Spring Meeting Report

The spring meeting of the Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit was held on Sunday May 4, 2008 at the Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle, the historic city park in the middle of the Detroit River.

Our home for the afternoon - the venerable Detroit Yacht Club

Perhaps allowing for the perfect, sunny May weather (or to allow a few extra minutes for stragglers to make their way upstairs from the bar), Gasogene John Kramb called the meeting to order at 1:07 p.m.

After the requisite bits of club business, a tasty luncheon was served, consisting of either chicken breasts in a white wine and lemon sauce; marinated flank steak with a mushroom Bordelaise sauce or Michigan whitefish in a chardonnay cream sauce.

The meal was punctuated by the standard toasts to The Woman (by John and Ann LaFond, marking what is believed to be the first dual toast in the club's 62-year history), Watson's Second Wife (by club Tidewaiter Walter Young), Mrs. Hudson (by Jim Conway, with an inspired piece of doggerel) and Mycroft Holmes (by Glen Harbaugh). In keeping with club tradition, longtime AMS stalwart Jerry Alvin also called for glasses to be raised to one Ezekiah Hopkins, the late millionaire from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, who so encouraged book learning and also the propagation of redheads.

A view of the Detroit skyline from the DYC terrace

After the repast, Gasogene Kramb surprised the flock by announcing the special lifetime appointment of member Richard Jeryan to the highly honorary post of club Lascar, thereby correcting a serious gap in the leadership structure of the AMS, and one that had hitherto escaped notice, though it had been required by club bylaws.

Next, Commissionaire Chris Music led a discerning discussion of both the singular and the finer points found in the meeting's discussion story, "The Naval Treaty," the longest short story in The Canon, and one that has nothing to do with a particular type of orange.

Quizmistress Bobbi Gorevitz next guided the 49 gathered members and guests in an seven question quiz on "The Naval Treaty," with a bonus question for extra points. Scoring at the top of the class, with 11 1/2 points on the difficult 16-point exam, was member Regina Stinson, a founding member of the Ribston-Pippins scion of Royal Oak, Michigan. She was followed closely by Chris Jeryan with 9 1/2 points, no doubt inspired by the great honor that had just been bestowed on her husband, the newly-minted Lascar. For their efforts, both scholars were awarded beribboned bronzed medallions, suitable for engraving.

Mendicants congratulate our new 'Lascar' - Richard Jeryan (center)

In the prize raffle drawing, the honors continued to pour in as Lascar Jeryan's name was drawn and the new officer (and co-editor of the club's irregular newsletter, The Beggar's Cap) earned the second of four commemorative hand-cut and tumbled marble tiles, inscribed with a Sidney Paget illustration from another of the Master's nautical adventures, "The Gloria Scott." This raffle also enriched the club's coffers by $46.

In the everyone-gets-a-chance attendance drawing, member Patience Nauta's name was randomly drawn, enabling her to take home a sumptuously-bound, pocket-sized version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles," generously donated by Bev Sobolewski, perhaps out of a sense of fairness since she most often seems to capture the loot in this category.


Mendicants enjoying lunch in the 'Trophy Room' at the DYC

Next came a scholarly treatise on the history of the England's three most famous submarines, an insightful monograph that, thanks to research on two continents and PowerPoint legerdemain, managed to definitively link the Bruce-Partington submarine detailed (or barely detailed) in the Canon to the special underwater Lotus driven by Roger Moore in "The Spy Who Loved Me" and to a certain Yellow Submarine crewed by the Fab Four from that English port of Liverpool. This presentation, by yours truly, also managed to weave in the USS Cero, a vintage World War II submarine that somehow, in the 1960s, ended up docked in the Detroit River across from the location of the gathering.

Finally, when that topic was exhausted, Commissionaire Music detailed the upcoming summer meeting, set for Aug. 2 at the Commonwealth Club in Warren, Michigan, and the gathering was adjourned, following the traditional singing of "God Save The Queen" and the reading of the poetic classic, "221-B."

