporarily moved back to The Lab, until
neighbors' complaints led to another forced departure
>> so at the end of October 1968, the LASFS meeting site shifted
again, to the Palms Playground Recreation Center in West Los
Angeles, where it remained through the end of the decade
> as a result of all these moves, the idea of a LASFS building fund arose
-- intention was to buy a clubhouse as a permanent meeting spot
-- LASFS Clubhouse Fund debuted the summer of 1964, as an amendment to
the LASFS constitution
>> first manager of the fund was Paul Turner
-- collected revenues from auctions, donations, grants from Westercons
>> initial pledges got the fund off to a good start, with over $700
>> one year later, money in the fund totaled over $2,000
>> one of the more innovative gimmicks for fund raising was the LASFS
'Fugghead of the Year' contest, instituted in 1968, where LASFS
members could vote at the rate of one vote = one cent for the
person in fandom they thought most deserving of this 'honor'
--- in 1969, the contest brought in an amazing $156 in just one
hour, with 'No Award' beating out David Gerrold by 59 cents
>> another good money-raising idea was the 'Pun Fund', where a nickel
was assessed anyone who made a pun during a club meeting
--- it quickly became more of a contest to see who could come up
the most clever lines or solicit the loudest groans
--- one of the most inveterate, compulsive punsters was Barney
Bernard, who often showed up with a handful of pocket change.
According to Bruce Pelz, "he'd make a pun, put a dollar on the
Treasurer's desk and declare he had credit. So of course he
had to try to use the credit."
-- by the end of the 1960s, there had been a succession of fund managers
>> for several years, there hadn't been significant changes in its
total
>> finally, in 1968, Bruce Pelz took over and made it a personal mission
to "ram the Building Fund down the club's throat continuously, to a
point where the Fund was actually growing visibly again". [source:
BPelz 17Oct00 email]
-- by the end of 1969, the fund totalled nearly $7,000, but it would not
be for another four years before LASFS would be able to afford
its own clubhouse
> LASFS held its meetings every Thursday night
-- in April 1965, amendment to LASFS constitution was presented that
moved meeting night to Fridays
>> was supported by many active members
--- Thursday night meetings were inconvenient
>> voting on amendment took place in November
--- 44 votes cast, 25 in favor, 19 against
--- was defeated; did not get necessary 3/4 needed to pass
--- Bruce Pelz laconically reported in RATATOSK: "And the
status... ...remains quo."
--- LASFS continued to meet on Thursday nights for decades
> LASFS had its share of unique characters, many of whom were not very
well-known outside the Los Angeles fan community
-- Owen Hannifen, for instance, came to Los Angeles from Vermont
because he found so much of interest in LASFS from reading
the minutes of its meetings that he wanted to become an active member
>> he became active in many areas, including convention-running and
the Society for Creative Anachronism [ref: Bailes email 7Jul00]
>> he became best known in the 1960s from his brief appearance on
national television in 1967, when he was the butt of a joke on
CANDID CAMERA when he visited an arcade in Times Square while
the show was running one of its stunts
--- while playing on a pinball machine, Hannifen was surprised and
pleased of his skill; he was racking up an impressive score on
a machine that had been specially rigged for high scores
--- Arnie Katz, who saw the resulting telecast, recalled that
"finally, Owen became so overcome by his 'mastery' of the
machine that he did a little victory strut while the points
total went up, up, up." [ref: email 7Jul00] --- The whole thing was shown on national TV, with Hannifen's
approval; Hannifen was a good sport about being duped, and Katz
later remembered that "Owen could see the humor in his own
humanity and had the courage to share it with the world."
> in May 1965, club voted to impeach LASFS secretary Jack Harness for
non-feasance
-- had been late for 7 of previous 8 meetings
-- at meeting where impeachment was voted on, was so late that both
the debate and final voting were over by the time he arrived
-- he was thrown out of office
>> was first successful impeachment of LASFS officer in the decade
-- following impeachment, election was held for a new secretary
>> Harness elected by a good majority
> on September 20, 1968, LASFS incorporated to become LASFS, Inc.
-- this was because they were bidding for the 1972 Worldcon, and needed
to be incorporated in order to deal with hotels, etc. [source: BPelz
16Oct00 email]
> Fanquet
-- was begun in 1949 by Walter Daugherty to honor E. Everett Evans
[source: BPelz 16Oct00 email]
-- event held yearly to honor the club members who had broken into the
pro field with sales of fiction or art
>> originally, the year's honoree was the person who had sold the most
in his or her first year
>> later on, honored anyone who had made a first sale
-- 1957: no Fanquet that year, a testamonial dinner instead for Forry
Ackerman
-- 1960: Richard Geis and Julie Jardine
-- 1961: Chuck Neutzel
-- 1962: Rick Sneary
-- none held in 1963, 1964, and 1967
-- 1965: Larry Niven (event held in July)
-- 1966: Bill Ellern and Ted Johnstone (April 29)
>> 29 in attendance
>> Guest Speaker was Larry Niven
-- in 1969, honorees were Bill Warren and Hank Stine
-- by the late 1970s, the event had become known as the LASFS Showcase
and had become one of the club's fundraiser activities [source:
BPelz 16Oct00 email]
> Anniversary Meetings
-- always featured a dinner, where the Evans-Freehafer Award (for service
to LASFS) was handed out to a club member
>> Paul Freehafer had been one of club's members in the late 1930s and
early 1940s; he was noted for his collecting activities, but was also
one of the club's best workers, and at times, peacemaker [source:
Ackerman in MIMOSA 23]
>> he had come to the club from Idaho, and when he went back there, in
1944, for a summer vacation, it was the last the club saw of him; he
suffered a heart seizure and died
>> E. Everett Evans was a later LASFS member, who also became known for
his generosity as well as service to the club
>> after Evans' death in 1958, the club decided to start an annual
service award, which would honor Freehafer as well as Evans
-- 28th Anniversary, in October 1962
>> featured Fritz Leiber, who read in his all-pervading voice,
Chesterton's romantic poem "Lepanto"
--- was such a masterful performance, nobody thought to ask what
it had to do with science fiction
>> 4th Annual Evans-Freehafer Award, for service to the club, went to
Virginia Mill, who had successfully reinvigorated the mostly
defunct LASFS Program Committee, which was responsible for putting
on some kind of sf-related programming item at each meeting
[source: BPelz 16Oct00 email]
>> in attendance was Dr. C.L. Barrett, all the way from Ohio
-- 29th Anniversary, in October 1963, held at home of Jack Harness and
Owen Hannifen on Halloween
>> 5th annual Evans-Freehafer Award presented to Leland Sapiro, with
a certificate of recognition to Redd Boggs
>> Dale Hart spoke of the late F.T. Laney, said that Laney was "a
man who embraced all that we hold dear"
--- other LASFS members present, however, later stated that Hart
spoke for no one but himself when he praised the memory of the
controversial Laney
-- 30th Anniversary, on November 5, 1964
>> Paul Turner presented with Evans-Freehafer Award for his work in
setting up and administering the LASFS clubhouse fund
--- at the time of the meeting, fund totalled almost $1,000
-- 31st Anniversary meeting, October 28, 1965 (meeting no. 1472)
>> guest speaker was Robert Bloch (topic?)
>> other notables included Forry Ackerman and Walt Daugherty
>> Evans-Freehafer Award, for Outstanding Service to LASFS over past
year, given to Fred Patten for work as Official Collator of APA-L
-- 32nd Anniversary meeting, October 1966
>> guest speaker was Ray Bradbury
--- spoke on the making of the movie FAHRENHEIT 451
>> 8th annual Evans-Freehafer Award given to Bruce Pelz, for his
proactive activities as Director of LASFS; prior to that, there
had been a run of passive ones [source: BPelz 17Oct00 email]
>> newly-created award, the Forry Award, given to Bradbury for his
long service to the SF field
-- 34th Anniversary meeting, October 1968
>> about 75 people jammed their way into Tom Digby's apartment for
it, giving support to the LASFS faction that was pushing for
higher annual dues so that LASFS could acquire a clubhouse
>> Evans-Freehafer Award went to Chuck Crayne, who had been very
active the past year as a club officer, publisher of its fanzine
SHAGGY, and as one of the organizers of that year's alternate
Westercon, F-UNCon (which will be described in Chapter 7)
--- two Certificates of Merit were also presented, to Ken Rudolph
for reviving SHAGGY, and to Tom Digby for allowing the club to
use his apartment as a meeting site
>> in amongst the crowd was the night's Guest Speaker, Poul Anderson,
who also was that year's recipient of the Forry Award
>> another attendee was a relative old-timer, Ross Rocklynne, who
hadn't attended a LASFS meeting in over a decade
-- finally, at the 35th Anniversary meeting, in October 1969
>> Bruce Pelz was awarded his second Evans-Freehafer Award, this time
for his work in reviving the moribund Building Fund, or as the
club's newsletter put it, "the club's 'Committee to Gouge Money
Out of the LASFS'"
> besides these, there was also another series of club dinners called
"Directors' Dinners" [source: BPelz email 17Oct00]
-- started in July 1969 at suggestion of Rick Sneary
-- they were mostly less formal get-togethers with a dinner speaker
> all the dinner series lasted the 1960s, but they would not last forever;
As Bruce Pelz remembered,"When dinners got more expensive, and the
LASFSians in general got no richer, all of the dinners faded away."
-- by the 1990s the only one left was the Anniversary Dinner, and then
only for special occasions
> Halloween parties
-- resembled small conventions without programming
>> always featured costume contests
-- held at member's homes
-- 1965 party (held October 30th) was interrupted by three gunshots
being fired from outside into the building where party was being held
>> earlier in the evening, two party crashers had been evicted
>> Dian Pelz slightly hurt by flying wood splinters
--- one bullet had passed between Dian and Bill Rotsler as they
sat talking
>> police took down information, but no arrests ever made
-- 1966 party had a theme of "come as some other LASFSian"
>> two people came as Jack Harness
>> prizes for Most Authentic (male) went to Len Bailes as Ted
Johnstone and Most Authentic (female) to Helen Smith as Hilda
Hoffman
--- latter, in spite of fact that Smith *hadn't* come as Hoffman;
judges decided she *looked* like Hilda and awarded the prize
anyway
>> prize for Most Humorous went to Hilda Hoffman as The LASFS
Itself--The Snake Pit of Fandom
--- costume was complete with two live snakes
>> everyone was reported to have a good time, undoubtedly due in part
because no brawls resulted because of the theme
> publications
-- SHAGGY
>> begun in 1941 as a one-sheet page of news and publicity under the
title of SHANGRI-L'AFFAIRES
>> during the 1940s, was edited by a series of very well-known fans,
including Forry Ackerman, Walter Daugherty, Francis Towner Laney,
and Charles Burbee
--- page count gradually increased, including material other than
news, becoming a general interest fanzine
--- by end of 1940s, name had been shortened to SHANGRI-LA
>> during the 1950s, most fans had come to know the fanzine by a
further shortened the name, SHAGGY
--- by mid 1950s, fanzine had started appearing sporadically,
until influence of Bjo provided a revitalization
>> another factor in its late decade resurgence was that a
group of L.A. fans pooled some money and bought a new
Gestetner mimeograph, solving a continuing problem on how
to get larger numbers of a substantially-sized fanzine
published
--- last issue of 1950s, a Christmas 1959 issue, featured a large
art supplement, and Bjo's fan fiction "The Littlest Fan"
>> by mid 1960s, SHAGGY was edited by Ted Johnstone
>> in 1965, new policies set up that restricted the fanzine's
availability
--- no longer available for trade with other fanzines
--- contribution, subscription, LoC only way for outsiders to get
an issue
--- still free to LASFS members, but only if they pick up issue
within 2 meetings of publication
>> in late 1960s, SHAGGY was edited by Ken Rudolph (a.k.a. KenRu)
--- zine enjoyed widespread popularity, due to its wide
circulation and Rudolph's ability to produce "elaborate and
impressive" issues (according to GF; elaboration needed here)
>> MERETRICIOUS Christmas 1968 supplements
--- at end of 1950s, Bjo published the first of these; the title
was a pun on "Merry Christmas", as the reader found out after
opening the fanzine and immediately coming across "...and a
Happy New Year"
--- the 32-page fourth issue, in 1968, featured a calendar with
Tim Kirk artwork from LORD OF THE RINGS
>>> overall, however, there seemed to be consensus that it
wasn't as good as the previous three issues of the
supplement; Charlie Brown reviewed it in LOCUS as "a
mixture of good and bad, with more good than bad"
-- LASFS NEWSLETTER
>> begun by Bjo Trimble in 1960
--- she and a couple of co-editors had control through issue 10
(April 1962)
>> Dian Girard soon assumed editorship, until issue 17 (June 1963)
>> Redd Boggs continued the NEWSLETTER, after a lapse, in 1963
--- published three issues, #18-20
>> Bill Blackbeard became editor in October 1963, followed by Ted
Johnstone
>> ceased publication in 1965, after issue 27
--- replaced by a new LASFS newszine, DE PROFUNDIS
-- DE PROFUNDIS
>> begun in the summer of 1965 by Bjo and John Trimble
- The Blackguards
> a LASFS self-proclaimed in-group [source: BPelz 16Oct00 email]
-- in-groups were the 'in' thing with LASFS at that time
> creation of the group had been suggested by Dian Pelz
-- other founding members were Chuck Crayne and Bruce Pelz
> formed in January 1967
> it was not an official LASFS function, though all of its members belonged
to LASFS
-- had its own treasury
> the group sponsored tournaments of various kinds, including minigolf and
bowling
-- was in the midst of a chess tournament in February 1968 when a popular
fan who was participating, Lee Jacobs, died
>> Jacobs had been a frequent participant in Blackguard activities, and
in the L.A. party circuit in general; his passing cast enough of a
pall that the group some of its enthusiasm
> other things were also going on that would cause the Blackguards to fade
away by about the end of the decade
-- LASFS was planning a large Westercon (F-UNcon) that was taking up quite
a bit of time and energy from the Pelzes and Crayne [source: BPelz
17Oct00 email]
-- there were also some pressures of another sort: Bruce and Dian's marriage
broke up near the end of 1968, ending in divorce in 1970 [source:
BPelz 17Oct00 email]
>> their split proved to be without any rancor, though. As Bruce later
remembered, "It was friendly -- traumatic on a couple occasions, but
friendly. We had a great divorce party."
