The Sherlock Holmes Centenary 1987

Williamsburg, VA - College of William and Mary
University Host: Ray Betzner Guest Presenters: John Bennett Shaw and Michael Harrison

Attendees at this Williamsburg symposium enjoyed an outstanding roster of presenters and a cleverly designed program. The headliners were John Shaw and Michael Harrison, of course, but beyond those superstars were others who shared their Sherlockian expertise, giving the weekend an extraordinary depth of quality. No one felt like there were holes in the program; it just continued to build from one session to the next.

Seven Nashville Scholars, including Jim Hawkins (attending his one and only Shaw workshop), made the drive from Nashville to Williamsburg. Gael Stahl was president of the Scholars at that time, and he brought with him a proclamation from Governor Ned McWhorter of Tennessee: “That people of Tennessee commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of Sherlock Holmes’ first appearance in print.”

Here is a paragraph from the John Bennett Shaw website with details of this historic gathering.
Ray Betzner, new to his position in public relations at the College of William and Mary, worked tirelessly to make sure John Shaw had everything he needed and that the conference was on track. Betzner had everything organized except the weather, obviously out of his control. It was extraordinarily hot all week. Michael Harrison, the British headliner for the event (Shaw being the major attraction), dressed in a wool suit for each of his sessions. Betzner suggested that Harrison could remove his wool vest and no one would think any less of him. Harrison replied, “You know, my boy, one must do what one can for the ladies.”

More on the Nashville Scholars’ trip to Williamsburg in 1987.
1987 College of William & Mary Workshop Williamsburg, Virginia

Annual Gathering of the Southern Sherlockians

Chattanooga, TN /The Read House
An Event Created and Hosted by Kent Ross

For a time it seemed that everything important having to do with Sherlock Holmes in the USA took place in New York City. A Sherlockian from Atlanta, GA, Kent Ross, did his best to establish a Southern tradition of scholarship and fun in the Holmes world. And from 2004 until Kent’s death in 2014 he did a pretty good job of doing just that, inviting scion societies from Nashville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chattanooga, and Greenville to gather for an event he called A Gathering of Southern Sherlockians.

Sherlockian author Dan Andriacco, BSI, attended two of the events and spoke about his experience in his blog, Baker Street Beat:

On Saturday I'll be giving a talk at the annual "Gathering of Southern Sherlockians" in Chattanooga, TN. Except for Carolyn and Joel Senter, I will know nobody there. I am looking forward to making new friends. I’ve been told that the "Gathering of Southern Sherlockians" isn't called a symposium because that sounds too serious, whereas this yearly event is more into the fun side of Sherlock Holmes & Co. That may be, but I found the eighth annual "Gathering," held last weekend in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to be highly informative as well as fun. (2012)

Dr. Tracy Revels, BSI, a professor at Wofford College in Greenville, SC had this to say about A Gathering in 2011:

A Great Sherlockian Time in Chattanooga!

I attended the annual Gathering of Southern Sherlockians in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this week, and I'm happy to report that I had a grand time. This meeting draws Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts from around the American South and included scholarly presentations, quizzes, skits, a banquet, and plenty of that hospitality that my native land is famous for. The Sheraton Read House is the site of the Gathering, and it is a simply stunning Victorian-era hotel. We were lucky enough to get upgraded, so it was the 'suite life' for us, at least for 48 hours.

Nashville Scholars attended this event annually and were called on for presentations for many of the sessions. Dan Andriacco mentions Dr. Marino Alvarez, BSI, in his blog.

Marino Alvarez, author of A Professor Reflects on Sherlock Holmes, and his wife Victoria took us with them (via Power Point) on visits to Baker Street, the Reichenbach Falls, and Oxford to see the papers of the early Holmesian Ronald A. Knox.

Derek Martin, a Nashville Scholar, presented an interesting story about his collection of film posters, and the tie-in to Sherlockian film history.

Other Nashvillians attending the event over the years included Jerome Boynton, Tom and Anita Feller, Billy Fields, Jim Hawkins, Derek Martin, David Mason (before he became a Nashville Scholar), Bill Mason , Dean Richardson, and Nan Ottenbacher.

Tom Feller filed this report about his and Anita’s participation in the Gathering.

Baskerville Bash 1997 - 2015 became the Gaslight Gala 2016 - 2022

For the record, the 1997 Bash marked the beginning of a new Birthday Weekend tradition — the first in a series of escalating extravaganzas. The Baskerville Bash is the granddaughter of the venerable ASH Dinners of yore. The Gaslight Gala replaced the Birthday Bash, and 2016 was the first year this event was documented. Although the Bash was not an ASH-sponsored activity, there are many ASH in the B.B.C. (Baskerville Bash Committee) Sherlockian scion. The Bash replaced the ASH dinner traditionally held at the same time as the invitation-only BSI evening.

Lasting friendships were made with Sherlockians from all over the United States and other countries. Although the Bash/Gala was the focus of our trip to the BSI Weekend in those days, we enjoyed side visits to McSorley’s Bar, the New York Public Library, Otto Penzler’s Mysterious Books, and The Strand Bookstore.

