Our History (1979-2022)

From Day One: 02-19-1979

After this page, follow our history in the order below.

Extending Our Friendships: Branching out to Williamsburg / New York / Chattanooga

Extending our Future: Nurturing Young Sherlockians / Beacon Society / Fresh Rashers

BONUS: A click-through slideshow of images from our history, changed on an irregular basis.

It all began with John Shanks, Nashville historian, who had a vision for a Sherlock Holmes scion society in Nashville.

“At the first meeting on Feb. 19, 1979, twenty-six Sherlockians gathered among the pewter and leather of the Cumberland Club and its Old London atmosphere. They’d been drawn by a three-inch announcement in a local newspaper, The Tennessean. They put their preferred noms (canonical names) and addresses on the register, paid their dues, and received the first newsletter in March.

The second meeting was May 28 at the Showboat Restaurant and Lounge. By that time, contacts and recognition had been received from the Baker Street Irregulars in the form of a postcard from Julian Wolff, the Giant Rats of Sumatra (Judge Robert Lanier and lawyer Walter Armstrong, BSI), and the Red Circle of Washington, DC (personally from Peter Blau). A resolution was passed by Tennessee House of Representatives to commemorate the 125th birthday of Holmes” (Gael Stahl’s account from our archives).

[John Shanks moved from Nashville to pursue a college education in the early 1980s.]

(Stahl account continues . . .) "Along with charter member Herschel Watson and early joiner William Baker we began holding meetings at the Donelson Library again, and one by one, handful by handful, we grew. By the time the 1887 centennial of the publication of the first Sherlock Holmes book, Study in Scarlet, Jim Hawkins had arrived in town from Oklahoma. He got a full-page spread with artwork and four well-written articles by journalists put into The Nashville Banner (the afternoon newspaper). Shortly afterward, two carloads of us went to the University of William and Mary for John Bennett Shaw's Centennial Seminar, a rousing success at which we met and talked at length with the likes of Michael Harrison; BSI officers Tom Stix, J.B. Shaw, and Bob Thomalen; Peter Blau, Ray Betzner (who hosted the gathering); and so many more” (written by Gael Stahl in 2001 for the website). The account of seven Nashville Scholars attending the Shaw Seminar in Williamsburg in 1987 is documented on the John Bennett Shaw website.

The first time Hawkins attended a scion meeting at the home of Gael and Susan Stahl, he noticed that the exit off of interstate 40 for the Stahl residence was most interesting: 221B! It was actually erected to guide people to Nashville Shores, a popular recreation facility on Old Hickory Lake, but it fit our purposes perfectly. Later a group photo was made with members standing under the exit sign.
Be sure and watch our history in a slide/video presentation at the bottom of this page.

Four current members of our scion society were charter: Gael Stahl, Ken Beck, Dave Price, and Richard Renfro. Stahl and Beck were newspapermen. Renfro was a college professor, and Dave Price had many employment experiences, including being a leading performer with a circus here in the USA.

From those early days at the Cumberland Club in downtown Nashville, the Nashville Scholars changed meeting places occasionally. Near the Vanderbilt campus there used to be a perfect place to meet—The Sherlock Holmes Pub, quaint and British, with pints of ale, mushy peas, and English fare (photo on left). Alas, it succumbed to “progress” and is gone.

After the Sherlock Holmes Pub closed, we met at McNamara’s Irish Pub in Antioch, still close enough for all members to attend. Irish fare this time, with pints of ale still in the mix along with Earl Grey tea. Our members live mostly in-state, but some are as far away as Maryville (Knoxville area) and Lawrenceburg, just north of the Alabama border.

Another location change came when we held forth at Charlie Bob’s Restaurant in East Nashville. We needed a place where we could hold our meetings, including having lunch, and yet not disturb other restaurant guests. Charlie Bob’s fulfilled that for us for a couple of years.

For the past few years, before the COVID pandemic sent us scurrying to Zoom meetings, our scion society has been meeting at Corky’s BBQ in Brentwood. There, we have a secluded room and a large screen at one end of the room to show videos or slideshows. And the food is delicious, if not British or Irish. We have not met in person since March 2020. Our Zoom meetings have been interesting, allowing friends from several states and countries to visit us virtually, but we are ready to resume meeting in person as soon as we can safely. In the meantime, join us in reading our way through the canon in 2024.
See our Story List for 2024.

The Website

The Hounds of the Internet

The idea came to Hawkins and Stahl early on to begin an alternative online discussion group. We found The Hounds of the Internet to be a fascinating group of knowledgeable Sherlockians, but there were heated discussions that went on for weeks. This was long before the Facebook era and was known as a Listservs site: text-based with no images. We decided to start a “kinder, gentler” discussion group and named it WelcomeHolmes—also created in 1999. Many of those who logged on with us were also members of The Hounds, and many of those became good friends of the Nashville Scholars. We sadly noted the recent (in 2021) passing of Les Moscowitz, founder of The Hounds.

This brief online account of our history would not be complete without mentioning our
slideshow of images, initially assembled in 2010 and updated annually using the Animoto app.
The video/slideshow not only tells our history, but it is an effective recruiting tool for new members.
Please watch our history unfold below.

(Continue) Extending Our Friendships:
Shaw Centenary Workshop / Southern Sherlockian Gatherings / Bash & Gaslight Galas / BSI Weekends