- The Petards
> an invitational group that had been formed to "actually talk about science
fiction," as Bruce Pelz described it; LASFS was more interested in social
activities and conventions [source: BPelz 16Oct00 email]
-- idea for the group was originated by John and Bjo Trimble [source: Moffatt
18Oct00 email]
> was formed in January 1966 [source: BPelz 17Oct00 email]
-- Trimbles hosted the first meeting
-- members, at various times in the 1960s, included Fred Patten, Len Moffatt,
June Konigsberg (later Moffatt), Bjo and John Trimble, Rick Sneary, Dave
Hulan, Dean and Jean Grennell, Roy Lavender, Ed Cox, Don Fitch, Dave Locke,
Cy Condra, and Len Bailes [source: BPelz 17Oct00 email]
-- name of the group came about some time after the group actually formed
>> Patten had suggested "G. Peyton Wertenbacker Appreciation Society", a
reference to the author of the only original story in the very first
issue of AMAZING, which, according to Patten, would be recognized by
"only trufans who were s-f scholars" [sources: BPelz 16Oct00 email,
FPatten 17Oct00 email]
>> Rick Sneary, who had been too ill to attend the first meeting,
nevertheless sent the Trimbles a letter with the suggestion that each
meeting have a different host; however, he typoed 'host' as 'hoist'
in several places in the letter [source: Moffatt 18Oct00 email]
--- Sneary was known for such creative typos (called 'Snearyisms'),
and immediately, the idea of being 'hoisted by ones petard' came to
mind, so the group adopted the name 'Petards'
> meeting were hosted by a different member each month
-- this arrangement was similar to what a L.A. fan group of the 1950s, the
Outlanders, had done; some of the Petards, such as Len Moffatt, were, in
fact, former Outlanders [source: Moffatt 18Oct00 email]
-- hosts of the meetings could invite anybody they wanted, as long as all
members received invites as well
> new members could be suggested by two current members, but there was also a blackball provision
-- took a unanimous vote of membership before somebody could be invited in
[source: Moffatt 18Oct00 email]
> even though the group had been formed for sercon interests, the Petards soon
became mostly a social gathering group, with some legendary parties
-- one of the traditions was that of the beer Keg; it was passed from hoist
to hoist and refilled for each meeting [source: Moffatt 18Oct00 email]
-- Fred Patten, one of the founding members, soon dropped out because the
Petards had become just another social organization [source: BPelz
17Oct00 email]
> the group became widespread in the Southern California area, from Orange
County all the way to the north end of the San Fernando Valley
-- as a result, there were not very many meetings where all members attended
-- the spread-out of members may have been one factor in the group's
eventual demise, though it continued to meet regularly into the 1980s
-- June Moffatt later remember the group as "interesting people we might not
have met otherwise" even though she didn't think it provided any lasting
impact on fandom: "I think of it more as a series of tiny pebbles producing
a ripple effect." [source: Moffatt 25Oct00 email]
- Cosmic Wind Enterprises
> a fanzine publishing group made up of teenage members of LASFS
> members included Rob and Jeff Gluckson, Bob Gustaveson, and Craig Miller
-- Miller's fanzine FLIGHTS OF FANTASY featured a Tim Kirk cover, plus
articles-interviews with such prominent sf personalities as Ray
Bradbury and Forrest J Ackerman; it was offset-printed, an impressive
production
> the group lasted into the early 1970s
- other Party Groups in 1960s Los Angeles Fandom
> The Ellik-Jacobs Memorial Wine & Cheese Party; the August Virgilio Ice
Cream & Soda Party
-- annual parties hosted by Bruce and Dian Pelz in the late 1960s
-- the latter series began in 1966 as a all-August combined birthday
party, without presents, for their many friends in L.A. fandom that
had been born in that month
>> "Virgilio" a contraction of "Virgo - Leo", the two zodiac signs
that enveloped the month of August; also, Bruce was a Leo and
Dian a Virgo [source: BPelz]
-- the former series began in 1968
>> Dave Hulan had scheduled a wine and cheese party at his home in
January 1968, but just before the party day, news of the death of
Ron Ellik arrived [source: BPelz 16Oct00 email]
>> Dave cancelled the event, and rescheduled it for the next month,
but just before that weekend, Lee Jacobs died of a heart attack
>> Hulan declared he wasn't going to reschedule again, for fear that
the list of newly deceased might continue to grow, so the party
was held
>> the next year, Bruce and Dian Pelz held the first of an annual series
of wine and cheese parties named in honor of Ellik and Jacobs, held
every February, though in some years, February seemed to fall a
bit late in the year
> The Pinckard Salon
-- was a series of invitational parties put on by Tom and Terri Pinckard
in the late 1960s and early 1970s
-- parties were more like social events, as the Pinckards would invite a
celebrity in SF or a related field that could be lionized
-- the parties were more than a bit exclusionary, which tended to rankle
some of the fans in the area
>> many of the L.A. fans thought these parties were thinly-disguised
attempts at social climbing
>> but others, who were on the invite list, thought that the non-invitees'
criticism was not much more than sour grapes [source: Moffatt 18Oct00
email]
-- lasted until about (when?) when the Pinckards moved up the coast to Santa
Maria [source: BPelz 19Oct00 email]
- Valley Science Fiction Association (VALSFA)
> existed in the late 1960s
> club contact was a Fullerton, Calif. fan, Neal Clark Reynolds
> most noteworthy activity of the organization was its apa, VALAPA, which
will be described later
> (more details needed)
* San Francisco/Oakland
- Elves', Gnomes' and Little Mens' Science Fiction, Chowder and Marching
Society (usually just known as "The Little Men")
> founded in 1949, based in Berkeley; in the 1960s usually met every other
Friday night [source: MWard 8Oct00 email]
> prominent members included Al Halevy, Alva Rogers, Les Cole, Bill Donaho,
and Ben Stark
-- Rogers was the secretary-treasurer for most of the 1960s
> club had a claim to fame in 1951 for a scheme to lay claim to a small
triangular area of the moon that was located in the Sea of Tranquility
-- the claim was really an exercise in how to conduct a publicity campaign;
the fans behind it were Don Fabun and Les Cole
-- was covered by many newspapers worldwide, though in the end it came
to nothing, as the United Nations (where the claim was filed) decided
it had no jurisdiction off the earth [source: MIMOSA 18 article]
> club's fanzine was THE RHODOMAGNETIC DIGEST, a quality publication printed
by multilith press that transcended into more of a general interest fanzine > in 1960s, club usually met in members' homes, which often turned out to be
that of Ben Stark
> three of its members, Rogers, Donoho, and Stark, were the brains and central
committee behind both the 1964 and 1968 worldcons
- Golden Gate Futurian Society
> formed as far back as 1941
-- for a short time in the late 1950s, it was known as the Golden Gate
Leprechauns, derivative of the Bay Area's other sf club
>> for an even shorter time, was known as Golden Gate Trolls
-- name reverted back to it's original version at a club meeting in late
February 1960
> members included Alva Rogers, Ed & Jessie Clinton...
> in early 1960s, was still an active club
-- bid for the 1961 Westercon
> by the time of the mid 1960s, was meeting only sporadically
> an effort to revive the group was made in March 1969
-- at the first meeting, in March, attended by about ten people,
featured a sercon discussion of sf, but then degenerated into games
of Risk and Diplomacy
- PenSFA
> name of club an abbreviation for "Peninsula SF Association"
-- was in theory an sf organization of fans in the peninsula part of
northern California between San Jose and San Francisco
-- in actuality, an alternate to the Little Mens club, so that fans
would have a place to meet on weekends that the Little Mens club
didn't [source: MWard email 8Oct00]
> formed in 1968
-- recruiting tools included membership cards and a recruiting poster
designed by George Barr [source: MWard 8Oct00 email]
> members included Mike Ward, Jerry Jacks, Felice Rolfe (now Felice Maxam),
and Johnny Chambers
-- Ward had moved from Boston area to Palo Alto, California in December
1967 [source: MWard 8Oct00 email]
> one of its first major events (a joint meeting with the Little Mens club)
was a debate on the newly-published anthology DANGEROUS VISIONS, which
was moderated by the book's editor, Harlan Ellison; other panelists
included Norman Spinrad and the Chicago fan Ed Wood, who was living in
California at the time [source: MWard 8Oct00 email]
-- this gained the club immediate visibility, as fans came up from Los
Angeles to attend that event [source: Bratman 8Aug96 email]
> clubzine was titled WINNIE THE P.O.O., the 'P.O.O.' standing for 'PenSFA
Official Organ'
-- initially edited by T. Adamski
>> was usually very small, about 3 or 4 pages, and ran club news and
some reviews plus some short pieces of experimental fiction
-- soon afterward, it grew into a newszine that covered happenings of fans
in other parts of the west coast as well [source: MWard 10Oct00 email]
>> was typeset and reproduced by photo-offset for a polished appearance
-- later on, Jim Thomas (now Jim Bearcloud) assumed editorship
>> published a few issues in microfilm as well as printed format [source:
MWard 8Oct00 email]
> club almost didn't survive the 1960s
-- after a promising start, club died in 1969
>> some of the original members moved away or had time conflicts, while
others just lost interest [source: MWard 10Oct00 email]
>> publication of WINNIE was suspended
-- Mike Ward was responsible for getting it revived the next year
>> dumped the book discussions, and converted PenSFA into a social
club that held parties every second Saturday night [source: MWard
10Oct00 email]
>> the club has remained reasonably healthy ever since
- The Fanatics
> a sercon club based in Oakland, which also formed in 1968
-- they became visible to fandom-at-large at the 1968 Worldcon, when
some of the group drove shuttle buses that ran between hotels
> meetings were centered around discussions of science fiction books
> club became less sercon as time went on, and lasted until about 1980
[source: Bratman 8Aug96 email]
> most prominent member was Quinn Yarbro, who went on to a successful
writing career in science fiction and fantasy
* other California fan groups
- in San Diego, the San Diego SF & Fantasy Society formed in mid 1969
> meeting site was a bookstore in nearby Ocean Beach
> (any other details?)
* New York City area
- unlike Los Angeles and other cities that featured a single dominant fan
organization, the New York fan scene included numerous fan groups
> New York fan history is unique in its richness, variety, and complexity
throughout the decades that fandom has existed
-- New York may have been the site of the very first fan club
>> in a letter to the April 1932 issue of WONDER STORIES, an
otherwise obscure fan, Walter L. Dennis [check: another source has
it as Dennis McDermott], claimed he had founded the 'Science
Corresponding Club' in March of 1927, which was active only through
the mail
>> the first fan club that held actual meetings, however, was
probably The Scienceers, which formed in December 1929, and had
as its members such luminaries as Allen Glasser, Julius Schwartz,
Julius Unger, and Mort Weisinger
> as far back as New York fan groups existed, there was feuding, which
sometimes became vicious; this evolved into a historical tendency for
New York fans to form into a myriad of fan organizations, rather than
a single monolithic one
> at any rate, it was not unusual for New York fans to belong to several
fan organizations, which made for busy months of fan activity
-- (need quote to that effect from some 1960s fanzine)
> at the beginning of the 1960s, there were four major fan organizations
in the New York City area, all dating back to the early 1950s or even
earlier: the Lunarians, The Hydra Club, the Eastern Science Fiction
Association, and The Futurians
- Lunarians
> organized back in 1956, with the intent providing "a social organization
for mature fans who are sincerely interested in science fiction as well
as fandom"
-- (very brief description of 1950s club activities)
> during the early 1960s, was based in the Bronx, at the home of Frank and
Belle Dietz
-- at that time, it was mostly a social club
>> Belle Dietz would usually make cookies or muffins for the meeting,
and the main order of business was mostly just a gabfest
-- meeting attendance typically about 20 people
-- members included fanzine fans and collectors
>> other prominent members included John Boardman, Charlie Brown, Ed
Meskys, and Julius Postal
>> three prominent out-of-town members were Jack Chalker, Ted Pauls,
and Mark Owings from Baltimore, who for years would drive to New
York once a month to take in a meeting/party
--- (any influences on Baltimore fandom from this?)
-- highlight of each meeting was a Hearts game
-- this era of the club ended when the neighborhood the Deitzes lived in
began to deteriorate, and they moved to New Jersey
>> at that point, many of the older members of the club dropped out,
and new members joined as the meetings moved to other places
> later in the 1960s, the club seemed to have become much more structured
-- meetings started being run in accordance with ROBERTS' RULES OF
ORDER
>> much time spent debating the Lunarians constitution and bylaws,
though this was done mostly for entertainment value
-- by then, the meetings had moved to the home of John & Perdita
Boardman
-- (other details of later meetings?)
- The Hydra Club
> has been characterized as an organization of science fiction
professionals
> came into existence in October 1947, not long after the Philadelphia worldcon of 1947, which many of the founding members attended
> was formed by nine New York area professional writers; they were in a
quandary to come up with a name for the organization, but free
association from the nine 'heads' present led to a nine-headed fantasy
creature, the Hydra [ref: Kyle in MIMOSA 25]
> purpose of the club was mostly social; it was a good place to do some
networking between writers and editors
> members included some famous writers: Fred Pohl, Cyril Kornbluth, Alfred
Bester, Judith Merril, Isaac Asimov, Fletcher Pratt, and Lester del Rey,
to name a few
> did not come to an end abruptly; instead, it faded from existence perhaps
about the beginning of the 1960s
> if there was a legacy of the club, it was their proposed Fantasy Writers
Guild
-- was intended to be a cooperative organization among science fiction and
fantasy writers, not so much as a writers union, but more of an
educational and instructional group
-- the FWG never came into existence, but it's not unreasonable to say it
may have planted the idea for a future writers organization, the Science
Fiction Writers of America
- Eastern Science Fiction Association (ESFA)
> a science fiction club that was more akin to professional society in
some ways
-- very sercon in nature, much more so than almost any other sf club
> was founded back 1946 as the Null-A Men', making it also one of oldest
sf organizations in the 1960s
> club was actually dominated by Sam Moskowitz
-- Mike McInerney, a frequent ESFA attendee, remembered: "Sam was the
main force and authority in the club. His large stature and booming
voice commanded attention."
-- (bio of Moskowitz goes here)
> club met first Sunday of each month, in New Jersey
-- often had New York area authors, editors, and artists as speakers and
guests
>> March 1964 Annual Open Meeting, for example, had Virgil Finlay as
a guest
--- at that meeting, Sam Moskowitz presented a slide show
detailing the careers of Finlay and Frank R. Paul, and a
testamonial plaque to the Paul (who had died not quite a year
earlier) was presented to his daughter
-- after the meeting, there was almost always a meeting-after-the-
meeting at a local cafeteria
> Annual Open Meetings were in March, and usually were at the Newark, NJ
YMCA
-- March 1961 Open Meeting featured an impressive list of fan and pro
attendees: Hugo Gernsback, Frank R. Paul, Forry Ackerman, Otto
Binder, Hans Santessen, Ted White, Dick Lupoff, and Lester del Rey
>> about 100 people were in attendance, in all
>> meeting featured a slide show by Sam Moskowitz of AMAZING cover
artwork, from it's beginnings
>> meeting celebrated the 35th anniversary of AMAZING STORIES
-- March 1963 Open Meeting had John Campbell as Guest of Honor
>> celebrated Campbell's 25th year as editor of ASTOUNDING/ANALOG
>> other speakers included Willy Ley, Isaac Asimov and Lester del Rey
--- Asimov credited Campbell for formulating the Three Laws of
Robotics, and for suggesting "Nightfall" and the Foundation
Series
>>> Campbell, in response, said he got the idea for
"Nightfall" from Ralph Waldo Emerson
-- March 1965 Open Meeting featured a "Salute to GALAXY", with Fred
Pohl, Willy Ley, H.L. Gold, Groff Conklin, Alfred Bester, and Harry
Harrison taking part in the proceedings
-- March 1966 Open Meeting featured Willy Ley
>> 150 in attendance
-- March 1967 meeting featured Robert Lowndes
>> also featured a panel discussion on cryonics with Fred Pohl,
Lester del Rey and members of the Cryonics Society of New York,
and a slide show by Jay Kay Klein
--- the Cryonics panel, which debated the issue of cryogenically
freezing people at the time of their deaths on the chance they
will be revived at some future date when science has
sufficiently advanced, produced the most audience interest,
especially from Lester del Rey who quipped that that Cryonics
might spawn a whole new government program: 'Deadicare'
>> special award was presented by Isaac Asimov (called, what else,
the 'Isaac') to Asimov himself for excellence in non-sf writing
-- March 1968 meeting featured Lin Carter, whose talk centered on the
career of Robert E. Howard
>> Sam Moskowitz also gave a talk on the career of Merray Leinster
--- Leinster (pseudonym of Will Jenkins) was present to accept a
plaque from ESFA in his honor, then gave a autobiographical
speech, mentioning that he had adopted his pen name in 1915,
when he was 17 years old; the editor of a pulp magazine he was
selling stories to recognized his talent, and had advised him
not to use his real name on stories he sold to pulps, to avoid
cheapening it; eventually 'Murray Leinster' became so well-
known that it was more valuable than his real name
>> atendance was about 100
-- March 1969 meeting had L. Sprague de Camp as Guest of Honor
>> de Camp was introduced by Moskowitz by comparing him to Mark Twain
as a humorist
--- de Camp, whose stock in trade was sword and sorcery, spoke on
the history and use of... swords
>> 127 people attended, not unusual for such an event, but everyone
was crowded nto a small room because a fraternity party the night
before had devastated the room normally used
>> other speakers included James Randi, who spoke on psychic frauds
and Hal Clement, who engaged the audience in a discussion of other
possible galactic civilizations
> other club activities
-- although sercon interests predominated, there was still some room
for some lighter moments, such as ESFA's anti-Hugos, the annual 'Ten
Foot Poll' for *worst* science fiction
>> winners of that uncoveted honor included AMAZING magazine, and the
television series LOST IN SPACE
- Futurians
> original Futurians club was formed in the 1930s by (who?)
-- members in the 1930s included Fred Pohl, Don Wollheim, Kornbluth,
John Michel, Dave Kyle, Damon Knight, and even Isaac Asimov
-- club had strong rivalry with and strong dislike by Sam Moskowitz,
which resulted in the exclusion of six of their members from the
first Worldcon, in 1939, when Moskowitz feared they would cause trouble if they were admitted
> in 1940s and 1950s, many of the original members had achieved success
as writers and editors
-- (other details)
> by early 1960s, much had changed since its beginnings
-- gone were many of the original members, to relocation or diminished
interest in the club
-- in their place were a newer generation of fans, including Dick
Lupoff, Larry & Noreen Shaw, Lin Carter, Ted & Sylvia White, ...
-- there was also a so-called 'B' membership in the organization, the
'B' standing for, according to Dick Lupoff, "Bohemians, beatniks, or
just plain bums. They weren't fans. For the most part they weren't
even sf readers. They knew little and cared less about science
fiction, fandom, fanzines, conventions, or anything else which makes
the foundation of fannish comradeship."