Gael Stahl attended the Bash at least once, and Joanne Zahorsky-Reeves attended on several occasions, traveling all the way from California with her husband, Robert Reeves. Joanne lived in Knoxville, TN, for several years and drove all the way to Nashville for meetings. She made her Victorian clothes and always dazzled our meetings with her latest creation. Joanne was made a member of the BSI at the Yale Club in 2022, the same night that Hawkins received his investiture. It was great to see her again and celebrate.

Brief notes on the history of the Baskerville Bash/Gaslight Gala are located on the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes website, ASH.

Billy Fields and Jim Hawkins were perennial attendees at the Baskerville Bash, the event that was held at the Manhattan Club as an alternative to the BSI Dinner—an invitation-only event. We loved the hustle and bustle of New York City at night, visiting Rockefeller Center with the Christmas decorations still ablaze, but at times the chill of a January night could be daunting.

There were many talented individuals who attended the Bash/Gala events, and it became quite a showcase for Sherlockian showstoppers. The planners of the evening at the Manhattan Club fell in love with Mr. Fields’s charming Southern manner, so they made him the auctioneer for the after-dinner fundraiser. Hawkins was his associate, modeling or showing the item being auctioned, and was even called on for a solo now and then. One year Hawkins and Susan Dahlinger performed a group of British pub songs from the Victorian era.

Baker Street Irregulars: 2015 / 2018 / 2022

Dr. Marino Alvarez as “Hilton Soames” in 2015.
The Adventure of the Three Students.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905, McClure, Phillips & Co.)

(Excerpt) We were residing at the time in furnished lodgings close to a library where Sherlock Holmes was pursuing some laborious researches in early English charters - researches which led to results so striking that they may be the subject of one of my future narratives. Here it was that one evening we received a visit from an acquaintance, Mr. Hilton Soames, tutor and lecturer at the College of St Luke's. Mr. Soames was a tall, spare man, of a nervous and excitable temperament. I had always known him to be restless in his manner, but on this particular occasion he was in such a state of uncontrollable agitation that it was clear something very unusual had occurred. (3STU)

Dr. Alvarez’s summary of the BSI Weekend / 2022

Bill Mason as “White Mason” in 2015.
The Valley of Fear
(The novel was published as excerpts in 1914 in Associated Sunday Magazines (US),
and in The Strand Magazine [UK], also in 2014)

Chapter 4 : Darkness

(Excerpt) At three in the morning the chief Sussex detective, obeying the urgent call from Sergeant Wilson, of Birlstone, arrived from headquarters in a light dog-cart behind a breathless trotter. By the five-forty train in the morning he had sent his message to Scotland Yard, and he was at the Birlstone station at twelve o'clock to welcome us. Mr. White Mason was a quiet, comfortable-looking person, in a loose tweed suit, with a clean-shaven, ruddy face, a stoutish body, and powerful bandy legs adorned with gaiters, looking like small farmer, a retired gamekeeper, or anything upon earth except a very favourable specimen of the provincial criminal officer. (VALL)

Shannon Carlisle as “Beacons of the Future” in 2018.
Please read what Shannon Carlisle wrote about her investiture as “Beacons of the Future.”
in this article for The Serpentine Muse, published by the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes.

(Excerpt)
Beacon (noun)- a person or thing that illuminates or inspires

From January 10-14, 2018, Sherlock Holmes devotees descended upon Manhattan to celebrate the 164th birthday of Sherlock Holmes. The long weekend included social gatherings and formal presentations attended by Sherlockians from around the world (Denmark, Australia, Great Britain, Spain, Japan, and more). This BSI Weekend was uniquely remarkable and memorable because of its beacons. (from Shannon’s article)

Jim Hawkins as “The Hans Sloane of My Age” in 2022.
The Three Garridebs
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927, John Murray [UK], and George H. Duran, Co. [US])

(Excerpt) “I think you acted very wisely indeed,” said Holmes. “But are you really anxious to acquire an estate in America?”

(Mr. Nathan Garrideb) “Certainly not, sir. Nothing would induce me to leave my collection. But this gentleman has assured me that he will buy me out as soon as we have established our claim. Five million dollars was the sum named. There are a dozen specimens in the market at the present moment which fill gaps in my collection and which I am unable to purchase for want of a few hundred pounds. Just think what I could do with five million dollars. Why, I have the nucleus of a national collection. I shall be the Hans Sloane of my age.”

His eyes gleamed behind his spectacles. It was very clear that no pains would be spared by Mr. Nathan Garrideb in finding a namesake. (3GAR)

Allow me a note on this investiture.

It was first given to John Bennett Shaw at the BSI Dinner in 1965. I was fortunate in that I met Mr. Shaw at his home in Santa Fe, NM, in 1986 and visited him several times over the course of eight years. He became my friend and my mentor in “things Holmesian,” as he was fond of saying.

In 2018 I created a website to honor and remember John Bennett Shaw. That website put me in touch with many Sherlockians and fellow Baker Street Irregulars who had been friends with Shaw over the years. In pursuing John Shaw in my research, I lacked one experience to really know him intimately—sitting in the midst of BSI members at their invitation-only annual dinner in New York City.

That dream of mine became a reality on January 14, 2022.

In memory of John Bennett Shaw.
The Friends of John Bennett Shaw. (Facebook site)
John Bennett Shaw . com (Website on Squarespace)

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