Anne Musial and Dr. David Mohan lead us in singing 'God Save the Queen'

Respectfully submitted,

Robert MusialTantalus

May Meeting Announcement

“You noticed, of course, that his boots had been resoled”
— Sherlock Holmes, in “The Naval Treaty”

And while Sole won’t be on the menu, Michigan Whitefish and two other entrees will, at the annual Spring Meeting of The Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit – to which you are most cordially invited.

Sunday, May 4, 2008 at 1 p.m.
Detroit Yacht Club, 1 Riverbank Road, Belle Isle, Detroit
Club phone: (313) 824-1200

As part of the afternoon’s festivities, the brief Canonical discussion will concern “The Naval Treaty,” in which Holmes, with considerable panache, helps recover an important document for an old schoolmate of Watson’s. There will be a story quiz with prizes, toasts and a raffle for the second of four commemorative Canonical marble tiles, this one depicting a Sidney Paget illustration from “The ‘Gloria Scott’.”

In keeping with our location and theme, AMS member Robert Musial will detail his investigation into another nautical story from the Canon, “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans,” which concerns the least well-known of England’s three most famous submarines.

Please be sure to designate your entrée selection on the form below and return it with your remittance.

We look forward to seeing you on May 4th. Libations begin at 1 p.m. with dinner at 2 p.m.
Choices (pick one in advance):

Chicken Piccata, Roast Flank Steak, or Michigan Whitefish

(Chicken Breast w/ Lemon, Capers, White Wine and Artichoke Hearts OR Marinated Flank Steak, Sliced, w/ Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce OR Fish Fillet w/ Chardonnay Cream Sauce.)

All entrees include house salad, vegetables, fresh rolls, coffee, tea or iced tea and cake.
There will also be a cash bar.

- Respectfully Submitted, Rob Musial, Tanatalus

From the Gasogene

Greetings Amateur Mendicants. As I write this brief message, I have just returned from a live telecast of the 6 Nations Cup rugby matches. The England national team thoroughly beat Ireland, 33 – 10, and finished second overall in the cup standings this year to undefeated Wales.

Now, some of you may be wondering if Holmes and Watson ever conducted a case in Wales. Most of you have read The Adventure of the Missing Three Quarter (a player position in rugby). This case, of course, reminds us that Cyril Overton played rugby for England against Wales. But, as for cases in Wales, there is no published account of any conducted there. But I digress.

We are about to enter the 62nd year since the formation of the Amateur Mendicant Society. Last year, we held four dinner meetings at various Detroit area venues. All the meetings were well attended, and I speculate that most everyone enjoyed themselves. You might wonder why we do the things we do. Let me explain.

For all our meetings, we attempt to select a venue (i.e., a club or a restaurant) with some ambiance, decent food, a well-stocked bar, and an affordable price. You may recall that last year, we had meetings at the British Commonwealth Club, at the (late, great) Fox and Hounds Restaurant, and at the Rochester Mills Brewing Company. Our plans for this year include the Commonwealth Club, the Detroit Yacht Club, and another as-yet underdetermined venue.

The agendas for our meetings have a familiar pattern to them. We make introductions and announcements, we have several toasts to famous characters in the Canon, we eat, we discuss a story, and we have a presenter offer a ‘scholarly paper’. On occasion, we impose a ‘quiz’ on the membership. We award prizes and auction items of Sherlockian provenance, we hail The Queen in song, we read a poem, and we adjourn.

The formula seems to work as we have been able to find the proper balance between scholarship and irreverence, between tradition and ad hoc happenings, and between general social interaction and focus on Holmes and Watson. You should expect more of the same, perhaps with a few twists, in 2008, not because we are lazy planners or unwilling to try new ideas. We just have a certain comfort level with the program format, and based on the attendance at meetings, so do you.

I was asked not long ago, why we always make the same four toasts at our meetings. Toasts are part of our tradition, and out or respect for our traditions, we always toast The Women, Mrs. Hudson, Watson’s Second Wife, and Mycroft Holmes.