>> the 'B' membership burgeoned in the club, which resulted in
Futurians club becoming, in effect, two different organizations:
those interested in science fiction and fandom, and those
interested in a free party twice a month
>> the breaking point came at a late October Sunday afternoon
meeting in 1960 at the Lupoff's apartment in Manhattan. The dozen
science fiction fans present retreated into a bedroom, while, as
Lupoff remembered, "the B' membership had the living room to
themselves, filthying the rug, doing their best to ruin the
furniture, and mistreating our collection of books, magazines, and
rare and valuable comic books"
>> it was the last straw; the Lupoffs, the Whites, and the Shaws
decided to break away into a new, more exclusive organization that
Ted White had conceived
> remnants of Futurians did not survive much longer
-- the last documented meeting, later that year, had only one science
fiction fan present, Sylvia White
-- if there were any further meetings, they did not involve any fans
- Fanoclasts
> founded in 1960, in the aftermath of the N.Y. Futurians
-- the way Dick Lupoff explained it, "The Fanoclasts came into existence
in late 1960, in a manner well supported by New York fan traditions:
we schismed from another club."
>> name was actually a contraction of 'Fannish Iconoclasts'
-- name was proposed by Bill Myers, to which Algis Budrys commented,
"Fan smashers? Okay, I guess, if that's what everybody wants."
> It was. The Fanoclasts were not exactly fan smashers, but they were a
closed group; you had to be invited to become a member
-- you had to be proposed for membership by another member, after which
any other member could cast a veto
-- however, the original concept of a small intimate group didn't last
too long, and within a year the meetings were averaging upwards of 20
people
-- besides the six charter members, Myers and Budrys, other members
within the club's first year of existence included Steve Stiles, Jim
Warren, Peter Graham, Terry Carr, Bhob Stewart, Larry Ivie, Walter
Breen, plus the Philadelphia fans Hal Lynch and Will Jenkins
> met every other Friday night, in Brooklyn
-- meetings sometimes held at Ted White's residence
-- (other places?)
> meetings were informal, usually featuring fanzine production in some
form or another, especially for the Fanoclasts' apa, APA-F
> perhaps the club's most renown activities in the 1960s were its Great
Fanoclast Treks, driving excursions by club members out to the
Midwestcon and then to the west coast for Westercon to promote the New
York 1967 Worldcon bid
-- the first one of these, in 1965, was perhaps the more epic of the
two, because of the adventures of Arnie Katz and Mike McInerney
>> Katz, whose eyesight was so poor that he was considered legally
blind, astonished everyone at the Midwestcon when he and Rich
Brown won a spur-of-the-moment miniature golf tournament, dubbed
the 'Midwestcon Open', against two other Fanoclasts, Ted White and
Andy Porter
--- even more surprising, Katz had by far the best round of the
four, which caused Brown to later comment, "One wonders what
scores he might achieve at pinball."
>> when the Fanoclasts reached Las Vegas, McInerney had an amazing
run of luck, which transformed a twenty-dollar stake into hundreds
of dollars, first by hitting a jackpot at the slot machines, then
cleaning up at the blackjack tables
--- the others were only successful in wrenching him away when it
was time for them to move on down the road
> the club lasted for decades as one of the stronger New York fan
organizations
- Faanish Insurgent Scientifictional Association (FISTFA or later, FIStFA)
> founded by Mike McInerney (when?)
-- 20-year-old McInerney had recently moved from Connecticut to New York
City, and had joined ESFA, the Lunarians, and the Fanoclasts.
However, he felt his fanac was still unsated: "There were many weeks
when there were no meetings, and I wanted to fan full time, all the
time. I decided to fill in the gap by having a party every other
Friday night, alternating with the Fanoclasts."
> McInerney chose the name of the organization, but did not intend it to
be an exclusive or invitational organization like the Fanoclasts were:
"The name FISTFA was meant both as a joke and a hint that all fans were
welcome. I still don't know what we were insurging against, but I did
like the action feeling of that word."
> there were very few rules
-- there were no minutes of meetings, no membership requirements at all,
and no blackballs
-- about the only firm rule was that someone could be banned for
physical violence against other fans (did this ever happen?)
> meetings were held at the apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan,
that McInerney shared with another fan, Earl Evers
-- after Evers was drafted into the Army, Rich Brown moved in and became
co-host of FISTFA meetings
-- McInerney started each meeting by playing the FISTFA anthem, "Mr.
Spaceman" by the Holy Modal Rounders
> happenings
-- in 1966, group of 25 FISTFAns trooped off to see the off-Broadway
premiere of three short plays based on Ray Bradbury stories,
including "The Veldt"
>> Bradbury had been expected to attend, taking the train to New York
from Los Angeles, and the fans were disappointed when he didn't
show up
-- earlier in 1966, the club brought in the new year with a memorable new year's eve party in a storefront on Times Square where McInerney
worked as night manager
>> there was wine, beer, and filksinging inches from a frenzied horde
of people on the other side of a large glass window
> McInerney moved from New York to the San Francisco area in 1969, and the
club started a gradual decline
-- other contributing factors were the aftereffects and burnout from the
1967 Worldcon (which McInerney and other FISTFA members were involved
with), and other fan departures from the New York area in the early
1970s
>> Ted White moved back to the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.
>> Rich Brown and Steve Stiles moved to Maryland >> Len Bailes, Ken Beale, Earl Evers, and Dan Goodman moved to San
Francisco
>> Lee Hoffman moved to Florida
-- by April 1969, the club was holding poorly-attended meetings at the
home of John Boardman, but by then the fannish spark was pretty well
gone
-- the club managed to survive the end of the decade, but expired soon
after; there was a revival in the 1970s by Ross Chamberlain, but it did
not last long, and the club was finally consigned to history
- Brooklyn Insurgents
> formed in 1969, as result of an internal split among the Fanoclasts
-- founders were Rich & Colleen Brown, and Arnie Katz
> was largely indistinguishable from Fanoclasts in form and purpose
-- exception was that meetings were open rather than invitation-only
-- the open meetings also led to a wider variety of fan interests being
represented, as opposed to the Fanoclasts whose central interest was
fanzines
> met on alternate Fridays of the month than the Fanoclasts (need
confirmation on this; have conflicting information here)
> peak years of the club were early 1970s
-- meetings in 1970s would attract as many as 20 people
> lasted until the 1980s, when the club underwent a schism and neither
fragment had sufficient staying power to survive
- Columbia University Science Fantasy Society (CUSFS)
> officially chartered on April 15, 1966
> Fred Lerner (the founder) was Grand Marshall
> other officers were Petit Marshall and Seneschal (which combined the
duties of Secretary and Treasurer)
> two past graduates of Columbia, Asimov and Silverberg, given title of
Honorary Director
> was one of few examples in history of fandom where SF club was parent
organization of a mundane organization
-- Outing Club Committee of CUSFS established to use CUSFS's official
status with Columbia Univ. to allow an independent outdoors-oriented
Outing Club to form
>> this approach taken to circumvent complex university recognition
procedures for new organizations
--- CUSFS status used to obtain meeting space for Outing Club to
adopt a constitution and elect officers
>> once Outing Club gained university recognition as an independent
organization, the CUSFS Outing Club Committee disbanded
> club did not last very long
-- Lerner graduated in June 1966, and was inducted into the U.S. Army
> it was later revived in the 1980s
- Fantasy and Science Fiction Society of Columbia University (FSFSCU)
> pronounced as fiss-fiss-cue', it was the successor to CUSFS
> founded in the summer of 1968 by Fred Lerner (who had returned to
Columbia for post graduate studies after getting out of the Army), Eli
Cohen, and Janet Kagan
> published three issues of a fanzine, AKOS, with Kagen as editor
> club survived into the early 1970s
- City College of New York had two sf clubs in 1964
> SFSESCCNY, the Evening Session Science Fiction Society of the City
College of New York, was holding Friday night meetings on-campus in
Findlay Hall, which used to be a convent
-- president of the night school club was Jake Waldman
> not to be outdone, the day school students formed their own stf society,
which met Thursday afternoons
-- founders of the day school club were Joan Neufeld and Vivian Cohen
> not known if the two clubs overlapped in any way, or if they eventually
merged
- Greater New York Clearing House (GNYCH)
> existed very briefly, in 1965
> founded by John Boardman, to serve as a central unifying agent for all
of the various New York area fan clubs
> planned a monthly newsletter, GNYCH GNOTES, that would have kept the
clubs aware of what each other was doing
> idea was met with strong opposition from Lunarians on the grounds that it threatened the privacy of New York fans and the autonomy of their
fan clubs
> so, almost as quickly as it began, the organization passed from
existence
-- Boardman assured New York fans that he had no intent of "starting
or intensifying any fan feud, or taking over' New York fandom."
* New York State
- Science Fiction Forum (Stony Brook, NY)
> founded in 1968
> later in its history hosted ICON convention
> notables who emerged from this fan club included Jim Frenkel (who became
a sf book publisher), Norman Hochberg (who, as Norman Hollyn, became a
Hollywood film editor), and Lou Stathis (who went on to become an editor
at HEAVY METAL magazine, and then a comics editor at DC Comics)
- Long Island University SF Club
> existed for a time in the late 1960s
> most notable activity seems to have been its fanzine, PERIHELION, which
was extravagantly reproduced by photo offset
-- its contents were a bit more plain, however, consisting of fan
fiction, reviews, and the inevitable article about STAR TREK
* Boston and other Massachusetts fandom
- Boston fandom re-emerged in the 1960s from nearly a two-decade dark ages
> in 1940s, Boston fandom was centered around The Stranger Club, which
included such notable fans as Art Widner, Harry Stubbs, R.D. Swisher,
Chan Davis, and Louis Russell Chauvenet
> The Stranger Club formed in 1940, originally under the name of Eastern
Massachusetts Fantasy Society, lasted through the war years and into the
late 1940s
> the group sponsored several science fiction conventions in the early
1940s, the first Boskones, named after the evil empire that threatened
civilization in E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series of adventure novels
> after the demise of The Stranger Club, there was almost no organized
fandom in Boston until the Boston Science Fiction Society came into
being in the mid 1960s
- New England chapter of the I.E.S.
> I.E.S. not really much of a fan club, but it was mostly scientifictional
-- formed by John W. Campbell, Jr. in late 1950s
-- mainly a New York organization, and had died out mostly by 1960 as
Campbell moved on to other interests
> before it died away altogether, only significant activity in 1960s for
this organization was putting on a party for the occasion of Isaac
Asimov's 40th birthday, on January 2, 1960
-- took place at the Hotel Touraine in Boston
-- was attended mainly by fans, including Bill Sarill, Andy Young, and
Harry Stubbs
- MITSFS
> formed in 1949
-- organization of Massachusetts Institute of Technology sf readers
>> (founders?)
-- originally, organization was sercon to the point of being insular
>> was not aware of the exploits of The Stranger Club, or else had
no provisions for passing on knowledge of Boston fandom to any
newcomers
> was not until the 1960s that the club finally started becoming active in
science fiction fandom
-- their motto was "We're not fans, we just read the stuff."
> maybe because of the sercon and literary nature of the club, one of the
things MITSFS was notable for was its large science fiction library
-- by the mid 1960s, it numbered over 10,000 volumes
>> the person mainly responsible for the enormous growth of the
club's library during the early 1960s was its librarian, Anthony
Lewis
--- (how was he able to accomplish this?)
-- a separate index to the collection, dubbed the 'Pinkdex', was
maintained by Marilyn Wisotawy, who had gained the nickname "Fuzzy
Pink" from her roommate at MIT
> in spite of their sercon reputation, however, the club could be quite
fannish; one example of this was the way they conducted their annual
elections
-- the rules allowed club members to split their vote among the
candidates in any way they wanted, as long as "the sum of the
absolute values is less than or equal to one"
-- this resulted in an election in 1968, where the winning candidate for
Vice President, James Russell McGregor Seitz, got 8.999 + sine-
squared-theta votes, winning out over a black frisbee, Nelson
Rockefeller, and a large plant which occupied part of their meeting
area
> MITSFS activities
-- in May 1968, the MITSFS picnic featured appearances by Isaac Asimov,
Hal Clement, and Ben Bova
> THE TWILIGHT ZINE publication (initially funded by Gernsback)
-- first issue Jan. 1960, edited by Jon Ravin
>> Ravin also edited 2nd issue
-- Bernie Morris editor for issues 3 through 11 (1961-1963)
-- after a series of one-issue editors, Leslie Turek and Cory Seidman
became editors for issues 17-22 (April 1966-August 1967)
>> after that they went off to help found NESFA
--- most of their contributors went with them
>> founding of NESFA removed editorial pool for TWILIGHT ZINE
--- there were only 2 more issues in the next four years
--- publication continued on and off for through the next several
decades
> MITSFS INDEX published by Erwin Strauss in early 1967
-- it was a mimeographed index to the science fiction magazines, a
supplement to a similar index published by Don Day of Portland,
Oregon, about a decade earlier
-- publication of the index was not without difficulties, however, as
Strauss found that he could not afford to pay for its publication
>> he was rescued by by the newly-formed NESFA, which raised the
money by selling bonds, which were redeemed over the next several
years as more and more copies of the book were sold
>> even after publication there were difficulties; 2000 copies were
printed and delivered to the small apartment that Strauss and his
rooomie Mike Ward were living in. For the lack of something else
to do with them, boxes containing the copies became part of the
apartment's furniture [source: MWard 8Oct00 email]
>> by the end of 1967, the newly-formed New England Science Fiction
Association had assumed ownership of the publication
--- Strauss had been drafted into the U.S. Army
--- Ward had moved to California
- Boston Science Fiction Society (BoSFS)
> brought into existence in 1965, largely by efforts of Dave Vanderwerf
-- others in the organization included Leslie Turek, Andrew Whyte, Harry
Stubbs, and then-neofan Ben Bova
> brought into existence to be the sponsoring body for a new series of
Boskone conventions
-- did run Boskones #1, 2, & 4
> BoSFS proved to be successful as a convention-running organization, but
there really wasn't any permanent structure to do anything more than
organize Boskones; the way BoSFS was structured, it could never become
what many Boston area fans wanted: a permanent science fiction fan club
that had interest in and capability to do more than put on a weekend
event once a year
-- it was a different problem that led the demise for the BoSFS, though:
after the second Boskone, there started to be growing personality
conflicts within the organization
>> in the end, the organization was allowed to die of neglect; the
4th Boskone, in 1967, was its last activity
> BoSFS was dissolved in the middle of 1967, and turned over all its
assets (and liabilities) to the new organization, NESFA
-- these amounted to a coffee pot, about $70, and the right to use the
name 'Boskone' for its annual convention (latter was also approved by
Doc Smith's daughter)
-- good news was that there were no liabilities
- New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA)
> came into existence on September 23, 1967, at an organizational meeting
held at the home of Bill Desmond and after earlier discussions at that
year's worldcon, Nycon 3 [source: MWard 8Oct00 email]
-- Tony Lewis assumed the position of Acting Chairman at that meeting
-- the first order of business was to start incorporation procedures
-- choosing the club's official name came next
>> continuation of the name 'Boston Science Fiction Society' was
repudiated, as Susan Hereford had earlier reported in INSTANT
MESSAGE, because it had "outlived its value, and has a number of
bad connotations outside the area"
--- this seemed to be a reference to "fan politics of the silliest
kind," as Mike Ward put it [source: MWard 8Oct00 email]
>> names eventually rejected included Massachusetts Science Fiction
Association', 'Bay State Science Fiction Association',
'Massachusetts Bay Science Fiction Association' and 'The
Boskonians'
>> an alternate informal name, 'The Eddoreans' (after the characters
in Doc Smith's 'Lensman' novels that founded Boskone) was also
adopted, but it never caught on and was soon abandoned
-- it wasn't until the third order of business that the purpose of the
club was discussed
>> the club was able to agree that its activities should include
publishing a fanzine and holding an annual convention (the
Boskone, which it had inherited from the defunct Boston Science
Fiction Society)
> by early October, all the details had been worked out, and the club held
its first official elections: Tony Lewis became the first President of
NESFA, Dave Vanderwerf the first Vice President, Linda Rosenstein the
Treasurer, Susan Hereford as Clerk, Paul Galvin chair of the convention
committee, and Cory Seidman the editor of the club's fanzine, which
became called THE PROPER BOSKONIAN
-- meanwhile, INSTANT MESSAGE was kept going as a biweekly newsletter
-- also, Susan Hereford became Susan Hereford Lewis in April 1968 when
she married the club's President
>> the March 12, 1968 INSTANT MESSAGE announced their upcoming
marriage: "ARL announced that to consolidate power he will annex
the Clerk on April 7th"
>> by beginning of 1969, Susan became known in fandom as Suford Lewis
-- meanwhile, Tony Lewis was so popular and competent as President, he
was re-elected by acclamation in 1968 and 1969
> club quickly gained popularity with area fans
-- within six months, NESFA consisted of 30 regular and associate
members, plus another ten subscribing members
-- after another year had passed, there were 65 members total, including
27 corresponding members
> some other members during the 1960s included Andrew Whyte, Ed Meskys,
Marilyn [Fuzzy Pink] Wisowaty, Harry [Hal Clement] Stubbs, Ed Meyer,
Mark Walsted, and Mike Ward
-- Ward moved to California soon after NESFA was formed, and became
involved with the PenSFA club there
-- in the middle of 1969, Alexei Panshin moved from New York City to the
Boston area, and soon afterwards, Cory Seidman became Cory Panshin
-- Isaac Asimov appeared at the September 15th, 1968 meeting, where he
talked about writing an preview for TV GUIDE about what turned out to
be an abysmal science fiction series, LAND OF THE GIANTS; he said he
was warned not to eat beforehand.
