A History Of
THE SOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
THE BEGINNING OF THE CLUB:
    The date is March 31, 1980.  A recent ad in the Seattle Post Intelligencer has
invited Sherlock Holmes buffs  to a gathering on the Seattle-Bremerton ferry. 
nearly a hundred people have arrived, and are waiting to board.
    The crowd is mixed, with no visible characteristics in common, unless the observer notes some five deerstalker hats, a cape, and a Sherlock Holmes T-shirt.  
    The ferry Hyak arrives, and loads the assembly.  An aura of intrigue pervades the upper deck as the ferry pulls away from the dock.  Teenagers are seen sitting next to scholarly looking sixty-somethings.  Perhaps a more singular group has never been seen aboard before.
    Thus starts the voyage that marks  the very first meeting of the Club, The Sound of the Baskervilles, still a very singular group of people, continuing to meet monthly now for nearly 25 years. 
    Janet Bailey and her husband Gil have organized this first meeting, and it features the 1939 Twentieth Century Fox film "Hound Of The Baskervilles" (Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce) and guest of honor Police Chief Terry Mangan (who helped solve the Los Angeles Hillside Strangler murders).  Even at this early stage, things are done that will become traditions of the Club.  Janet, displaying a tall top hat and saying "it's similar to the hat belonging to Henry Baker," asks the crowd "can anyone give me a citation?"  A pause... some thought..."The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," the group responds, catching on to the game and correctly identifying the story.  ("It was a Derby," someone protests, initiating the equally exciting tradition of lively discussion!!)

OFFICERS OF THE CLUB:  Then, and now
    Jan Bailey agrees to serve as President for the first 6 months.  In September 1980 the first elections are held, and Becky Schlilaty (now Geis) becomes the bay (president), Steve Wilson the bark (secretary) and Margaret McEwen the bight (treasurer).  September 1981 elections bring in Rick Henry as bay, Bill Seil the bark, and Peter Chelemedos as bight. The annual elections in 1982 install Bill Seil as bay, continue Peter Chelemedos as bight, and Bubbles Broxon and Kathleen Buckley to serve as co-barks.
    As 1983 rolls around, some lasting leadership decisions are desired.  Peter Chelemedos, continuing to refuse higher office, stays on for many years as bight.  Bubbles and Kathleen also keep their co-barking going for a long time.  And David Haugen is installed as PFL (President-For-Life), with terms like "railroaded into the position" associated with the event.  It would seem that his desire (or lack of it) notwith-standing, the Club has flourished ever since under David's esteemed leadership.  
    At the February 1994 meeting, Peter Chelemedos retires from bighting, and Roland "Ron" Carlson agrees to take his place, assisted by Beryl Koafa during the years the International Holmesian Games were held.  At the January 2003 Master's Dinner,  the financial reins were turned over to Allen Nelson.
    1997 saw the end of Bubbles' and Kathleen's "barking," their position of secretary and publisher both the monthly newsletter (Ineffable Twaddle) and the annual magazine (Beaten's Christmas Annual) being assumed by Terri Haugen.

MEETINGS AND THEIR CONDUCT:
    At that first meeting on March 31, 1980, it's decided to meet the next month on April 28th, and thus the tradition of monthly meetings is begun.  At first these are mostly dinner meetings, and mostly at Merchant's Cafe.  Other decisions during these early times include:  a story from the Canon will be studied each month for quizzing at the next meeing, a toast "To Murray, without whom" will initiate each meeting, and the meeting will be closed with recitation of Vincent Starret's poem "221-B."
    Finding meeting places will be an ongoing problem.  They were held variously on the ferry, at  Merchant's Cafe, the Pioneer Square Theater,Andy's Diner and, currently, at T.S. McHugh's.  
    Over the years skits have been presented ("The Adventure of the Happy Medium" being one), and various subjects are prepared and discussed.  Examples are:  "Snakes and their Venoms, and uses in the Canon,"  "Victorian Fashion,"  "Criminology,"  "Cryptography,"  "Book Collecting,"  "Sherlockian Pastiches,"  "ephemera,"  "Persons of Spanish Extraction in the Canon,"  and "Images of Holmes", to name a few.  Member Will Crakes, respected and cherished by all (now deceased), prepared and presented a series of literary sessions devoted to the Canon, the first involving the mystery surrounding Watson's marriages.
    Sometimes the monthy quiz or other events will be forgone in favor of a presentation, or "book report" as it were, of various Pastiches. The June 2001 meeting included a visit to The Titanic Exhibit following dinner, with the Club's own author Bill Seil (Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Tragedy) acting as tour guide.
   
EVENTS:
    January 6, 1981 marks Sherlock's 126th birthday.  The Club gathers to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Holmes' meeting with Watson.  In time and over the years, this meeting will evolve into the Annual Master's Dinner, held in recent years on the Saturday closest to January 6 at Andy's Diner.
    On March 31, 1981, the Club's first anniversary is celebrated on the Seattle-Bremerton Ferry once again.  This becomes somewhat of a tradition in time, too, designated the "Ruth Mitchell Memorial Cruise" in 1987, in honor of founding member Ruth Mitchell's passing on May 8 of that year.  Ruth was an influence that brought the Club to spend many happy meetings aboard the Washington State Ferrys, and was fond of reminding them to always remember to return to their roots. 
    A combination picnic and memorial ceremony is held August 28, 1982 at Snoqualmie Falls, commemor-ating the struggle between Holmes and Moriarity at the Reichenbach.  The ceremony continues in July of each year, changing to May (on May 4) in 1991 when the 100th anniversary of the events at the Falls are celebrated.  The Annual Reichenbach Wreath Throw persists in May until this day.  But the Club, not to be done out of a reason to meet and eat in July...also continues the July meetings, simply renaming the annual event to the John H. Watson Memorial Picnic.
    In 1983, Bubbles Broxon initiates a Christmas Dinner.  It evolves, too, until it's eventually being called the "Small Jollification" in 1987, and in 1990 is designated the "Annual Will Crakes Jollification," a memorial of his passing on December 2 of that year.

PUBLICATIONS:
    Beaten's Christmas Annual is a brainchild of the PFL David Haugen shortly after his installation.  It is first published in December 1983, and handed out at the Christmas Dinner Bubbles initiates that same year.  The Annual Master's Dinner sees Beaten's delivery in subsequent years.
    The monthly newsletter, previously published without a name (and sometimes sporadically), takes on it's first name in January 1984... "Pure Bleat"..!!  Oh, fear not...  the name lasts only three months, and in April of the same year it becomes "Ineffable Twaddle," and continues to bear that name to this day.
    The Website of The Sound of the Baskervilles was officially launched in October 2002, and is called, well...the website. 
    See "Breaking News" on this website for info on how to join The Sound of the Baskervilles!! All are welcome!! 
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