Why? Because these toasts were offered at the AMS Resurrection Dinner on 15 Dec 1975 at The Sixpence Restaurant in Warren, MI. We have made the same toasts ever since. On occasion, other toasts have made the program as well. Bob Harris always made a toast to “The Queen” and Jerry “Red” Alvin usually offers a toast to Ezekiah Hopkins (said to have made his fortune in America and founded the Red Headed League). We have toasted the Hound, young Stamford, Murray, Holmes’ birthday, and some of our deceased AMS members. Apparently, we are not restricted by our traditions, we merely embrace them.

So, I welcome you to another year with your friends, with Holmes and Watson, to frivolous entertainment, to Sherlockian scholarship, and to camaraderie. Although we have much to look forward to in 2008, when we gather three of four times a year to celebrate the cases of Holmes and Watson, a respectful glance at our traditions might remind us, in the words of Vincent Starrett:

“Here, though the world explode, these two survive,
And it is always 1895.”


John Kramb, Gasogene.

Redford Theatre

Just wanted to make you aware that the Redford Theatre will be showing the 1944 Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce film "The Scarlet Claw" the weekend of August 22/23.

For those of you who have never been, the Redford Theatre is a classic, neighborhood movie theatre originally opened in 1928. Definately worth the trip!

- Chris

Winter Meeting Report

Braving snowdrifts and freezing temperatures, 58 Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit members and their guests convened at the British Commonwealth Club in Warren, Michigan on February 2, 2008.

The annual winter dinner meeting of the AMS was called to order at 6:50 p.m. by Gasogene John Kramb, who briefly illuminated the evening’s action-packed agenda.

A roomfull of happy Sherlockians!

First, Tantalus Emeritus Ray Mandziuk shared information on two new publications, “The Quintessential Sherlock Holmes” by Richard Lewis Boyer and “The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes” by Andrew Lycett plus “Sherlock Holmes – Classic Radio Shows” from Nostalgia Ventures. He also endorsed the BBC TV series now out on DVD about another detective, “Prime Suspect,” starring Helen Mirren.

Mandziuk also informed the gathering about another Holmesian gathering – this year’s Dayton Symposium entitled “The Year of the Yard” being held in that Ohio city March 7-9. For info, call Cathy Gill @ 513-681-5507 or e-mail her at: chirpsworth@fuse.net.

Gasogene Emeritus Roy Pilot, the evening’s speaker, also reminded the audience that Vincent Starrett’s “The Private of Lives of Sherlock Holmes” had recently been reprinted as had a book containing essays about that master Sherlockian collector, Richard Lancelyn Green.

As an Oscars-month surprise, the Beggar’s Cup awards for Sherlockian scholarship were awarded to authors of the best papers presented at an AMS meeting in the previous year. For the inaugural year, the handsome tin cups with engraved plates honored local scholars Michael Ellis, Esq., and Dr. David Mohan.

Recipients of this year's 'Beggar's Cup' awards for outstanding Sherlockian Scholarship - Michael Ellis and David Mohan

The awards serve as a reminder of the sterling rewards awaiting those whose serious study of the Canon result in papers presented at future meetings. So crack those books and get cracking.

As always, a series of toasts enlivened the evening, with salutes to Mycroft Holmes (by Michael Smith), Mrs. Hudson (Penny Griffin), Watson’s Second Wife (Sam Stinson), The Woman (Ray Mandziuk) and to Ezekiah Hopkins, the late millionaire from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, who left his fortune to establish The Red-Headed League for the propagation of redheads everywhere (Jerry Alvin).

Jerry Alvin describes the tenuous link between John L. Sullivan and Ezekiah Hopkins of Lebanon, Pennsylvania - founder of the Red Headed League.

Gasogene Kramb then recognized Alvin with another surprise inaugural award, a framed and matted certificate bearing an authentic English coin, honoring former redhead Alvin for his years of meritorious service to the AMS.

Next, Kramb and Tantalus Robert Musial quizzed the assembled multitude on key points in the evening’s story, “The Second Stain,” which contained such Canonical conundrums as the location of Sussex Downs, how Eduardo Lucas came to be fingered in the case and why a certain lady didn’t just slip the letter back in the dispatch box and save everyone a lot of trouble.

That settled, attendees next enjoyed a hearty repast of roasted chicken, English steak pie, salad and more.

The highlight of an Amateur Mendicant Society event.... FOOD!

