The SOBs Celebrate Sherlock`s 159 Birthday!!!

The SOBs Celebrate Sherlock’s 159th Birthday!!! What a great me we SOBs had at our 31st Master’s Dinner on January 5 at the Meridian Habitat & Park in Puyallup on Saturday, Janu‐
ary 5, 2013!! Traffic wasn’t great and the weather wasn’t coopera ve, but then this is winter in the Pacific Northwest!! And, the 30 Members of The Sound of the Baskervilles who a ended had some riotously good fun!! The very large and comfortable venue was wonderfully decorated with numerous Sherlockian bears from SOB Geoff Jeffery’s collec on. There were big ones and small ones at the entryway, and on every dining and serving table! Who could have thought so many different bears could be found—and so beau fully hand‐cra ed—but Geoff sure has!!! We started out the fes vi es with beverages, salad and appe zers to the tune of PFL David Haugen’s gree ngs and announcements and the start of the annual toasts. He had us raise our glasses to Queen Victoria, Sir Arthur, Dr. Watson and the birthday boy, Sherlock! In between, Sheila gave us a toast to “The Wheels on a Hansom Cab” to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round & Round” (!!!), and Terri expressed the Club’s gra tude to our hosts SOBs Cara Cross (park manager) & hub‐
by Geoff. SOB Margaret Nelson had us remember ailing SOB Stu Shiff‐
man, and David then con nued with toasts to Club Treasurer Allen Nel‐
son and Club Librarian Sheila Holtgrieve. This por on of the event was closed by David—using (with slight varia on) the words that one “Jody Baker” posted to the Hounds of the Internet in speaking of Christopher Morley and the BSIs decades ago—with a toast, of course, to our nearly 100 paid MEMBERS!!! Said he, “ ‘They are a literate, talented, free-spirited, fun-loving bunch of devotees who hold nothing Canonical to be
sacred. Everything is subject to their humor and becomes the object of their spoof. They have fun. It is
clean fun, with refinement and civility. It is among the highest forms of entertainment.’ I think it also applies to all of you! I salute the Members of The Sound of the Baskervilles!” A er a buffet lunch of pasta primavera, herbed chicken, mashed pota‐
toes, green beans, fruits and breads, Secretary/Editor Terri presented Cer fi‐
cates of Membership to several newer Members in a endance—including Kashena Konecki, Erynn Laurie and Maffie & David Rafferty—and… Con nued on Page 2 Con nued from Page 1...PFL David distributed cop‐
ies of the poem “221B” and his two newest fridge magnets. A drawing was then held for three items: a bo le of “SOB” wine, donated by Pat Connelly and won by Paul Williams; a copy of the book “London Gaze eer”, donated by Al Nelson and won by David Rafferty; and an original Stu Shiffman drawing, donated by PFL David and won by Ste‐
phen Adkins. Our 2012 Footprints of a Gigan c Hound Award, actually voted upon at the November Mee ng, was awarded to Webmaster Stu Nelan!!
We kept it a secret from him—easy to do, since he lives in Melissa, TX—and we actually bestowed it upon Stu via telephone! See more on this topic on Page 5 below!! The entertainment por on of the program featured SOB Emily Romnes’ presenta on of her original piece “Irene’s Story”, followed by Dad James’ recita on of Tennyson’s “The Eagle”. James then tantalized us with the promise that the second Act of their “Sketch in Two Acts: The Falls” would be pre‐
sented at our Wreath Throw on May 4!! This por on of the event closed with “A Drama c Reading of Vincent Starre ’s ‘221B’ Poem”—a unique, comedic and physical interpreta on!
—wri en by SOBs Lisa Miller and Ann‐Marie Wehrer and pre‐
sented by Lisa, Ann‐Marie and PFL David! Con nued on Page 3 Con nued from Page 2 Another fun and fes ve Master’s Din‐
ner ended with a dessert buffet of birthday cake, cookies and sweets, and the annual distribu on of our Beaten’s Christmas Annu‐
al—now in its 30th year of publica on! In addi on, Margie Deck treated us all to a viewing of the Sherlockian quilt she received from a friend for Christmas—a real work of art!!! Con nued on Page 4 Con nued from Page 3 Those also a ending but not yet men oned include SOBs Catherine Bancro , Nola Cheff, Ed & Joyce Funk, Jody Holm, John Longenbaugh, Jean Macdonald, Ann Park, Michelle Poitevin and Ginie Romnes. Well done, and Happy New Year to all!!! See Page 5 for even more!! Photos by
Editor
Terri
Haugen
Con nued from Page 4 As noted on Page 2 (above), our 2012 Footprints of a Gigan c Hound Award, actually voted upon at the November Mee ng, was awarded to Webmaster Stu Nelan!! We kept it a secret from him, which was easy to do because he lives in Melissa, TX (just north of Dallas). Because of that physical distance, we actually bestowed the Award upon Stu via telephone! We’d arranged with him in advance to call him at 2:00 p.m. during the banquet. During the call, we pretended to actually be holding the vote on who should win the 2012 Footprints Award! When PFL David “called for the vote”, the en re group hollered “Stu Nelan!!!” The traveling trophy, along with his permanent cer ficate (suitable for framing) and his copy of Beaten’s were mailed to Stu two days later. Fast forward a week to Stu’s e‐mail response to The SOBs on January 13: I’m back from the BSI Weekend (late last night) and had a very pleasant surprise waiting for me
here— the Award certificate and the traveling award itself!!
Thank you very much for the award! I’m honored, and flattered to be considered for such a thing.
(Wife) Pat took several pictures in our library (attached), with me wearing my Musgrave Ritual
shirt (which you probably can’t read).
The Trophy will be on the mantle beneath the Sherlock Holmes Pub picture. Other pictures are in
the Sherlock Holmes corner of the room, which Pat fears is taking over the entire library.
I’ll try to write up a summary of the fun weekend within a few days. Many thanks for your kind
thoughts!!
Stu, SOB Webmaster
And, here are the photos of Stu—thanks to Pat Nelan!