>> apparently he enjoyed himself; he became an frequent visitor to
other NESFA meetings after that, including a memorable meeting in
early 1969 where he had to make contributions to the NESFA pun
fund three different times
> like LASFS, NESFA also held annual Halloween parties
-- one of the most memorable was 1968's, which was attended by about 40
people, including Charlie Brown who drove up from New York
>> prizes for best costumes were won by Bill Desmond, Drew Whyte, and
Cory Seidman, with Seidman, in a breastplate and loincloth,
attracting much attention from men who were present
>> Brown painted designs on anyone who didn't come in costume
--- Isaac Asimov got a PLAYBOY bunny on his cheek, and lived up to
it by chasing every girl in sight
> NESFA Press formed; first book (Aug. 1968) was update to Strauss index
> hosted Boskones
> other publications
-- a weekly newsletter: INSTANT MESSAGE
>> first issue appeared on September 11, 1967, before NESFA
officially even existed
--- it was mostly a report on an informational meeting for a
successor organization to the Boston Science Fiction
Association, and speculation on whether a Boston bid could
win as site for the 1971 Worldcon
>> edited in the 1960s (except for one issue) by Sue Hereford Lewis,
who as NESFA Clerk, had that as part of her club duties
>> contents of the newszine mostly emphasized NESFA activities,
rather than reported on general fan news; there was always a recap
of the previous NESFA meeting and sometimes even an agenda for the
next
>> first 27 issues done via ditto, before switching to mimeo
-- a general-interest fanzine: PROPER BOSKONIAN
>> had the unusual feature of starting with issue no. 0 --- the explanation for this was in a postscript directed toward
fanzine collectors: "If you don't like our numbering system,
come up to Boston and look at some street addresses some time.
Around here, that sort of thing is *very* proper."
>> that zeroth issue, plus the next four were edited by Cory Seidman
--- she and Leslie Turek has previously been co-editors of the
MITSFS publication, THE TWILIGHT ZINE, even though they had
been students at Radcliffe and not MIT
--- the zeroth issue was dated October 31, 1967; it was only 10
pages long, but featured an informative history, written by
Anthony Lewis, of Boston-area fandom of the 1960s to that
point
>> in her relatively short tenure as PB editor, Seidman managed to
corral some interesting contributions, mainly from local fans
--- there were many entertaining convention reports, translations
(by local fan Dainis Bisenieks, from the Latvian language) of
articles on SF from the Soviet Union, book and movie reviews,
games and assorted fannishness, and even some detailed fanzine
reviews
>>> in the third issue the fanzine reviews were divided into
three categories: crudzines, STAR TREK zines, and
newszines; Mike Symes, who had been roped into reviewing
the first category, introduced himself by saying "I feel I
should reveal my credentials' for reviewing crudzines. I
publish one." His reviews were insightful, however,
giving reasons for a fanzine being a crudzine, and some
ideas for escaping that classification
--- additionally, PB featured covers by well known artists:
Stephen Fabian, Jack Gaughan, and 1950s artist Margaret
Dominick (who went under the signature of DEA)
>> Seidman resigned the editorship after marrying Alexei Panshin and
moving to Pennsylvania, in 1969
--- editorship taken over in issue 5, in late 1969, by Richard
Harter
--- in later decades, the fanzine would see a succession of
editors
> perhaps because of NESFA's predilection for structured business
meetings and the appearance that the club was a bit overly-regimented,
it got the reputation over the years for being sercon; however, NESFAns
were not without their moments of fannishness
-- in the May 19, 1968 meeting, the club voted to give member Andrew
Whyte a nickname
>> he had mention at that meeting that he hated the nickname 'Andy';
since 'Andrew' seemed too formal, the club decided to help him out
by finding a more suitable nickname
>> when the objection was brought up that perhaps Mr. Whyte should
have a say in what he'd be called, it was pointed out that Whyte
had a vote just like everyone else
>> in a close finish, 'Drew' won out over 'Andre', 'Handy Andy', and
'Hey You!', and he became 'Drew Whyte' after that
- University of Massachusetts SF Club (Amherst, Mass.)
> formed in 1965 by Joe Ross, who was a student there
-- after he graduated, the club faded from view, but it didn't disappear
altogether
> in the 1980s, the club returned to prominence by sponsoring an annual
convention
- Western Massachusetts SF Society (Springfield, Mass.)
> came into existence in early 1968
> started by Robert Toomey, Jr.
> lasted until (when?)
- Brookline High School SF Club (Brookline, Mass.)
> worth brief mention as one of the few prominent high school fan
organizations of the 1960s
> the club was founded by Jean Berman, who was later often confused with a
Minneapolis fan of the same name
> perhaps their highlight of the decade was when they succeeded in
'buying' Isaac Asimov for $23 at the 1969 Boskone
-- this was an example of the 'Auction Bloch', which was popularized in
the 1950s when Robert Bloch often auctioned off an hour of some well-
known writer's time to raise money for a worthy cause
-- this 'purchase' of Asimov turned out to be a misunderstanding, as
their one hour with him was supposed to be used at the convention,
while Berman and other club members assumed that Asimov would come
and speak at their school club meeting
>> luckily, Asimov lived in Newton, which was the next town over from
Brookline; he showed what a kind-hearted person he was by
graciously made a speaking appearance at the school after the
convention
- another Boston-area high school sf club, the Newton South High School SF
Club, came into existence at the end of the 1960s
> was started by Gayle Kaplan in 1969, after a previous attempt by a
different fan the year before hadn't worked
-- Kaplan had attended the 1969 Boskone, where her heretofore moderate
interest in science fiction was stimulated when she discovered there
were female science fiction writers
-- while she was there, she also learned more about fandom and fan
organizations like the one at Brookline High School, and decided to
try to start one at her high school
> other members included Morris Keesan, Jacob Bloom, Jill Trugman,
Georgine Chacran, and Donna Christine Benders, all of whom became better
known in fandom in subsequent decades
-- Keesan was actually officially the co-founder of the club, since
school rules mandated two students (plus a teacher advisor) as
sponsors before any new organization could come into existence there
-- Benders, who became better known by her nickname "Krissy", was one of
the first black women in fandom
-- in the 1970s, Georgine Chacran later married SF artist Mike Symes,
while Jill Trugman married NESFA fan Donald Eastlake
> club only lasted a few years, and passed from existence in the early
1970s after Kaplan and the others had graduated
-- it was another example of a fan club that owed its entire existence
to the coming together of a small group of actifans
* other New England fan groups
- the presence of a very strong fan group in NESFA meant that there were few
other notable fan groups in New England during the 1960s
- one that did exist, at least in name, was the Connecticut Valley SF
Society, which was begun by JoAnn Wood, in 1969, in Hartford, Connecticut
* Philadelphia
- while many regional fandoms could date their history back to the 1950s or
even the 1940s, Philadelphia fandom could claim with pride that fandom
originated in that city within a few months of the appearance of that 1934
issue of WONDER STORIES. However, what was remarkable was that the
beginnings of organized fandom in Philadelphia can be traced to more than
one fan club
> in December 1934, a small club organized by Milton Rothman with four
other fans became the 11th chapter of the Science Fiction League
> at the same time, another fan club, the Boys' Science Fiction Club had
come into existence
-- as its name suggests, the members were a group of youngsters, none of
them older than 14.
-- among the members were Robert Madle, Jack Agnew, and John V.
Baltadonis all of whom became much better known in fandom in
succeeding decades
> the two clubs soon became aware of each other, and with the decline of
the Science Fiction League, they coalesced into one organization, the
Philadelphia Science Fiction Society
- (PSFS in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, briefly)
- (info on the club in the 1960s)
* Pittsburgh
- (info on 50s and early 1960s Pittsburgh fandom here)
> Pittsburgh SF Association
-- (details)
- Carnegie Mellon Science Fiction Society formed in 1966
> one of the founders of the club was a teenage science fiction reader
named Linda Eyster
-- Linda grew up in Levittown, PA, and discovered the sense of wonder
of science fiction when her 6th grade teacher read Fredric Brown's
"Arena" aloud to the class
>> not very long afterwards, she had read every science fiction book
in the local library
-- entered Carnegie-Mellon in 1965 as a chemistry major, and in 1966,
while watching THE MAN FROM UNCLE in the TV room of the women's
dorm, happened to start a conversation with a freshman at CMU,
Suzanne Tompkins
> Suzanne turned out to be a science fiction reader, too, and soon became
friends with Linda
-- it wasn't long afterwards that the idea came to them that they should
try to find others on campus with an interest in the genre, and a
science fiction club was the way to do it
>> they found another TV watcher who read SF, Adrienne Fein, and the
three of them made some signs advertising a get-together for any
science fiction readers and posted them around campus
>> the result was the first meeting of the CMUSFS
-- Linda, Suzanne, and Adrienne later referred to themselves as
the "Founding Mothers" of the club
> focus of the club was mainly literary, and meetings were sercon-oriented
-- it wasn't entirely books and written SF however; according to Linda,
"Then as now, many of us watched STAR TREK on television as well as
went to SF movies, and had some other non-literary interests."
> the first two meetings weren't exactly resounding successes, and the
club seemed destined to be little more than a footnote in SF history,
but then a piece of good luck happened: Linda met a CMU student who had
actually been to a science fiction convention, who told them about it
-- it was an epiphany; until then, neither Linda, nor Suzle, nor
Adrienne, not anyone in the club, had even been aware of the
existence of fandom and its conventions
>> there was another bit of good fortune -- after hearing about the
existence of conventions, Linda happened across a copy of AMAZING
in the summer of 1967, and saw that the 1967 Worldcon was only a
few hours drive away, in New York City
--- Linda and Suzle decided to go, and by the time they returned
they were totally inspired by what they saw of fandom
--- Linda later remembered that "Totally enthused, Suzle and I
decided to continue our meetings and start publishing a
fanzine, GRANFALLOON. We took our first issue to our second convention, Marcon in March 1968."
> after that, Linda and Suzle decided to look farther and wider for
prospective members, and it wasn't long before the club expanded beyond
the boundaries of the CMU campus
-- Linda recalled that "After going to the Worldcon, we tried to get
members from all around Pittsburgh. We had the best results by
posting notices at other universities such as Duquesne and the
University of Pittsburgh, though we also tried to get the local
Pittsburgh newspaper to publish meeting notices."
> it seemed to work, as the club meetings started to increase in
attendance and interest, but these outreach activities had two other
significant results: the club, no longer just a CMU organization,
changed its name to the Western Pennsylvania Science Fiction Association
(popularly known by members as "Woops-fa") and it made contact with the
remains of the previous generation of Pittsburgh fandom
> Pittcon group that put on 1960 worldcon was mostly gone by late 1960s;
having lapsed into social meetings at local Lebanese restaurant, rarely
discussing SF or fandom
-- group still run by Dirce Archer, and much to the delight of the new
group, included a real live science fiction professional, P. Schuyler
Miller
-- meetings of the older group were attended by members of new CMU
group, but members of Pittcon group did not reciprocate
>> the new club was disappointed, but Linda was not really surprised
by this: "The two groups were too different to really mesh. It
might have been a case of old and tired fans vs. fresh-faced
enthusiasts"
-- eventually, the two groups drifted apart: according to Linda, "We
didn't seem to have much in common. We kept going to their meetings
and inviting them to ours. This went on for quite a few months, but
none of them ever came to our meetings." After about 6 months, the
new club gave up and let the older club continue on its way to
extinction; the Pittcon group disappeared forever not long after end
of the 1960s
> besides Linda, Suzle, and Adrienne, other prominent members during the
1960s included Ron Bushyager, Art Vaughn, Dena Benatan, Debbie Atherton,
Connie Faddis, and Ginjer Buchanan
-- Dena was a high-school student and one of the younger members, she
later married Charles Brown, became co-editor of LOCUS for a while
>> she became best known for her quote at a Science Fiction Research
Association convention in 1970: "Let's get science fiction out of
the classroom and back into the gutter where it belongs."
-- Ginjer wasn't a CMU student, and was older than the others, having
found out about the club from flyers posted outside CMU as the club
continued to expand its member base -- Ron Bushyager wasn't a student at CMU, having graduated a few years
earlier, but he worked there
>> he met Linda at a 1968 club meeting, and they were married in 1969
>> they moved to Philadelphia area in 1971, where Linda, writing
under her married name of Linda Bushyager, made the transition to
professional author when two fantasy books were published by Dell
in the early 1970s
> another member of club was Dale DiNucci, who gained reputation as a
FakeFan
-- had never read a SF book, but published a fanzine
- club activities
> at first, meetings were held at Carnegie-Mellon University, as most
members were CMU students or graduates
-- later, meetings started to be held at the homes and apartments of
various club members
> 'death car' expedition to 1968 Disclave in Washington, DC was perhaps
the club's most memorable event
-- the 'death car' was a rental station wagon, filled with 9 members of
the club and driven by a CMU graduate student, Nancy Lambert
-- just before reaching the Maryland border, the passengers in the
station wagon had a near-death experience, when the driver lost
control and it spun around several times. Linda remembered that
"somewhere on the Pennsylvania Turnpike the station wagon began
fishtailing. It went into a spin, and I remember Suzle screaming
something about 'Don't slam on the brakes!' as Nancy slammed on the
brakes. We spun out of control, but fortunately there were no other
cars near us, and we ended up in the grass on the side of the road.
All of a sudden a lot of cars were driving past us, very slowly,
trying to see what the 'accident' was all about. Something got into
me then, and I yelled, 'You want blood? Here it is!' and I staggered
and fell on the grass as though I had been injured, just to give the
gawkers a thrill. Everyone else seemed to find this wildly funny."
-- there was also a second car in the expedition, a decrepit Ford with
three other WPSFA members
>> this car, too, had its share of misadventures; several times the
car died on hills, and had to be roll-started by pushing it to the
top for a gravity assist down the other side
-- they all eventually made it to Washington and Disclave, where the
'death car' tale made the rounds of the convention, in the process
giving some legendry to the Pittsburgh group
> many of the fans who attended were young, single women, which made
fandom "sit up and take notice" of club's existance
- publications of Pittsburgh fans
> a publication sponsored by the club itself was its newszine WOOPS, the
title a humorous interpretation of the club's acronym
-- (brief details on typical contents?)
> GRANFALLOON was the most significant publication that sprang from the
club, but it wasn't actually a club publication
-- edited at first by Linda Bushyager and Suzle Tompkins, later by Linda
and Ron Bushyager
-- name was derived from Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s novel CAT'S CRADLE, as
Linda and Suzle explained in their second issue after being deluged
by letters from befuddled fans: "It means a group of people who are
supposed to be connected by a certain belief, but are actually
completely different. A religion, a fraternal organization, or a
like group would be a Granfalloon! Hope this clears up the mystery."
>> not known if they were further deluged by letters asking for an
explanation of the explanation -- first issue came out in February 1968
>> cover by Adrienne Fein, who was an art major
>> Linda requested help from the NFFF in obtaining fan art for the
issue, and the NFFF responded by helping her and Suzle get some
illos from Jack Gaughan and other fanartists
>> the issue even had a few letters of comment, something usually
difficult to accomplish for a first issue
--- this was realized as a result of Linda being in correspondence
with several fans she had met who were in the NFFF
>> the first issue was hand-carried to that year's Marcon (1968) in
Columbus, Ohio
--- (what happened there? good reviews? did it debut there?)
-- by third issue, fanzine had started to gain much favorable notice
>> contributors by then included some notable fans such as Bob
Tucker, and many fans who would later become notable such as
Sandra Miesel, Jerry Kaufman, Ginjer Buchanan, and Richard Delap
-- fanzine lasted for 18 issues total, and survived well into the 1970s
>> most famous contribution was Ginjer Buchanan's report on the
surreal 1968 Worldcon, which she titled "I've Had No Sleep and I
Must Giggle"
>> even managed to get fiction contributions from Roger Zelazny and
Piers Anthony
>> will be remembered for its contents as well as its appearance
-- featured multi-color artwork, done using mimeo
-- contributions ranged from book, movie, and fanzine reviews to
poetry to convention reports to fan fiction to art portfolios;
also known for its long letters columns
>> garnered a Hugo nomination (what year?)
>> (need some meaty quote here by Suzle and/or Linda remembering the
fanzine)
* Washington, D.C.
- Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA)
> early history: club was founded in the fall of 1947, under the name
Washington Science Fiction Society
-- seven attendees of the 1947 Philcon were the charter members,
including Bob Pavlat, Chick Derry, and Bob Briggs
-- for the first year of its existence, grew very slowly, and meetings
were for the most part unnoteworthy, except on the infrequent
occasions a guest speaker such as Willy Ley or Seabury Quinn showed
up
-- in 1948, the club was reorganized under the name Washington Science
Fiction Association
-- in its early years, meetings were held at a variety of places,
including the offices of the Association of American Railroads and
the Washington, D.C. Transportation Building at 17th and I Street
>> the club even went so far as to rent an apartment on O Street that
it used as a clubhouse; it was an experiment that soon failed,
because the cost was more than the club could afford
>> eventually, the club settled down to holding meetings at the homes
of its members, a practice that continued for decades afterward
> club met first, third, and fifth Fridays of each month, fifth Fridays
(when they occurred) being reserved for parties without a formal
business meeting
-- by 1956, meetings sites had consolidated to one: the home of
Elizabeth Cullen on West Beach Drive in northwest D.C.
>> Cullen was a retired railroad lobbyist (actually a librarian for
the organization) who enjoyed fandom; she hosted the majority of
WSFA meetings until her health deteriorated in the late 1960s
> during the 1960s, WSFA roster of members showed that there were about 40
active members, with biweekly meetings having an attendance typically of
about 15 or 20 people
-- membership list included such notables and acti-fans as Joe and Jay
Haldeman, Jack Chalker, Bob and Peggy Rae Pavlat, Dick Eney, Bob
Madle, Banks Mebane, Alexis and Doll Gilliland, Don Miller, and Joe
Mayhew
-- many of these, such as the Gillilands and the Haldeman brothers, had
come into fandom after hearing about the club in connection with
publicity for the 1963 Washington, D.C. worldcon
> sponsored the Disclave convention, which will be reported on in a later
chapter
> publications included a clubzine, THE WSFA JOURNAL
-- initially edited by Don Miller, and published by Dick Eney
>> there could be some claims that this too, like the original
FanCyclopedia, was Eney's fault, but he dropped out with the third
issue, leaving the fanzine totally in Miller's hands
>> (mini bio of Miller here)
--- Alexis Gilliland described Miller as "in many ways, a nerd.
His idea of the perfect fanzine was no typos and no white
space, and he was the first person to make me aware of the
fact that faneds might not always be brilliant, scintillating
people." [source: lettercol MIMOSA 9]
-- first issue, a 6-pager, was published in March 1965, but was not
distinguishable from countless other fan club newsletters
>> contained WSFA meeting notes, a treasurer's report, and a listing
of the WSFA membership
-- page counts and content steadily improved
>> next few issues were 10 pages each
>> in October, when the 11th issue was published, astonished club
members found a 38-page fanzine in their mailboxes
>> contents featured detailed convention reports by Dick Eney and Jay
Kay Klein, a page or two of book and magazine reviews, reports on
meetings of other sf clubs, and diplomacy game scores. There
usually was even room enough for some news.
>> Miller proved so capable in his role of editor/publisher that
eventually TWJ ceased being a clubzine, and metamorphosized into
a general interest fanzine
-- the zenith came in 1972 when Miller succeeded in publishing a
gargantuan 134-page issue for that year's Disclave
-- however, the fanzine's was perhaps too much of a success for WSFA
>> at one point, the club voted to double member yearly dues, from
$4 to $8, to ensure adequate publishing funds
>> at another point, Vaughn Bode' had offered first publication
rights to TWJ for his "Sunspot" cartoon series, but the club,
after some vigorous debate, refused to authorize additional costs
for the extra pages in TWJ that would have been necessary
>> for the remainder of the fanzine's run under Miller's editorship,
the club appeared to have a love-hate relationship with it: proud
of the visibility and prestige the fanzine provided the club, but
resentful that so much of their funds were earmarked for it
> other WSFA publications (and publications by WSFAns)
-- SPECULATIVE REVIEW
>> sercon publication edited by Dick Eney in early 1960s, prior to
the time of THE WSFA JOURNAL
>> described by FANAC as containing "detailed and intelligent reviews
and critiques of current professional science fiction"
* Baltimore
- prior to the 1960s, there were fans, if not organized fandom in Baltimore
> the first sign of fans or fandom in Baltimore was the existence of the
Baltimore chapter of the Science Fiction League in the 1930s, but it
lasted barely the blink of an eye
> one of the earliest-known fans from Baltimore was Virginia Kidd, who
became reasonably well known in the late 1930s as a letterhack, then, a
bit later, even better known when she married James Blish
> there were two other notable Baltimore fans in the 1940s
-- in 1943, Will Sykora moved to Baltimore from the New York City
>> he had gained the most fame, or notoriety, depending on your point
of view, as one of the three fans in charge of the 1939 Worldcon
who had excluded six members of the Futurians fan club from
attending
-- another fan residing in Baltimore was George Wetzel, who gained a
reputation for being prone to feuding, but nevertheless became
respected for his Lovecraft-related research
> one other well-known Baltimore fan prior to 1960 was Dick Clarkson, an
avid science fiction collector, who died in 1955
- one of the more active Baltimore fans at the end of the 1950s was Ted
Pauls
> starting about in 1959, Pauls became known as a rapid-fire fanzine
publisher, making efficient use of a typewriter he had borrowed from Ted
White
-- at one point he was publishing several different titles each month or
even more frequently than that
> in 1960, he became nationally reknown when he was mentioned in a news
story carried by all the wire services about a poltergeist that had
appeared in his grandparents' home
-- sugar bowls had been sailing through the air, a chandelier had been
oscillating, and pop bottles and flower pots had burst
-- before it all died away, the whole matter was investigated by one Dr.
Nandor Fodor of the Parapsychology Foundation of New York, who was
described in the wire service story as "an international authority"
>> Dr. Fodor theorized the poltergeist was brought on by Pauls, who
was living with his parents and grandparents in the house, because
there was "a definite association between puberty and
poltergeists." Fodor went on to say that subconscious energy
released during puberty often resulted in "a repressed
aggressiveness or, in the case of the boy, a violent rage to
create -- to be productive."
--- Pauls' "rage to create" had resulted in lots of fanzines,
but nobody seems to have checked to see if the ghost was
really a manifestation of one of the fannish ghods
-- at any rate, although the local fire and police authorities professed
they were baffled by the poltergeist reports, the FBI was
sufficiently unimpressed that it declined to investigate
> Pauls went on to become a respected fan publisher, and after that, a
small press book publisher
-- his best known fanzine was KIPPLE, which began as a typical fannish
monthly, and featured Marion Zimmer Bradley as a columnist and
fanzine reviewer for a while
>> later in its life, KIPPLE got its own personality as one of the
first fanzines whose principal feature was political-oriented
discussions (more details?)
> he also became a member of what was Baltimore's first organized SF club
since the SFL days; it may not have had an formal name, and became known
to some outsiders as the Baltimore SF Forum
- Baltimore SF Forum was organized around 1958
> other members included John Hitchcock, Raleigh Multog, John Magnus, and
Marian Oaks, who had been an actifan in the mid 1950s under her maiden
name, Marian Cox [source: TWhite article Bucconeer SB]
-- Magnus had moved to Baltimore with his parents sometime in the mid
1950s, but was a student at Oberlin College, near Cleveland, Ohio
-- Hitchcock was somewhat of a child prodigy, later graduating from the
Johns Hopkins University at age 18
> the club welcomed other fans who lived in the Washington-Baltimore area
-- most prominent DC-area member was Ted White, who lived in Baltimore
for about a year during the late 1950s, and seemed to find the new
club at times more interesting than WSFA was
> one of the things that bound together the members of the club was their
interest in fanzines and memberships in some of fandom's amateur press
associations, like FAPA and The Cult
-- just about all the members had at one time or another published
fanzines
>> in the first half of the 1950s, Oaks had published what may have
been the first fanzine, FEMZINE, that specialized in featuring
material by women
>> White was already well known as a fanzine publisher, his first
fanzines dating from about five years earlier, and would remain an
active fanzine publisher for decades afterwards, even after he
became successful as a professional author and editor
> club met monthly, and meeting site for much of the club's existence was
the home of Marian Oaks
-- (activities? Other details?)
> in spite of its acceptance of outsiders, the organization was still
really too insular to have any expectations of permanence
-- it faded from sight about 1962, when many of its members moved on to
other interests or left the Baltimore area
-- Raleigh Multog gave away his fanzine collection in the spring of
1963, and that was the last anyone heard of him
-- John Magnus, who had been active in fandom for a decade or more, sold
his book and fanzine collections at the 1963 Worldcon, and left
fandom for good
-- additionally, there was the presence of WSFA not far away that
probably siphoned away many of the Washington-area fans who might
have been continuing lifeblood for the club
- however, even as the BSFF was becoming extinct, the beginnings of another
fan club were already taking place, and the person central to this event
was a teenager named Jack Chalker
> Jack Chalker was perhaps the best known Baltimore fan in the 1960s
-- Chalker discovered SF fandom in 1957 at age 12
>> he had seen a letter in a comic book letters column from Billy Joe
Plott, an Alabama fan, which had mentioned Plott's fanzine,
MAELSTROM; he requested a copy, and soon became a contributor
>> about the same time, Chalker answered an ad from a book
remaindering company he saw in F&SF, and among the titles he
received from the company was an Arkham House edition of S. Fowler
Wright's THE THRONES OF SATURN; the book was interesting enough
that he wrote the publisher asking for information on any other
titles, and this led to a continuing series of correspondence with
August Derleth
>> responding to another ad he saw in ASTOUNDING brought him into
contact with Marty Greenburg, one of the founders of Gnome Press;
Chalker later looked back at time as a defining moment in his
future course as a fan and small press publisher: "Thanks to both
of those men I got a real grounding in the business side of
science fiction and fantasy, a lot of advice, and, in the case of
Derlith, an opening of correspondence with other famous folks like
Robert Bloch, Fritz Leiber, and Clark Ashton Smith."
-- by the early 1960s, Chalker was an avid fanzine fan; his involvement
as a contributor to Plott's MAELSTROM had brought him into contact
with other fanzine publishers, for which he also became a frequent
contributor
>> however, he was becoming dissatisfied with many of the fanzines
that were arriving in the mail: "Almost all were 'faanish' types
that tried generally to avoid SF and fantasy and were proud of the
fact, even if the editors really did read the stuff."
>> eventually, this desire for more serious and constructive material
in fanzines resulted in Chalker's fanzine, MIRAGE, which then
evolved into Mirage Press
--- MIRAGE became one of the best sercon fanzines of the 1960s
>>> had a run of 8 issues
>>> contents included nonfiction by L. Sprague de Camp and
Fritz Leiber, poetry by Tim Powers, the first stories by
Ed Bryant and Ray Nelson, and the last stories by Seabury
Quinn and David H. Keller MD
>>> cover for every issue was done by David Prosser, a
classical disk jockey from Ohio who was also a skilled
artist; outside of his science fiction work, he
specialized in portraiture of great opera stars, some of
which found homes in major opera houses in the U.S.
>>> the last five issues were collated at BSFS meetings;
according to Chalker, "everyone who attended *had* to
collate the zines, because otherwise there was no room to
sit down and have a business meeting." [source: MIMOSA]
--- Mirage press published a variety of sercon-oriented material,
in the 1960s, including THE NEW H.P. LOVECRAFT BIBLIOGRAPHY and
IN MEMORIAM: CLARK ASHTON SMITH, both by Chalker himself, THE
CONAN READER by L. Sprague deCamp, and THE INDEX TO THE SCIENCE-
FANTASY PUBLISHERS by Chalker and Mark Owings [source: Chalker
24Aug97 email]
>>> Mirage Press continued to be a small press publisher for
several decades after that, though its output drastically
declined after Chalker transitioned into a full-time science
fiction writer in the 1970s
-- Chalker had discovered organized fandom in 1959 after reading in
Schulyer Miller's book review column in ASTOUNDING/ANALOG about an
upcoming fan publication of some importance: the first FANCYCLOPEDIA,
which was to be edited by one Richard Eney of Alexandria, Virginia
>> when he contacted Eney, he was informed about the existence of
WSFA; when Chalker pointed out that getting there might be
beyond the capabilities of a fifteen-year-old fan who had no
means of transportation, Eney arranged for transportation between
WSFA's meeting place and the nearest bus station
>> Chalker became a regular attendee at WSFA meetings after that,
using whatever money he could come by for bus tickets and also
taxi fares, as he often didn't get back to Baltimore from the
meetings until 4am
-- after a couple of years of spending much of his earnings from part
time jobs on transportation to and from WSFA meetings, however,
it had come to the point where he wished there was a fan group
that was a little closer to home
- in December 1961, Chalker got his wish, when he met David Michael Ettlin
on a schoolbus, in middle of a snowstorm
> on the way home from the high school of Baltimore City College, the bus
became stuck in snow in the middle of the Jones Falls Valley bridge
-- it took several hours before help could arrive, and in the meantime
everyone on the bus got to know each other much better
-- Chalker discovered that Ettlin was an avid reader of science fiction
and that he was fascinated by the discovery that there were fan
groups out there who organized science fiction conventions
> Chalker and Ettlin quickly became friends, and by the time the snow
emergency had lifted a few days later, Chalker discovered that there was
another science fiction enthusiast at the high school: "Dave told me
that he'd met a senior who not only knew more about science fiction than
anybody he'd ever seen but had the kind of mind that was like a library
card catelog." His name was Mark Owings.
> together, the three of them would form the nucleus of Baltimore fandom
for remainder of decade
-- they went together to WSFA meetings and conventions, as far north as
the New York area
-- and they were always looking for new fans in their area; Ettlin was
the recruiter of the three, with varying amounts of success. Chalker
himself found a fourth regular for their group, a girlfriend of his
named Enid Jacobs
-- however, this search for new fans was not really intended to produce
a new fan organization, it took another year before the formation of
a new Baltimore fan group would occur
- Baltimore SF Society
> formed in January 1963, after Ettlin suggested it, partly in jest, on
the way home from the WSFA New Year's party
-- the rest went along with it, under no real expectations it would
amount to much, but the club proved to be stable and started
attracting members from the Baltimore area, as well as some cross-
overs from WSFA such as Joe Mayhew
-- Chalker was elected the first President of BSFS, with Ettlin the VP,
Jacobs the secretary, and Owings the treasurer
>> Ettlin continued his unofficial role as chief recruiter, and by
the end of 1963, there were many members of the organization,
mostly from the Baltimore area, and many of them just discovering
science fiction fandom
--- two of the more prominent of these were Ron Bounds and Alice
Krieg (who later married Jay Haldeman)
> in 1964, the club got some instant visibility with the addition of an
important new member: Roger Zelazny, who moved to Baltimore from Ohio
-- Zelazny was not an outgoing person, and it took some doing to get
him to come to BSFS meetings, but once he did, he enjoyed himself
enough that he became a frequent attendee
> the club met on the second and fourth Saturdays, in an attempt not to
conflict with WSFA meetings
-- meetings for the most part were held at members' homes, at first
Ettlin's and Owings', then at different places as the club expanded
-- an exception to this occurred in 1964, when the club sponsored a
truly grandiose all-night party in conjunction with annual election
of officers; this same party the previous year had attracted enough
out of town fans that a function room was rented for the event in
1964 at a downtown hotel
>> it was a hugely successful event, so much so that the very next
year it passed from existence, being replaced by a convention --
the first of the Balticons, which in succeeding decades became one
of the largest of all regional science fiction conventions
-- in 1965, the club acquired an alternative meeting spot after the
meetings, at the home of Don Sobwick, who worked the 4pm to 2am
shift as an editor at the Baltimore SUN
>> this allowed any club members who to depart the regular meeting
at a reasonable hour (2am) and arrive at Sobwick's apartment by
2:30am for the meeting-after-the-meeting meeting
>> these were typically parties, often lasting to mid-morning on
Sunday; you had to have great stamina to be a BSFS member
> the club became successful enough that by the last half of the decade,
BSFS was actually larger in size than WSFA
-- heretofore, the club was mostly a social organization, and what
business that was conducted was mostly non-serious in nature, with
the most usual item of business endlessly revising the BSFS
constitution
-- that changed in 1966, when the club decided to take on a truly
serious endeavor, bidding for the 1967 Worldcon
>> it turned out that the bid failed, but the bid resulted in bid
parties that promoted Baltimore fandom
> other publications of Baltimore fans
-- QUORUM, a fanzine by Don Sobwick
>> mostly devoted to reviews of science fiction
* Virginia
- Fellowship of the Purple Tongue (Norfolk)
> existed in the late 1960s
> usually met in apartment of Phil Harrell
> members included Ned Brooks [source: Brooks email]
> (any more info?)