The meat of the evening came next as Gasogene Emeritus Pilot presented a learned paper on narcotics use in Victorian times. Drawing on years of research as a pharmacist, Pilot dissected the pharmacopeia of the times, from the famed seven-percent solution of cocaine to morphine and opium. As an added fillip, diners also got to munch on cookies baked by Anne Musial and dubbed “Opi-yums” for their poppy seed content.

Gasogene-emeritus Roy Pilot gives his excellent presentation on the use of narcotics in the 19th century.

With the presentation concluded, Al Calderini won the drawing for the first of four Sherlock Holmes marble tiles imprinted with a drawing by Sidney Paget.

The meeting concluded at 9:41 p.m. after Anne Musial and Dr. Mohan led the group in a rousing chorus of “God Save The Queen” and Commissionaire Chris Music read the famous poem, “221-B.”

Respectfully submitted,

Robert Musial
Tantalus

February 2008 Meeting

“Watson – I perceive you’ve spilled something on your waistcoat again.”
— something Sherlock Holmes does not say in “The Adventure of the Second Stain”

This is to spill the beans about the Winter 2008 meeting of The Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit – to which you are most cordially invited.

Saturday, February 2, 2008 6:30 PM
British Commonwealth Club, 30088 Dequindre Rd., Warren
(between 12 & 13 Mile Roads)
Club phone: (586) 751-9560

As part of the evening’s festivities, the brief Canonical discussion will concern “The Adventure of Second Stain,” a case brought to Holmes’ attention by the Prime Minister. It concerns a murder, a missing document of vital importance and a bloodstained carpet. Extra credit to those who actually read the story.

After the usual toasts and a fine buffet of English fare, the main course will be a presentation by Baker Street Irregular and Gasogene Emeritus Roy Pilot on the use (and misuse) of various drugs during the Victorian era. Pilot’s monograph is entitled “Why A Seven-Percent Solution?” Find out how Watson was mistaken (as usual) when, in “A Study in Scarlet,” he observed of Holmes:

“…I might have suspected him of being addicted to the use of some narcotic, had not the temperance and cleanliness of his whole life forbidden such a notion.”

For the Mendicant meal & merriment, mail a check for $25 per person by Tuesday, Jan. 29 to:

Edward F. Stein, A.M.S.

The buffet dinner will consist of roast chicken, potatoes and a tossed salad or English steak pie, potatoes and a tossed salad. Rolls, dessert, coffee/tea are included. There will also be a cash bar.

Respectfully submitted,
Robert Musial, Tantalus

Fall Meeting Report

MENDICANTS, GUESTS ENJOY DINNER, SHOW

Under London-like leaden skies, fifty members and guests of the Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit journeyed to Rochester, Michigan on October 14, 2007 for the fall meeting of the society.

While partaking of potables at the Rochester Mills Beer Company, a brew pub restaurant housed in a former knitting mill, the group (barely) heard Gasogene John Kramb offer illumination on several key points in the story, “The Adventure of the Three Students.” While the Gasogene’s dissection of the story was brilliant, the acoustics were less so, due to the hardwood floors, exposed brick walls and the competition from several large screen TVs blaring Sunday football games.

In spite of that, the Gasogene also managed to warmly welcome several guests who had traveled from as far away as Michigan’s Thumb and Dayton, Ohio, specifically for this meeting. Also joining the group was Meadow Brook Theatre artistic director David Regal, which was appropriate since, after the meal, the merry Mendicants were heading to his playhouse to catch MBT’s production of “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure” in its Michigan debut.

During the repast, the usual toasts were offered to The Woman by Mary Louise Kramp; Watson’s Second Wife by Phil Jones; Mrs. Hudson by Al Calderini and Mycroft Holmes by John Zemonski.

Due to the theater outing, no monographs were read during the meeting but the post-prandial raffle of a Sherlock Holmes “Pub in a Box” set raised $44 for club coffers and was won by Beverly Sobolewski.

As the end of the meeting drew near, Anne Musial joined church choristers Jim and Gayle Conway to lead the crowd in a chorus of “God Save the Queen” and Tantalus Rob Musial gave a dramatic reading of the immortal poem “A Long Evening with Holmes” to adjourn the dinner portion of the festivities.

