Nashville Scholars 2026
The Nashville Scholars of the Three-Pipe Problem was established in 1979.
We are a scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars, studying the life and adventures
of Sherlock Holmes and his confidante, Dr. John Watson.
We gather each month at Corky’s Barbeque Restaurant in Brentwood, TN.
February Meeting
Drew Thomas
Saturday, February 21st at Corky’s BBQ Restaurant in Brentwood, TN.
11:00 AM ** Buy your lunch and stay for the meeting.
Topic: A Consideration of the Arcadia Mixture
Drew Thomas, Discussion Leader
Use this link to join us with Zoom
ZOOM LINK WILL BE OPEN AT 11:30 AM
Saturday the 21st
We are fortunate that Drew, an ever-present and dynamic player of the birthday weekend celebration in New York City, has left his New Jersey roots to join his country cousin here. He sings, he dances, and he quotes poems and Scriptures. His talent seems to never end. A collector of obscure books with canonical ties, he always seems to be able to bring the appropriate point to the conversation from his years of study and inquiry into the Sherlockian world. But his interests run the gambit, allowing him to share a wealth of knowledge and learning when we gather.
Among us is a brilliant light who shares his love for Holmes and Watson with us. While not a native of the southern lands, he certainly has been able to acclimate to our biscuit-and-gravy ways, although he has been known to surrender his biscuit to a Scholar in need. He fits into this society as if he had been here for years, and we are even noticing just a bit of Southern drawl occasionally slipping past his lips. (from Drew’s investiture, by Billy Fields)
Drew has a marvelous website devoted to detective, crime, and murder mysteries.
Check it out. The World’s Best Detective, Crime, and Murder Mystery Books.
And you will learn much more about Mr. Thomas.
For more on Drew’s presentation about “the Acadia mixture,” follow this link.
The history of the Nashville Scholars,
from 1979 to the present…
The Nashville Scholars scion pin, issued in 2021.Established February 19, 1979, by John Shanks, the Nashville Scholars is a convivial group of men and women who gather once a month to celebrate the stories of Sherlock Holmes as well as other writings of Watson’s literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930).
Read about our beginnings.
We are readers, collectors, and authors of essays and books about the 60 canonical stories relating to the adventures of “the world’s first consulting detective,” published between 1887 and 1927. As individuals, we come from widely varied backgrounds.
Meet our members.
At our monthly meetings, we discuss one story chosen from the canon. Members volunteer to lead the discussion, bringing insights they have gleaned from their studies, occasionally preparing a quiz, and following a long-honored tradition of challenging the other members on their scholarship. Meetings sometimes include reading a document that explains our existence, similar to other traditions of Sherlockian societies.
See the Meeting and Story Schedule for 2026.
Occasionally, a special gathering replaces the scheduled monthly meeting. These have become annual events, with others added as our scion society evolves.
Look back at some of our Special Events.
Undershaw, by artist Charles Bone, for the GENI-My Heritage CorporationUNDERSHAW: A Significant Chapter in the Nashville Scholars Story
One of the most significant events in our history is the story of our involvement with and connection to the Stepping Stones School, housed in the former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Undershaw, in Surrey. Nashville Scholars who assisted in the movement to restore the residence and gave financial assistance to bring about its emergence as a school for challenged students are Dr. Marino Alvarez, Shannon Carlisle, and David Marcum.
In 2012, Dr. Alvarez and his wife, Dr. Vicki Risko, visited Undershaw in Surrey, England, and found the place a shambles. They shared their findings with members of the Nashville Scholars and decided to do all they could to preserve Conan Doyle’s historic home. Dr. Alvarez sent a petition signed by 19 Nashville Scholars to The Undershaw Preservation Trust at Hindhead, England. Here is the complete story of their visit: Undershaw’s Conversion to Stepping Stones School, 2012.
By 2016 when they returned to see the newly completed Stepping Stones School, they found a completely renovated Undershaw and a new school built with money raised literally around the world by devoted Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes fans. Here are some of the images they shared.
The work of these three individuals with Undershaw / Stepping Stones School was reported in our 2018, Second Quarter newsletter. This newsletter particularly highlights the connection between Stepping Stone students and the students at
Franklin Special District taught by Shannon Carlisle.
David Marcum, author and collector of New Sherlockian Holmes stories has helped raise over $100,000 for Stepping Stones School through MX Publishing (London). Marcum’s story is quite remarkable. He wrote about his work for the school and recounted his pilgrimage to Undershaw in 2013 in his blog: A 17-Step Program - How I Came to Appreciate Undershaw.
Click image to enlarge.
Our newsletter, Plugs and Dottles, has been published irregularly since the early days of our scion society. Originally it was a mimeographed paper issue, edited by Gael Stahl and later by Kay Blocker, and mailed to the membership.
To the right is the November 2011 edition. (Click to enlarge it.) Plugs and Dottles newsletter has been copyedited by Dean Richardson since Kay Blocker became editor. Recently, when Jim Hawkins retired from Southwest Airlines in 2017, he joined Dean in co-editing the publication, published only online these days. See the Plugs and Dottles Page.
Members of the Nashville Scholars are active in other scion societies, on occasion visiting their meetings as a featured speaker. Several members of our group have addressed Sherlockian groups in the USA and Canada. In these pandemic times, Zoom meetings have given Sherlockians from other states and countries an opportunity to be “present” at our meetings and we at theirs.
Hawkins and Fields, Rockefeller Center, NYC
One event several of us have attended over the years is the BSI Weekend in New York City. Billy Fields and Jim Hawkins were frequent guests at the Gaslight Gala, the alternative dinner held in conjunction with the BSI Dinner, which is by invitation only. More about the BSI Weekend celebrating Sherlock Holmes’ birthday, generally conceded to be January 6.
BSI Class of 2022
Four of our Nashville members have received their BSI investitures in recent years: Marino Alvarez and Bill Mason in 2015, Shannon Carlisle in 2018, and Jim Hawkins in 2022. Joanne Zahorsky-Reeves, who also received her BSI investiture in 2022, was active in Nashville events until 1999 when she moved to California.
The Nashville Scholars gathered on the back porch and lawn of Marino Alvarez and Vicki Risko
for our annual May meeting of food, fun, and fellowship.