* Cincinnati
- Cincinnati Fantasy Group (CFG)
> was founded in December 1935 by Charles R. Tanner, Ross Rocklynne, and
Dale Tarr
> (info on organization in prior decades)
-- was host organization for the 1949 Worldcon, the Cinvention
-- after the Cinvention, some changes in the club's direction occurred
that lasted into the 1960s; club's activities became a bit more
formalized and a bit less ambitious
>> new president of the club was Don Ford
>> secretary/treasurer was Lou Tabakow
>> after the Cinvention, the club had no greater ambition than to
sponsor each year's Midwestcon
> (info on organization in 1960s)
* Cleveland
- in the 1950s, Cleveland was one of the centers of U.S. fandom
> was the point of origin into the sf world of Harlan Ellison, who started
out as a member of the Cleveland Science Fantasy Society, and edited the
club's fanzine, BULLETIN OF THE CLEVELAND SCIENCE FANTASY SOCIETY, which
he soon transformed into one of the best fanzines of the early 1950s,
under the title of DIMENSIONS
> in 1955, the city hosted a worldcon, the Clevention, that was chaired by
Nick Falasca and Noreen Falasca
-- the worldcon mostly lived up to its reputation as a sf club destroyer
and Cleveland fandom suffered a decline for the rest of the decade
>> fans dropped out or moved away
--- Ellison was one of them, eventually arriving in California by
way of New York and Chicago
--- Nick and Noreen Falasca eventually divorced; Noreen married
Larry Shaw and was living in New York by the early 1960s
>> by the early 1960s, there remained only a few fans who had links
to the previous decade
- Ben Jason was the leading fan in Cleveland during the 1960s
> he was born as Benedict Joseph Paul Jablonski to Polish-American parents
in 1917
> became aware of science fiction relatively early in life, mainly due to
his older brother, Sylvester
-- one day (what year?), Sylvester was trying to illustrate some point
to Ben, when he produced a copy of the (what?) issue of AMAZING, and
told Ben to read Ray Cummings's "Around the Universe"
-- Ben quickly became intrigued by the concept of alien worlds and
people living on them, so he found other issues of AMAZING, and read
Doc Smith's "Skylark of Space"
-- after that, astronomy was pretty much abandoned in favor of this new
interest, as he eagerly awaited the sequel
-- By the time "Skylark Three" appeared, Doc Smith was Ben's favorite
author, so he wrote him a letter asking for an autographed picture.
But his letter was so poorly written and so juvenile in contact, it
angered Smith to the extent that when he got around to answering
Ben's letter, the response began with "Dear Nut"
-- that, perhaps, should have ended the correspondence between the two
of them, and perhaps even Ben's career as a neofan, but Ben persisted
with another better-written letter, which brought a more friendly
response.
-- Smith and Jason finally met at the 1952 Midwestcon, and became fast
friends until Smith's death in 1965
> by the early 1950s, Jason had managed to find and join the Cleveland
Science Fantasy Society
-- when the Falascas organized and won their bid for the 1955 Worldcon,
Jason became treasurer, and was also asked to take charge of one
other important task: design and production of the Hugo Awards
>> it was only the second time they had been awarded, so there was
not yet a standard design; Jason's design, with a rocket
reminiscent of the spaceship in the movie DESTINATION: MOON was
so apt that it became the standard, and remained so from then on
> Jason was instrumental in winning a bid to host the 1966 worldcon
-- a description of that bid is in the Detroit fandom section
-- defeated a Syracuse bid by Dave Kyle
> (other 1960s activities here)
- meanwhile, not far away, in Akron, Ohio, two fans put the northern Ohio
area back to the forefront with a new fanzine, DOUBLE:BILL
> their names were Bill Bowers and Bill Mallardi
-- (brief bios of Bowers and Mallardi go here)
> (info on the fanzine, its contents, contributors; when it started; when
it folded)
-- nominated for Hugo in 1965 and 1966, but did not win either time
> in addition to regular issues of the fanzine, there was also a special
issue: DOUBLE:BILL SYMPOSIUM
-- (details needed: why? when? length? contributors? etc...)
-- Lloyd Biggle conducted survey of sf writers and editors
- one of the other prominent members of Cleveland-area fandom in the mid 1960s,
even though he was better known as a pro writer, was Roger Zelazny
> (need a brief bio sketch of RZ's early days)
> Bill Bowers remembered him as "a delightfully modest and self-effacing
part of the Cleveland fan 'group'. One of my fondest of all memories
fannish is aving sat on the floor in Ben Jason's kitchen at a very early
pre-Tricon committee meeting, and being blown away as Roger read aloud
the first half of AND CALL ME CONRAD" [source: Bowers 24Nov99 email]
> by the end of the decade he would move to Baltimore
- after the Tricon, fandom in Cleveland once again went into a decline
> (details)
> was not until the middle of 1968 until signs of organized fandom
appeared again
- a new Cleveland-area fan club, the Northeast Ohio SF Society (NEOSFS),
formed in July 1968
> name was apparently deliberately chosen so that it could be referred to
as 'neo-SFS', though some of its members were as far from neo-fans as
could be imaginable
-- the most prominent members were Jason (correct?), Bowers, and
Mallardi
> club was founded by a Jerry Kaufman, who would in later decades become a
prominent fan editor in his own right
> met at members homes
> (other details)
-- sponsored a small New Year's Eve convention/party, on Dec. 31, 1968,
in Sandusky, Ohio
> (lasted until when?)
* Columbus, Ohio
- Central Ohio Science Fiction Society (COSFS)
> formed in late 1966, the result of three science fiction readers who met
each other at the Paperback Gallery bookstore in downtown Columbus [source
for this section, unless otherwise noted: notes from talk with LSmith on
18Nov00 at Philcon `00]
> founding members were Bob Hillis, Brian Burley, and Larry Smith
-- Smith had been a science fiction reader since 1952, when he read THE
HOBBIT when he was 6 years old
>> not long after that he discovered that the Columbus Public Library
had a science fiction section, and he talked the Library into issuing
him an adult library card so he could read them
--- by the end of 1955 he had read all the Heinlein and Andre Norton
books
>> in the mid 1960s, Smith had been hanging around the bookstore off and
on for a few years, helping the owner do merchandising and restocking
>> Hillis and Burley also came there frequently to buy science fiction
books, and they gradually got to know each other and became friends
>> Burley had the idea to form the club
--- Burley was the organizer of the three; he later became known for
being involved in worldcon bids for New York City and other places >> Hillis had a teaching degree and was teaching history and math in a
small rural school district northwest of Columbus
> first meeting of club was in August 1965, at the bookstore
-- only about half a dozen people were there
-- by November they had grown larger, and moved to the public library
>> some meetings had as many as 40 people, though some of these were
onlookers
>> eventually the club stabilized at about 20-30 members
> club was very sercon
-- meetings usually featured book discussions
-- parliamentary order was strictly enforced, as Hillis had a thing for
parliamentary rules; as a result, meetings were very structured
> other prominent members included John Ayotte and Bob Gaines
> publications
-- clubzine was called COSIGN, and it was edited by Gaines
* Detroit
- the earliest-known Detroit fan organization was the Detroit Science
Fictioneers, which existed briefly at the end of the 1930s
- in the early and mid 1940s, the center of fandom in Michigan was not
Detroit
> the most notable fan activity in Michigan in the 1940s took place in
Battle Creek, where the legendary Slan Shack became the center of the
fannish universe for a two-year period from late 1943 through most of
1945
-- it was occupied by Al & Abby Lu Ashley, E. E. Evans, Jack Wiedenbeck,
and Walt Liebscher, and was visited at one time or another during its
existence by scores of fans
-- broke up in September 1945, when the occupants all packed up and
moved to California
- Detroit fandom of the 1940s was mostly centered around the Detroit
Hyperborean Society, which existed from the war years in the middle of the
decade until 1948
> in 1946, there was a schism, brought about by the aftereffects of a
fannish prank gone wrong
-- after a meeting up at the home of Art Rapp, in Saginaw, a large
firecracker was tossed onto the front porch by a departing fan; when
it exploded, it shattered an already-cracked windowpane, and when
police arrived to investigate the noise, gathering spectators declared
it had been a bomb. Before it was all straightened out, Rapp had
gotten his picture on the back page of the local newspaper [source:
Childers 27Nov97 email]
-- after the 'bomb' episode, three Saginaw fans resigned to form an
insurgent group, and the remainder of the club renamed itself the
Detroit Science Fiction League
> the insurgent group came to be called the Michigan Science-Fantasy
Society (MSFS), nicknamed "The Misfits"
-- these included Martin Alger, Ed Kuss, Ben Singer, Art Rapp, Howard
DeVore, and George Young
>> George Young, while visiting Ray Nelson in Cadillac, Michigan,
purchased a propeller beanie, which Nelson went on to popularize
in fandom
>> Art Rapp, in the pages of his fanzine SPACEWARP, introduced a new
fannish god, Roscoe, whose Labor Day birthday fans celebrated when
they attended worldcons
>> Alger thought up a motto for the group: "Join the MSFS and Go
Places "
--- some other members of the group had taken trips at public
expense after being apprehended by the police on charges
running the gamut from forgery to assault to pornography to
possession of illegal weapons
- the decade of the 1950s was a golden age for Detroit fandom
> DSFL members Roger Sims and Ed Kuss were half of the foursome who hosted
the legendary Room 770 party at the 1951 Worldcon
> eventually the Misfits and the Detroit SFL re-merged, and kept both names
-- there were some insurgent offshoots to the organization, perhaps the
best known being the Morgan Botts Society, named after a fan fiction
hero, that seemed to be as much interested in poker and beer drinking
as in science fiction [source: MIMOSA]
> and in 1959, after several years of bidding, Detroit fans succeeded in
hosting a Worldcon, the Detention, which was co-chaired by Sims and Fred
Prophet
-- following the Detention, the zing seemed to go out of organized
fandom in the Detroit area
>> remnants of the Detroit Science Fiction League still met, but they
became mostly transformed into a league bowling team under the name
"The Misfits"
- Detroit fandom of the 1960s, on the other hand, was in decline for most of
the decade
> mostly anecdotal tales survive
-- in November 1963, George Young got himself arrested for towing Roger
Sims's car that had no working taillights
>> routine check showed that Young had amassed a considerable number
of unpaid traffic tickets
>> Sims bailed him out for $77
>> turned out that Sims was the source for all the trouble in the
first place, since he had just sold Young the car
> the Detroit SFL, which had pretty much faded from existence by the early
1960s, was reactivated by Dannie Plachta in December 1963
-- his efforts were almost cut short because of March 1964 auto accident
>> Plachta, Dick Schultz, and Peter Maurer riding in Plachta's car on
March 1st when it was struck by another car
>> witnesses said the other car was a dark-colored Mercury, but
Maurer said it was a scaly dragon, and Schultz swore it was a
bright red streetcar breathing smoke and fire, while Plachta only
knew that whatever it was, it ate most of the back end of his car
-- meetings were sometimes held at the Algers Motel, where fans could
observe what Howard DeVore described as "a number of very friendly
young women, waving from the porch of a house directly across the alley." The Algers later became infamous, in 1967, as the site, during
the Detroit race riots of that year, where two young black men were
murdered after allegedly being involved with white prostitutes living
at the motel [source: Childers 27Nov97 email]
> in 1966, Detroit fandom, along with Cincinnati and Cleveland fans,
joined forces to host a Worldcon, but it was held in Cleveland
-- Dannie Plachta had been wanting to bid for a worldcon, and had even
provided a few dollars as seed money for adverts, which Howard DeVore
printed and sent out to various conventions in 1965
-- after the ads appeared, they were contacted by Ben Jason, from Cleveland,
who wanted to know if they were really serious about it
>> at that point, Plachta wasn't in a position to much more than a
spectator and when DeVore saw that Jason was interested in a quest for
a worldcon, he offered to drop out and let Jason take control
>> Jason, however, preferred DeVore stay aboard, and suggested they also
bring in Don Ford from Cincinnati to make it a three-city bid
>> Ford died before the bid could be entered at the 1965 worldcon, though,
so Lou Tabakow from Cincinnati took his place
>> it was supposed to be a triumvirate, with each of the three having
equal authority, but in practice, Jason did most of the work
-- the bid was victorious, and the convention was held in Cleveland
>> it became best known as the place where STAR TREK was introduced to
much of fandom, but more on that later
- by the late 1960s, Detroit's fandom consisted of an organization known
simply as Michigan Fandom
> met only monthly, at various members' homes
> Dick Schultz was listed as point of contact for the organization
- it was not until the very end of the 1960s that organized fandom made a
resurgence in the Detroit area, when the Wayne Third Foundation (SF club
of Wayne State University in Detroit) came into being
> founded during spring term of 1969
-- Alan Smith, an otherwise obscure fan, was its founder
-- other founding members included Steve Cook, Paula Layton, Guy Snyder,
Laura Basta, and Alex Vitek
-- (whose idea was it? need details on club's founding)
> met weekly (where?)
-- (officers and their titles?)
> published two fanzines
-- SELDON'S PLAN NEWSLETTER
>> editor was not listed in early issues, but may have been Vitek
-- by end of 1969, Snyder had taken it over
>> for its first year of publication, usually was about 4-6 pages
long, biweekly, containing mostly recaps of W3F meetings
-- 14 issues published in 1969
-- SELDON'S PLAN FANZINE
>> initially edited by Snyder and Basta
>> first issue dated December 1969
--- 46 pages (mimeo) of mostly fan fiction by various fans with
artwork by Randy Bathhurst
-- the two fanzines were merged in late 1970 or early 1971 into one
publication, SELDON'S PLAN
> heavy reliance on fan fiction in the club's fanzine reflected the club's
view of itself as a literary society that should encourage unpublished
writers
-- Snyder himself went on to sell a novel, TESTAMENT XXI, to DAW Books
(when?)
> in 1970s, club became noteworthy as the origination point into fandom for
many new fans
* Indiana
- Buck and Juanita Coulson
> came into fandom in early 1950s as part of Eastern Indiana SF
Association (EISFA)
-- club had formed at Ball State College
-- club sponsored a fanzine, also called EISFA, originally edited by
Juanita Wellons (before she became Juanita Coulson) and Beverly Amers
(later Beverly DeWeese)
-- Coulsons married in 1954, about the time that EISFA started to fade
> by late 1950s, the EISFA fanzine had metamorphosized into YANDRO
-- by that time, was exclusively edited by Buck & Juanita
>> name derived from old folk song in a Manly Wade Wellman story
-- (some info about the content, frequency, etc.)
-- won Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1965
- other prominent Indiana fans
> Sandra Miesel
-- wrote sercon articles for fanzines, notably GRANFALLOON
-- foreshadowed career in prodom that began in decade of 1970s
* Chicago and other Illinois fandom (note: this section needs a lot of work)
- University of Chicago SF Club
> formed in 1950, by Tom Seidman, George D'Asaro, and John Boardman
> meetings in its early years were usually very informal to the point of
being chaotic, but never dull
-- in 1952, the club had staged a Halloween party that ended with an
imitation black mass, which resulted in unfavorable attention from
the university president
> in 1963, split into two groups, meeting at members' homes
-- Rosemary Hickey helped form Chicago SF League, a social and drinking
group
>> had been felt that meetings had been getting dull
>> meetings were bi-monthly, hosted by each member in turn
-- George Price wanted a more sf-oriented group
>> George had been preparing all the programs and meeting notices
>> began hosting a monthly meeting
-- in actuality, perhaps main reason club died was that none of
attending members were Univ. of Chicago students any more
>> contributing factor was Price's desire to go back to college for
M.S. in Chemical Engineering, which would leave little time for
fanac
> club was re-born as University of Chicago SF Society (when?)
-- by 1969 was meeting weekly at Ida Noyes Hall on campus
-- launched an unsuccessful and short-lived bid for the 1973 Worldcon
- George Price
- Ed and Joanne Wood
- Earl Kemp (might be profiled elsewhere in book)
- Mark & Lynne Aronsen
- Mike & Carol Resnick
- Alex & Phyllis Eisenstein
- George Martin (?)