Then, it was off to the theater to see the opening weekend performance of the play, recently written by Steven Dietz and based on earlier theatrical works crafted by the legendary actor William Gillette and the literary agent Arthur Conan Doyle.

Dietz’ play was a successful adaptation and blend of two of the Master’s adventures, “A Scandal in Bohemia” and “The Final Problem.” MBT’s version starred Richard Marlatt as Holmes, Chip DuFord as Dr. Watson, Sarab Kamoo as Irene Adler, Aaron T. Moore as the King of Bohemia and Thomas D. Mahard as Prof. Moriarty. Billing should also be given to a ghostly presence on-stage who managed to get in on the act, at one point knocking off the horn of a Victorian Victrola when no one was nearby. Perhaps it was merely one of Conan Doyle’s spirit friends.

After the play, the cast and director Regal returned to the stage in street clothes to hold a “talk back” about the play with AMS members and MBT patrons.

The session lasted nearly an hour as the cast, director and audience asked and answered questions about the play, the characters and various points of Sherlockiana, though leaving unspoken why Mahard did not oscillate his head in a reptilian manner as part of his portrayal of Moriarty.

All in all, the unique combination of a dinner-and-a-play went down in the annals as one of the most unique outings in the history of the 61-year-old society.

It is likely that even Holmes himself would have enjoyed the evening, for as he explained in “The Valley of Fear” adventure, “Watson insists that I am the dramatist in real life.”

Respectfully submitted,

Robert Musial, Tantalus

AMS/Meadowbrook Theatre Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOCAL SHERLOCKIANS TO VISIT MEADOW BROOK THEATRE FOR PLAY

Nearly 50 metro Detroit Sherlock Holmes buffs will attend the Meadow Brook Theatre production of “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure” on Sunday, Oct. 14.

Known as The Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit, the group was founded in 1946 to discuss the exploits of the famed Victorian-era detective and his associate, Dr. John H. Watson, as detailed in the 60 stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. "

"We are attending the play at the Meadow Brook Theatre to make sure that undo liberties have not been taken with the characters of Holmes and Watson. After all, we collectively are rather protective of Watson and Holmes,” said John Kramb, the president (or Gasogene) of the Amateur Mendicants.

Known as “the Canon", the original Holmes’ adventures continue to enjoy an enthusiastic following among readers young and old. Members of clubs such as the Amateur Mendicants take their appreciation one step further, by participating in what is called “The Game", the gentle belief that Holmes and Watson were real people, that Watson actually wrote the stories, and that Doyle was merely Watson’s literary agent.

Part of this fellowship requires members of such clubs to read and discuss the original stories and attempt to explain or clear up their occasional inaccuracies. “Reading the stories and discussing the nuances and inconsistencies of the Holmes mysteries is like getting a free passport to the Victorian Age," said Kramb. "In our quarterly meetings, we enjoy the camaraderie, the debate on fine points of the stories, a nice meal and a few toasts to The Queen and other characters of renown in the Holmes’ adventures,” he said.

Though most of Doyle’s stories were written more than 100 years ago, the character of Sherlock Holmes (and his trusted doctor friend) continues to fascinate readers and theater-goers, as evidenced by this new Meadow Brook play, which opens Oct. 10 and runs through Nov. 4.

As for the Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit, what draws the group together is the thrill of Holmes solving the cases with Watson while readers and fans are carried along on the adventure. On Oct. 14, the Mendicants, almost fifty strong, will attend Meadow Brook Theatre to cheer on their hero – and to help make sure that Holmes solves the adventure one more time.

For more information on the Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit, please contact: amateurmendicantsociety@hotmail.com

Fall Meeting

“Come, friend Watson – the curtain rings up for the last act.”
— Sherlock Holmes, “The Adventure of the Second Stain”

You are cordially invited to the Fall 2007 meeting of The Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit – a rare double bill that will feature a meal-and-meeting PLUS (if desired) an outing to Meadow Brook Theatre to see the play “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure” by Stephen Dietz.