- (need lots of info on clubs, organizations, and how these people fit into
the fandom there)
- Peoria High School SF Club
> existed for a time in the late 1960s
> most prominent member seemed to be Don Blyly, who was editor of the
club's fanzine, SCIENCE FICTION NEWSLETTER, which usually contained a
mixture of news, fiction, and reviews of other fanzines
* Wisconsin fandom
- (1950s brief summary, Phyllis Economou ... Dean Grennell ... Bob Bloch)
- in the 1960s, the best known fans in Wisconsin were Jon and Joni Stopa
> Joni Doyle was originally from the Pittsburgh area; her earliest fan
activities were as a letterhack to some of the older pulp magazines
-- even though she was in her teens, she had created an adult persona
for herself as 'Kitty Doyle'
-- eventually, one of the other letter writers, an adult fan she had
'met' only in print, came to her home to meet her
>> Joni was still in a tomboy stage then, and was up in a tree when
the man arrived
>> seeing her there, the man asked if he could talk to her older
sister [source: Stopa 10Sep97 email]
> Joni first became visible in fandom at the 1960 worldcon in that city,
where she was the agent who received the artwork for the very first
worldcon art show (that had been organized by Bjo and John Trimble)
-- Joni also participated in the costume ball at the Pittcon, where she
wore a costume that was a gown with grape leaves and grapes attached;
Isaac Asimov, in his 'dirty old man' persona, later coaxed Joni into
sitting on his lap and then proceeded to eat the grapes, one by one
> Jon met Joni briefly at the 1960 Pittcon, but didn't really 'meet' Joni
until the next year, when they shared a ride with several other fans all
the way out to the Seattle worldcon
-- a relationship developed, and they were married in 1963
> they were both interested in costuming, and went on to win several
costuming contests at subsequent worldcons
-- Joni eventually helped reorganize costume contests from an informal
dance event into more of the masquerade showcase that was a major
feature of worldcons of the 1970s and later decades
>> among of the innovations she brought into costuming was the
costuming workshop for novice costumers [source: Stopa 10Sep97
email]
> they lived in Wilmot, and ran a ski resort there
-- fannish get-together called 'Wilcon' was held there over July 4th
holiday for many years
-- the first one was in 1963, not long after they married, a single-day
event
-- the next year, it had expanded into a full weekend
-- by the 1980s, there were as many as 180 attendees, with sleeping
accomodations ranging from communal floor space to numerous tents
spreading across the lawn like an army encampment; fans came from as
far away as Massachusetts and Florida
> in 1991, Jon and Joni Stopa were the Fan Guests of Honor at the Chicon V,
that year's worldcon
- other 1960s fandom in Wisconsin somewhat obscure
> in Green Bay, the local branch of the University of Wisconsin in 1969
formed a science fiction club that called "Quanta Ltd." -- not too much is known about its activities, although Charlie Brown
in LOCUS remarked that "They have strange plans for the future."
* Minneapolis/St. Paul
- fandom in Minneapolis/St. Paul area dated back much earlier than the 1960s > in 1937, the Minneapolis chapter of the old Science Fiction League was
organized with Oliver Saari as director
-- weren't very many members of the group, but two who became notable
were Carl Jacobi and Don Wandrei
-- did not last long, but it set the stage for other fan organizations
> Minneapolis Fantasy Society began in November, 1940, with first meeting
taking place at the home of Cliff Simak, who had recently arrived in
town
-- group met biweekly, and brought into science fiction future notables
such as Gordon Dickson, John L. Chapman, and Redd Boggs
-- was never very large (9 people at start; at its peak, there were only
19 members), and had faded away by 1944
> after World War Two, the Minneapolis Fantasy Society was re-formed by
Simak and Chapman under the name of Tomorrow, Inc., with an emphasis on
advances in science rather than interest in science fiction
-- name reverted back to Minneapolis Fantasy Society in late 1947, when
it was clear from member interest that turning science fiction fans
into science fans wasn't an easy thing to do
-- resurgence brought back some of the older fans such as Jacobi and
Chapman; also brought out some newcomers such as Poul Anderson and
Rich Elsberry
-- group lasted until the early 1950s
> there was largely a fannish void in the Twin Cities during the mid and
late 1950s, but there were some attempts to bring fans together
-- Ruth Berman and some friends tried to start a Twin Cities Fantasy
Society in late 1950s, but could not generate enough interest to keep
it going for very long
> for the first part of the 1960s, no real organized fandom existed in the
twin cities
-- Ruth Amelia Berman was the most prominent fan in Minnesota in the
early 1960s
>> became active in fandom in the mid 1950s when she was high school
student
--- (what brought her into fandom?)
>> by the end of that decade, she was writing for fanzines, and had
attended her first convention, the 1959 Detention
>> in 1960, as part of her college speech class at the University of
Minnesota, she produced a one-act play of a Gordon Dickson story,
"Loepsday"
>> although she may be more familiar for her activities later in the
decade as a STAR TREK fan, with her TREKzine T NEGATIVE (which
will be described later), she was also a normal' fanzine
publisher
--- in the late 1950s, she and two other co-editors had published
the fanzine ALL MIMSY under the pseudonym of George Karg'
--- in 1967, Ruth and her sister Jean started a fanzine they
titled NOUS; when Jean dropped out after the 4th issue, in
1969, Ruth changed the title to NO, since it was now only
"half of us"
-- by the mid 1960s, many of the older fans from previous eras had
become inactive and it fell to a new generation of teenage fans
instead (many who knew of each other through fanzines) to form the
nucleus of the next twin cities organization
>> among the first of this new generation to take such action were
two teen-agers, Frank Stodolka and Fred Haskell, both from the
twin cities area
--- Stodolka and Haskell had been comic book readers, and learned
of fandom by reading a letter from Rick Norwood in STRANGE
ADVENTURES
>> in 1964, Stodolka and Haskell, plus two other teen-agers, John
Kusske from Alexandria, Minnesota, and Gil Lamont from Beloit,
Wisconsin met at Haskell's parents' house for an informal get-
together that was dubbed by Stodolka as "the first annual PAINcon"
--- a one-shot fanzine resulted, and Stodolka began thinking about
putting together a new club, which he intended to call the
North Central Fan Group
>> although North Central group never came to be, seeds had been
planted for a new twin cities fan club that would be based on an
informal approach, without "a predilection for long, boring
business meetings" as Haskell would later remember
- Minn-Stf formed on November 25, 1966, in a meeting at Stodolka's parents' home
> "floundering fathers", as they came to be known, were Haskell, Stodolka,
Jim Young, Ken Fletcher, and Nate Bucklin
-- Bucklin had arrived from Washington state a few months earlier to
start college, and had been introduced to others by Stodolka
>> Bucklin had corresponded with Haskell for some months before his
move, and they had intended to start a rock and roll band
>> Bucklin was also a member of the NFFF, and had found Stodolka's address in a fanzine review column in the NFFF's clubzine
-- Young was a teen-ager who had found out about fandom from Jean
Berman, who was a high school classmate
>> he was a member of APA-45, and had heard about the meeting through
that channel
-- the group quickly decided on the name Young proposed: Minn-stf',
short for Minnesota scientifiction'; according to Jim Young, "It
seemed fannishly intriguing. Everybody thought Minn-stf' was
exactly the right sort of weird name for the group. And right from
the start, we all agreed we had coalesced as a real fan club, however
anti-formal we all were."
> first officers of the new organization were Stodolka as President, Young
as Vice President, Bucklin as Secretary, and Fletcher as Treasurer
-- as Haskell later remembered, "We made Frank president in recognition
of the fact that he'd brought us all together, and we made Jim vice
president in recognition of the fact that he'd managed to formalize
us into a club."
-- Haskell himself was elected Official Happy Deadwood, over his
protests that a club needs members, too
> other prominent members during early years included Linda Lounsbury,
Floyd Henderson, Richard Tatge, and Al Kuhfeld
-- (need examples of why they were prominent')
> first meetings were held at the University of Minnesota on Saturdays, in
an unlocked room in the Mechanical Engineering building
-- not too much later, the club relocated its meeting site to the back
room of Golab's Bookstore in Minneapolis
-- and later still, meetings started to be held at homes of members
-- meetings averaged about 10-20 people
>> Stodolka had actively recruited new members, by approaching anyone
he happened to see who was reading science fiction, wherever he
went
> events and focus of Minn-stf -- fanzine publishing was a core activity of Minn-stf
>> APA-45, which many of Minn-stf became members of, acted as the
center for the club's publishing activities for the remainder of
the 1960s
>> many Minn-stf members were or became fanzine publishers
-- Haskell's was CHEAP THRILLS; Stodolka was publishing LUNAtic
-- Young's fanzine HOOP was done using multi-color ditto
-- Fletcher also did his fanzines using multi-color ditto; they
were usually filled with cartoons featuring what came to be
known as the Minn-stf brand of humor
-- Young credited the group's humorous influences of Ernie Kovacs,
MAD magazine's Wally Wood, and the British radio show THE GOON
SHOW plus their own strange view of reality for the content of
their fanzines
-- music was often a part of Minn-stf meetings
>> Young sometimes played the piano, while Bucklin and Haskell
occasionally brought guitars to meetings
--- Bucklin would sometimes try out new songs he had written
--- Haskell would often get a roomful of people singing along with
him
>> according to Young, "There was a distinctive counter-culture
quality to early Minn-stf meetings, stemming from our love of rock
music"
-- the club eventually adapted to a semi-anarchistic structure that was
well-suited to its laid-back, fannish nature
>> as Haskell put it, "There were people who couldn't deal with our
sort of laissez-faire attitude of running the club. Of Well, you
want something? Go ahead and try to organize it, but we're not
going to form a standing committee.' People who couldn't deal
with that left."
-- (what else happened at club meetings? or outside the club?)
-- the club incorporated as a non-profit educational organization in
1969
> clubzine was named MINNSTF NEWSLETTER
-- first issue was (when?), edited by (who?)
-- almost immediately, club voted to change its name to RUNE
>> (reasoning?)
>> this caused one of the club's founders, Fred Haskell, to briefly
quit the club (for about 2 weeks), in protest because he hated the
new name so much
>> Ironically, after Haskell rejoined the club, he later (in the
1970s) became editor of RUNE and made it into a much-respected
fanzine that further expanded the boundaries of what a clubzine
could be, in the way that notable club-sponsored fanzines like CRY
had a decade or more earlier
> sponsored Minicons
-- first was held at University of Minnesota, taking advantage of club's
application to be a university student organization
-- Minicons became foundation for club's other convention-related
activity, bidding for the 1973 Worldcon
>> as Jim Young later remembered the first Minicon, "I did much of
the planning, including printing up a program sheet and
advertising placards for it. And I did it primarily because I
wanted us to run a worldcon."
> the Minneapolis in '73 worldcon bid
-- was initiated by Jim Young on September 1, 1967, at Nycon III
>> Jim Young was approached by Dave Vanderwerf, who inquired if
Young and Minn-Stf fans had ever considered bidding for a worldcon
--- Young remembered that "it sounded like a brilliant idea to me
at the time. It seemed to be exactly the thing that would
help us hold Minn-stf together."
--- after the convention, Young got everyone to agree that the
club needed to start a regional convention if they were to
have a chance to win a worldcon bid
>> the first Minicon was the direct result, and actual gearing up for
the bid started soon after the first Minicon, in 1968
>> the bid gained momentum, when Young went out to the 1968 Baycon,
where he proselytized for the bid and passed promotional flyers
-- However, some dark clouds soon appeard on the horizon
>> Young was advised by Ray Fisher, co-chair of the St. Louiscon, not
to continue the bid, if he wanted to keep his sanity
>> strong competition had surfaced from a Dallas "Big D in '73" bid
headed by Tom Reamy
--- Young, Haskell, and Fletcher had taken a dislike to the Dallas
bid, which to them appeared to have been organized like a very
large comics convention; Young remembered: "It seemed to be
the apotheosis of all that was crass in life, with none of the
faanishness left in. Our desire to see a faanish bid drove
me, in particular, to keep going even after money and time
were running dreadfully short."
-- the Minneapolis bid became defunct in late 1970
>> turned out that it became financially impossible to continue
--- Young's father had died in 1968, and his mother was laid off
from her job in 1970; Young was living at home and holding
down a part-time job, and could not afford to keep backing the
bid with what little money he had
>> also, second thoughts about the whole thing had also crept in:
As Young later recalled, "The real problem in bidding for a
worldcon is that you might win. And if you do, suddently you have
to deal with fifteen billion people, all in one hotel. So we
decided, about December 1970, that, really, the worldcon itself
wasn't the best thing. We figured, well, we kind of liked
throwing parties, so why don't we just keep bidding?"
>> Dallas bid had dropped out by then, so the deciding factor was a
new bid group, from Toronto, that was felt could put on a
convention everyone in the Minneapolis bid would be happy to
attend
--- when the 1973 Torcon II finally rolled around, Young and other
Minneapolis bidders happily declared that the convention hotel
in Toronto to be within the domain of the city of Minneapolis,
and the conclusion of the bid therefore successful
-- even though the 1973 worldcon bid itself disappeared, the fannish
activities surrounding the bid did not
>> Young and other supporters had discovered that it was more fun to
bid for a big convention that it would have been to put one on, so
therefore there was no reason why the bid itself could not
continue
>> the bid was "revived" in 1973 by Bev Swanson and Chuck Holst
--- bid parties continued to be held at many conventions,
promoting not so much a now-defunct worldcon bid as Minnesota
fandom itself
>> the main legacy of the bid was that interest in Minneapolis/St.
Paul fandom continued to increase, making the organization one of
the largest and most visible in the U.S.
--- failing to win the worldcon was seem by many as a blessing in
disguise, as there was none of the divisiveness worldcons
often bring to fan organizations
>> "Minneapolis in '73" became a fannish catchphrase, and the bid
became the subject of much legendry in later decades
--- (examples? some brief details?)
* St. Louis and other Missouri fandom
- early St. Louis fandom
> in late 1940s, fanzines from Van Splawn originated in St. Louis
> Lemay Science Fiction Club
-- existed for only a short time in the early 1960s
-- only prominent member was Doc Clarke
> in 1961, Steve Scott, who published fanzine called FANTASMAGORIQUE, met
another St. Louis fan, Rich Wannen
-- both attended the 1962 Chicon
>> Wannen liked it, but Scott didn't care much for the people there
and soon after quit fandom
> Hank Luttrell started publishing fanzines in 1964
-- had previously contributed to an area fanzine named CYGNUS (edited by
Paul Gilster) in 1963
>> CYGNUS also had material by local fan Kent McDaniel
> By mid 1960s, discussions were underway between Gilster, McDaniel,
Clarke, Wannen, and Dave Hall about starting a fan club
-- some were too young to drive, however, and lived distances from
each other
-- happenstance encounter in book store, between Jim Hall (Dave's
father) and Ray & Joyce Fisher led to formation of OSFA
- Ozark SF Association (OSFA)
> founded in 1965
-- served to unite the diverse activities of area fans
-- first meeting hosted by Dave Hall and his father, Jim Hall
-- about a dozen fans present at first meeting, including the Halls, Ray
and Joyce Fisher, Hank Luttrell, Rich Wannen, Harold Steele and his
son Jack
>> (mini bio of Ray "Duggie" Fisher)
>> published ODD, which was nominated for fanzine Hugo in 1968
> eventually grew to be a moderately large club, with 50-60 members
-- meetings usually had 20-30 people present
-- meeting sites at members homes for first few years
>> after club grew, meetings moved to Main Branch of St. Louis
Public Library, later to St. Louis Museum of Natural History
where member Donn Brazier was a curator
--- Joyce Fisher (Katz) described museum meeting place as "a
charming room dominated by a fireplace and shelves of curious
exhibits"
-- prominent members included the Couch family (Leigh, Norbert, Chris,
Lesleigh, and Mike) who joined after the first Ozarkon
>> Leigh and Norbert Couch were members of First Fandom
>> younger Couches were all members of APA-45
>> Lesleigh went on to marry Hank Luttrell, and in the 1970s became
the first U.S. Down Under Fan Fund (DUFF) representative
-- other prominent members included Pam Janisch, Sue Robinson, Bob
Schoenfeld, Doc Clarke, Chester Malon, Donn Brazier, Paul Willis,
Sim Pierce, Ron Whittington
>> Brazier best known as publisher of fanzine TITLE
--- had been active in 1940s, degafiated to join St. Louis fandom
--- (mini bio of Brazier here)
--- (some info about TITLE)
>> Paul Willis later descended into Fortean publishing, and did a
zine called ANUBIS
>> Malon was co-chair of the first Ozarkon, also co-edited a fanzine
named ARGHH! with Ron Whittington
>> Pierce was the Birdman of St. Louis fandom; kept his windows open
so that wild birds could come and go freely
--- according to Joyce Fisher (Katz), "not too surprisingly, his
home was somewhat feathery."
--- Pierce was also a senior mail-order huckster, who regaled
often other members of St. Louis fandom with his knowledge of
pre-golden age SF
> club was mainly oriented toward fanzine publishing, which led to
formation of a splinter organization
-- other activities included old movies (Wannen had a collection of B&W
films), cave exploring (Wayne Finch published a fanzine for
spelunkers) and (of course) socializing
> publications by St. Louis fans
-- ODD
>> edited at first by Ray Fisher, later by Ray and Joyce Fisher
>> perhaps the premiere fan publication of OSAF, though it wasn't
sponsored directly by the club
>> this was one of the more respected general interest fsnzines of
the 1960s; typical issue ran to more than 50 pages, and featured
some engaging writing: satire, news, reviews, essays, and even
some reasonable quality fiction
>> regular contributor was Jack Gaughan, whose artwork often graced
the covers of ODD
-- SIRRUISH
>> named by Dave Hall, who mistakenly thought it was a biblical term
used to detect outsiders and spies
>> editors at various times were Dave Hall, Hank Luttrell, and Leigh
Couch
>> was a largish genzine, sometimes as many as 40 pages
--- material was contributed by club members and also fans from
other places
>> initially, the club's only publication
--- after eight issues, split into genzine and newsletter
-- OSFAn (newsletter)
>> edited (initially) by Hank Luttrell and Dave Hall
--- Luttrell edited by himself during club's best years
>> in 1970s, Doc Clarke took over editorship
-- WHAT ABOUT US GRILS?