Sunday October 14, 2007
Rochester Mills Beer Company
400 Water Street, Rochester, MI
(2 blocks east of downtown Rochester)
Restaurant phone: (248) 650-5080
Libations: 3:30 p.m.; dinner 4 p.m.

Meadowbrook Theatre
207 Wilson Hall, Oakland University
Rochester Hills, MI
Box Office: (248) 377-3300
Performance at 6:30 PM

$18 per person for the meeting – OR $30 per person for the meeting AND special theater package!

To commemorate our visit to Oakland University, the brief Canonical story discussion will concern “The Adventure of the Three Students,” with its tale of lecturer Hilton Soames and a possible cheating scandal.

The Meadow Brook production marks the first Michigan performance of this award-winning play. Based on plays by Arthur Conan Doyle and actor William Gillette, this classic mystery mixes Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Irene Adler, Professor Moriarty AND a climax at the Reichenbach Falls – all on one stage!

Payment deadline for the $30 per person meeting-and-theater package is Friday, Sept. 21.
Dinner includes your choice on Oct. 14 of Scallop & Shrimp Pasta, Beer Battered Fish & Chips, Sesame Crusted Chicken, Brewmaster’s Shepherd’s Pie OR Honey-Peppered Salmon. Dessert will be provided. There will be a cash bar.

Summer Meeting Report

Forty-seven members and guests convened at the Fox & Hounds restaurant in Bloomfield Hills on July 22, 2007 for the summer meeting of the Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit.

Along with the chef-carved prime rib and broiled salmon, the buffet lunch included the usual accompaniments and a well-researched presentation in which Dr. David Mohan dissected a mystery from the most famous and popular of the Master’s tales, “The Hound of the Baskervilles.”

Dr. Mohan’s monograph, titled “Three Knights Upon the Moor,” examined the history and homes of the two families which are the most likely candidates for the story of that large and rather disagreeable hound.

Dr. David Mohan

Backed up with heraldry, maps, drawings and photographs, the presentation examined how both families – the Cabells of Dartmoor and Norfolk and the Baskerville-Mynors and their ancestors, the Vaughns – had histories that included sightings of evil black dogs. Just as intriguing were the links both families had to the “literary agent,” Arthur Conan Doyle.

Before all of that however, Gasogene John Kramb and Tantalus Robert Musial attempted to shed light on a few of the Canonical conundrums in the assigned reading, “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.”

Tantalus Musial and Gasogene Kramb

Among them was how a firm specializing in assessing machinery became involved with a tea broker who was also mixed up with the importation of nitrates? What of this giant rat and what exactly was a yeggman? When did Sherlock Holmes’ practice become “an agency”? And was Holmes’ rather casual advice at the end of the case enough to put all aright?

Along the way were the usual toasts. Introduced by Tidewaiter Walter Young, the toastees included Gloria Longueuil, Sam Stinson, Dennis Petroni and Young himself, all of whom raised a glass to publicly recognize the singular attributes of Mrs. Hudson, Watson’s Second Wife, The Woman and Mycroft Holmes. Longtime Mendicant Jerry Alvin also rose to recognize the efforts of one Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pa., who left a fortune to make life easier for certain men with red hair.

"Red" Alvin

Winning the summer 2007 door prize, a DVD that detailed “The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes,” was Joyce Hostnick.

Before business was adjourned, Gasogene Emeritus Roy Pilot read the poem “A Long Evening with Holmes” and Anne Musial and Dr. Mohan led the multitude in a chorus of “God Save the Queen.”

While the afternoon was most convivial, there was also sadness in the air since the site of this gathering, an English Tudor-style landmark in the northern Detroit suburbs since 1928, will close at the end of August – to be torn down and replaced by some modern development.

Fox & Hounds (1928-2007)

Sadder still since several knowledgeable Sherlockians report that the Fox & Hounds was patterned in part as a Stateside recreation of two famed hotels in the charming Cotswold village of Broadway in the United Kingdom – the Lygon Arms and the Broadway Hotel.

Though there is no record in the existing canon of Holmes and Watson staying at the Lygon or the Broadway, there are several cases for which the world is not yet prepared so one never knows what may turn up.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert Musial, Tantalus