>> a very fannish genzine edited by Joyce Fisher, Pam Janisch, and
Sue Richardson
--- title based on an old joke
>> began in 1969, 3rd and last issue appeared in 1970
--- featured contributions from such fan luminaries as Bob Tucker,
Bob Bloch, Tim Kirk, Bill Rotsler, and Joe Staton
--- zine ended its short life when Robinson drifted out of fandom and Fisher moved to New York
>>> 3rd issue was done entirely by Janisch, but only a very
few ever made into the hands of its readers
> club sponsored (and ran) the 1969 worldcon
> club lasted until early 1970s, when it faded from view
-- Ray and Joyce Fisher broke up, caused in part by pressures resulting
from running the 1969 worldcon
>> Joyce moved to New York City in 1970
-- Wannen was inducted into the army
-- Hank & Lesleigh (now) Luttrell had gone off to college
-- Dave Hall became a Heinlein Hippy and dropped out of fandom
-- flavor of club changed dramatically as a result, with newer group
getting reputation for rowdiness, which alienated older members
> later in 1970s, St. Louis fandom would be reborn in a new club, the St.
Louis Science Fiction Association
- The Saturday People
> formed in 1966
> spin-off from OSFA
-- the "insurgent" arm
> invitational fanzine club
-- members included the Fishers, Dave Hall, Bob Schoenfeld, Sue
Richardson, Pam Janisch, Ron Whittington
-- members were fanzine publishers, for most part
> meetings hosted by Ray Fisher every Saturday night
> lasted into 1970, when St. Louis fandom started its process of
disintegration
- Missouri SF Association
> formed at the University of Missouri's Columbia campus in 1968
> founded by Hank Luttrell and Lesleigh (Couch) Luttrell
-- Lesleigh Luttrell later went on to be first DUFF delegate, in early
1970s
* Texas
- Southern Fandom Group
> co-founded by Lloyd D. Broyles of Waco, Texas, in 1960
-- at the time, Broyles was a 29-year-old fan
> he had started reading science fiction in 1951, had made contact
with fandom in 1953, and was a member of the NFFF
> in 1962, he published the first of two WHO'S WHO IN FANDOM
fanzines, for the year 1961 (the second was done by somebody else)
-- SFG was intended to be an organization of fans across the Southern
U.S.A.
-- was based on NFFF, first and only director was Alfred McCoy Andrews
of Alabama
-- published a dittoed newsletter, THE SOUTHERN FAN, edited by Broyles
-- lasted until early 1963
> cause of its demise was that great fan club killer, lack of
activity
> helped set stage for formation of SFPA in 1961 and the Southern Fandom
Confederation, which formed in the early 1970s
> however, this pan-southern organization did not lead to formation of
fandom within Texas; for that we have to look at different sources
- the fanzine VOID
> credited by some as forming the image of Texas fandom
-- (need info to support this)
> originally edited by Jim and Greg Benford in the 1950s
-- they published it through issue 14
> saw a succession of co-editors after that
-- Ted White became co-editor with issue 15
-- Jim Benford eventually dropped out, and about issue 22, Pete Graham
and Terry Carr became co-editors
> during the Carr-White-Graham era, VOID became one of best "genzines"
(general interest fanzines) of its time
-- (some of the contents?)
-- later issues featured multi-page cartoon-strip covers by Bhob Stewart
-- actively promoted the 1962 Willis fund
> lasted through issue 28, which was dated February 1962
> was revived for one issue in 1969 by Arnie Katz
- New Dallas Fandom
> announced in March 1965, in issue no. 1 of TRUMPET
-- same issue announced demise of (Old) Dallas Fandom
-- edited by Tom Reamy
>> (mini bio of Tom Reamy)
-- TRUMPET was destined became more famous than the fan group that
inspired it
>> was a fanzine that had perhaps the most visual appeal of any that
had ever been published to that point
--- part of its striking appearance was because Reamy paid the
extra cost of having it commercially lithoed on slick paper
--- some interestring features; issue no.6 included a graphic
adaptation of Poul Anderson's "Broken Sword" by George Barr >>> there were other well-known artists who work also appeared
in the fanzine, including John Schoenherr, Jim Cawthorne,
and Hannes Bok
>>> ran some fiction, often of the "WEIRD TALES" variety
>>> there was a film column, often with photo illustrations
>>> some of the article writers were (or soon became) notable
fans and pros: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andrew Offutt, Jerry
Pournelle
>> the appearance came at a cost, however; fans considered its 50
cent price just short of outrageous
>> TRUMPET also had the renown of leading on to one of the more
controversial worldcon bids of the decade, the Dallas in '73 bid
> in 1969, Reamy announced a revamped Dallas fandom with the formation of
the Dallas Science Fiction Society (DaSFS)
-- met once a month in members' homes
>> by second meeting, there were 20 people attending
-- clubzine, edited by Joe Bob Williams, was titled DJ
> Dallas in '73 Worldcon bid
-- fronted by Tom Reamy
-- had the slick bidzine DALLASCON BULLETIN
>> in a letter to LOCUS, Tom Reamy said of the bidzine, "We're aiming
for a minimum circulation of 5,000. It will carry advertising to
help defray expenses. It will be sent free to everybody."
--- when queried about the economics of sending out 5,000 copies of a fanzine at no charge, Reamy responded that "We sold $330
worth of ads in it, which will almost pay for it. We hope by
the second issue, when people see that we are actually *doing*
it, will bring in enough to pay for *all* of it. It won't
take many more ads to show a profit -- which we could use for
the bid."
>> first issue was 20 pages
>> (content?)
-- ultimately folded in late 1960s (when?) after Reamy dropped out
(why?)
- Houston fandom
> (previous history)
> in the late 1960s, a new fan club, the Houston SF Society, was formed
-- first president was Joanne Berger
-- met once a month, in members' homes
-- the most prominent event of the club seemed to be its meeting of
April 20, 1969, which featured Harlan Ellison as a guest
-- one of the more prominent members was Lisa Tuttle, who went on to
become a renowned science fiction writer
- Cepheid Variable (Texas A&M University, College Station, TX)
> founded in 1967
> gained a degree of prominence in 1969, when it became the first college-
sponsored organization to host a science fiction convention, the
Aggiecon
* Atlanta/Southern fandom
- (some historical background, about fandom in the Southern USA)
>
- (need other info)
- Southern Fandom Confederation formed at the 1969 DeepSouthCon
> (details about the organization)
* Carolinas
- historical background
> one of the first fan groups in the Southern U.S. was founded in
Charlotte, North Carolina, by Bob Madle and (others) (when?)
> (any other NC fandom to report in 1940s or 1950s?)
- Carolina Fan Federation
> formed in 1969, by fans in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina
> ran a one-day mini-con in July 1969
> contact was Edwin Murray
* New Orleans
- prior to the 1960s, perhaps the best-known fan from New Orleans was Harry
B. Moore
> (in about 2-3 sentences, provide background, including his chairmanship
of 1951 Worldcon)
- other pre-1960s New Orleans fans were Dan Galouye and Jack Stocker
> by the 1960s, Galouye had become a respected writer of science fiction
- in the early part of the 1960s, fandom wasn't very evident in the city
> there was a student group mostly from Tulane University and Loyola University
whose most notable accomplishment was sponsoring a small convention in (when?)
[source: Sweatman 21Oct00 email]
- New Orleans SF Association
> came into existence in July 1968 [source: Sweatman 21Oct00 email]
-- first president was Don Walsh (some info on his later notoriety here)
-- other charter members of the group included John Guidry, Don Markstein,
Rick Norwood, and Justin Winston
> visible to other fan groups through its clubzine, NOLA-ZINE, that was
edited first by John Guidry and then by Don Markstein
-- the fanzine actually predated the formal formation of NOSFA
-- the first issue, in the Summer of 1967, brought some notice by its
announcement that New Orleans was planning to bid for the 1973 Worldcon
[source: Sweatman 21Oct00 email]
* Denver
- first signs of Denver fandom appeared way back in 1932, when letters from
Olon Wiggins started appearing in letter columns of some of the prozines
[source for this section: RPeterson unpublished article summer2000]
- in 1940, Wiggins and several other fans had formed the Colorado Fantasy
Society
> other members included Lew Martin, Roy Hunt, Robert Peterson, and Chuck
Hansen
> Wiggins and Martin had caused much amazement in 1940, when they hopped
a freight train from Denver to Chicago to get to the 1940 Worldcon
-- as part of their adventure, they succeeded in winning the right to
host the 1941 Worldcon, which became the first Denvention
> the club formed when Wiggins and Martin returned to Denver
-- meetings were irregular, and the club lasted until about the end of
1941 when the United States entered World War Two and many of the fans
enlisted in the military
> the club revived after the war, and started holding meetings at members'
homes; it kept going in this way throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s
-- members drifted into and out of the organization during that time,
including notables such as Chuck Friedenthal, Stan Mullen, Bob Johnson,
Ellis Mills, Emil Greenleaf, and Norm Metcalf
-- Robert Heinlein, who lived further south in Colorado Springs at the
time, also associated with the club; Mullen even lived in Heinlein's
house while Heinlein was on a trip around the world
> in the mid 1960s, the club gained an important new member whose interests
were in small press book publishing, and an interest in Edgar Rice
Burroughs -- his name was Camille Cazadessus -- Caz was an influence on Denver fandom... (need some info on that here)
-- but Caz was also mostly responsible for the creation of a new Denver-
area fan club
- Denver Area Science Fiction Association (DASFA)
> founded in late December 1968, after some differences of opinion between
Caz and some of the other CFS members [source: Peterson]
-- he placed notices in libraries and other places, and the first
organizational meeting took place with about 15 people present
> the club met monthly in the meeting room of a local bank
-- (what happened at meetings?)
> hosted Mile Hi Cons (when did these start?)
> some of the members of DASFA who would become prominent in later decades
included Doris Beetem (whose daughters later became fans) and a Denver POST
employee, Don C. Thompson
> (more info?)
* New Mexico
- Albuquerque fandom
> most prominent fan in all of New Mexico in the 1960s was Roy Tackett
-- Tackett had been active in fandom since 1936, mostly through
correspondence (all that was available to a rural Colorado fan at
that time)
>> following military service with the U.S. Marines during World War
Two, Tackett became more active in U.S. fandom, especially on the
west coast
--- had attended the first LASFS Fanquet, in 1945
--- was active in Bay Area fandom in late 1940s and early 1950s
--- but by 1960, he had pretty much gafiated for about 8 years,
when he discovered a review of the Coulson's YANDRO and sent
off for a copy; Buck wrote back, asking if Roy had anything
in his files they could publish, so Roy dug something out and
sent it to them; as Roy later remembered, "The itch won out.
I was back in fandom, and I never left it again." [source:
Tackett 3May00 email]
--- Roy began a fanzine, DYNATRON, which he published for several
decades and which lasted a full 100 issues
>> Roy got the fannish nickname of "HORT" in the early 1960s, hung
on him by Bruce Pelz [source: Tackett 20Jan00 email]
--- it was an acronym for 'Horrible Old Roy Tackett', which Roy
was anything but
--- when anyone heard Roy called that, the accepted response was
supposed to be, "Oh, I know Roy Tackett and he's not that old!"
-- Tackett had settled in Albuquerque in 1962 after finishing another
military service tour of duty with the U.S. Marines
>> "As far as I knew, there wasn't any stf activity in Albuquerque,
so I did the only thing that was possible: I took out ads in the
SF magazines asking for anyone interested in forming a stf club to
contact me. I got letters from Chicago and Boston, but nary a
nibble from Albuquerque."
> genesis of area fandom was two years later, at a chance meeting in a
used book store of Roy Tackett and Bob Vardeman, who were reaching for
the same copy of a back issue of ANALOG magazine
-- Vardeman had never heard of fandom, so Tackett filled him in; as he
later remembered, "It was a terrible thing to do to a teenager."
-- soon afterward, Tackett, Vardeman, and Eugene Casey formed the
Albuquerque SF Society
> meetings were monthly during the mid 1960s
-- membership in organization eventually reached about 20 people
-- prominent members of new club included Vardeman, Tackett, and Jack
Speer
>> Speer had moved to New Mexico from Seattle in 1961
> the most prominent event in New Mexico fandom was the dinner meeting on
April 11, 1966
-- guests were Jack Williamson and Don Wollheim
>> Wollheim was presented a facetious demand for staples instead of
glue in paperback books, hearkening back to the Staples Wars of
the 1940s
-- also present was Caz Casadessus, who came down from Denver for the
meeting
-- this meeting later became referred to as the first of the Bubonicon
science fiction conventions
>> the next year, after another dinner meeting, which also featured a
guest appearance by Wollheim, Vardeman suggested the name in view
of the prevalence of Bubonic Plague in New Mexico at that time
>> Jack Speer protested, but was outvoted
* Nevada
- Las Vegas SF Society
> organized by Dwain Kaiser in the spring of 1964
> was reported in STARSPINKLE to have only a few members, and "high hopes
for regular meetings in the near future"
National/USA-based International fan groups
* NFFF
- (info about its beginnings and early history goes here)
- was mostly a quiet decade for the organization, in contrast to the high-
power feuds that racked it during the 1950s
> moderate amount of excitement in 1963 when former director Alma Hill
started impeachment proceedings against Al Lewis, who was then the
chairman of the Directorate of the NFFF
-- Lewis had written an article in the club's fanzine, THE NATIONAL
FANTASY FAN, defending the worth of the newszine FANAC to its
readers, which came across as an unfavorable review to the
consternation of many readers
> hardly had that fracas blown over when Lewis was once again the subject of an impeachment proceeding, this time by Clay Hamlin
-- Lewis had defended Earl Kemp from libelous charges levelled at him by
an otherwise little-known fan, D. Bruce Berry, in a fanzine article
>> Ron Ellik reported, tongue-in-cheek, on the two impeachment
attempts: "That Lewis sure is a scoundrel."
- other activities included regional get-togethers of fans
> in May 1963, John & Bjo Trimble hosted what was billed as "The First
Annual N3F Swim, Beer, and Good Clean Fun Afternoon" in Los Angeles
-- title seems self-explanatory
-- not known if there were any sequels to this event in subsequent years
- annually sponsored a story contest (started when?)
> judges included Fred Pohl (1966)
> cash prizes given to winners
- sponsored a hospitality room at worldcons
- also sponsored a 'fanzine clearinghouse' distribution service was handled
by Seth Johnson, one of its members
> the service paid for ads in some of the prozines to sell bundles of fanzines
to science fiction readers who could be potential neofans [ource: Fitch
17Dec00 email]
> Seth also took it on himself to locate new recruits directly by scanning
prozine letters columns for addresses, then sending them packages of
fanzines [source: Locke 15Dec00 email]
> only problem was, some of the fanzines he sent out were so poorly produced
and written that it often had the opposite effect
-- this led some fanzine publishers, most notably Ted White, to claim that
Seth had no understanding or appreciation of fannish writing [source:
Fitch 17Dec00 email]
- sponsored an amateur press association, N'APA
> founded in 1950s
> open to all members of NFFF
> official editors during 1960s included Robert Lichtman and Fred Patten
- other publications
> a letterzine, TIGHTBEAM
* Psi Phi
- described as "the Galactic Science Fiction Fraternity"
- run by an organization at Michigan State University called the Local
Committee
- visible for a short while in the mid 1960s
- open to college students who had a 2.0 GPA or better
> 50 cent dues per year
> applicants were sent a quiz to determine eligibility
* Fan Awards Poll committee
- Fan Awards Poll originated by Charles Wells just prior to 1962 Worldcon
- committee formed to administer the Awards
> in 1963, consisted of Walter Breen, Bob Lichtman, and Dick Lupoff
- Harry Warner was appointed to oversee first annual poll, which was mailed
in March 1963 (FOR THE YEAR 1962), Charles Wells took over when Warner
sustained a hip injury in early 1963
> winners were WARHOON for Best Fanzine, ATom for Best Artist and Best
Cartoonist, and Walt Willis for Best Column, Best Writer, and Number
One Fan Face
- Dick Eney took charge for 1964 poll (for the year 1963), mailing out
ballots in February 1964
> winners were YANDRO for Best Fanzine, DOUBLE BILL #7 for Best Single
Publication, ATom for Best Artist, "Strange Fruit" in YANDRO for Best
Column, Willis for Best Writer, Arnold Katz for Best New Fan of the
Year, and Willis again for Number One Fan Face