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At Gilliland's, Rosa Oliver presiding. The meeting was called to order at 9:23 PM. The minutes were approved as read. The Treasury stood at $8,151.83. The Treasurer gave the second quarter and semi-annual reports (see page 2).
COMMITTEES:
ENTERTAINMENT: 23 WSFAns saw Time Bandits. December 18 will be the Tree Trim, and December 19 will be the Solstice Dinner (both at Gilliland's).
DISCLAVE 82: We are preparing a mailing. Memberships are $5 from Bev Brandt before the mailing.
OLD BUSINESS:
NEW BUSINESS:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 PM.
The WSFA Journal is the odious publication of the Washington Science Fiction Association. Editor-in-Chief Jane Wagner, 1000 6th St. SW #312, Washington, DC 20024 (202-554-2730). Assistant Editor: Joe Mayhew. CONTRIBUTE TO THE WSFA JOURNAL! MOST TRASH CHEERFULLY ACCEPTED!! ARTWORK BEGGED FOR!!!.
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WSFA WELCOMES DAVID WHITLEY CHALKER
(9 lbs., 4 oz., December 19, 1981)
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At Gilliland's, Rosa Oliver presiding. The meeting was called to order at 9:16 PM. The minutes were approved as read. The Treasury stood (sat?) at $7,576.40. Several persons were dropped for non-payment of dues (Be Warned!).
COMMITTEES:
ENTERTAINMENT: The tree was being trimmed. For the dinner tomorrow, many people have signed up. Doll asked people to stagger arrivals (Editor's Note: Should we stagger departing?).
CAPICON 60: Flyers were distributed. Room rates are $28 single, $34 double, $40 triple. Registration is $7.50 at the door.
OLD BUSINESS: zilch.
NEW BUSINESS: zilch.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The meeting was adjourned at 9:31 PM.
September 1, 1981 $ 6,659.34
Receipts
Dues $ 145.00
Disclave 81 2,869.44
Unspent Food &
Beverage 20.55
Interest 84.13
TOTAL RECEIPTS $3,119.12 +$ 3,119.12
$ 9,778.46
Expenditures
Food & Beverage $ 693.17
ConStellation 300.00
Print/Publication 427.51
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $1,420.68 -$ 1,420.68
December 1, 1981 $8,357.78
June 1, 1981 $ 2,424.29
Receipts
Dues $ 482.00
Disclave 81 9,502.77
Interest 113.99
Miscellaneous 24.80
TOTAL RECEIPTS $10,123.56 +$10,123.56
$12,547.85
Expenditures
Food & Beverage $ 1,636.82
Print/Publication 574.54
ConStellation 300.00
Entertainment 251.00
Materials 927.71
Donations 500.00
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $ 4,190.07 -$ 4,190.07
December 1, 1981 $ 8,357.78
Dalroy Ward
[censored]
Silver Spring, MD 20903
(301) 439-2952
Nancy Damren
[censored]
Reston, VA 22091
(703) 860-3808
Kent Bloom/Mary Morman
551 Brummel Ct. N.W.
Washington, DC 20012
(202) SAD-OGRE
President
Leaps tall buildings in a single bound.
Is more powerful than a locomotive.
Is faster than a speeding bullet.
Walks on water.
Executive Vice President
Leaps short buildings in a single bound.
Is more powerful than a switch engine.
Is just as fast as a speeding bullet.
Walks on water if the sea is calm.
Talks with God.
Division Manager
Leaps short buildings with a running start and favorable winds.
Is almost as powerful as a switch engine.
Is faster than a speeding BB.
Walks on water in an indoor swimming pool.
Talks with God if special request is approved.
Plant Manager
Barely clears a Quonset hut.
Loses tug-of-war with a locomotive.
Can fire a speeding bullet.
Swims well.
Is occasionally addressed by God.
Sales Manager
Makes high marks on the wall when trying to leap buildings.
Is run over by a locomotive.
Can sometimes handle a gun without inflicting self-injury.
Dog paddles.
Talks to animals.
Salesman
Runs into buildings.
Recognizes locomotives two out of three times.
Is not issued ammunition.
Can stay afloat with life jacket.
Talks to walls.
Production Manager
Falls over doorsteps when trying to enter buildings.
Says, "Look at the choo-choo."
Wets himself with a water pistol.
Plays in mud puddles.
Mumbles to himself.
Controller
Lifts buildings and walks under them.
Kicks locomotives off the tracks.
Catches speeding bullets in his teeth and eats them.
Freezes water with a single glance.
He is God.
The following is reprinted from QUANTA, WSFA's first publication, March, 1949 (Vol. 1, #2). This article covers WSFA's first two years and is the first of a (hopefully) series of articles on WSFA's deep dark past. Any volunteers for other articles?
HISTORY OF WSFA by Franklin Kerkhof (one of the founding members)
It all began at the Philcon. Before the Philcon, I had never met any local fans except Mr. & Mrs. Dillard Stokes. I had no idea that others even existed. However, among all the other shady dealings that transpired at the Philcon, Russell Swanson, Bob Briggs, & I were introduced and decided that there should be a Science Fiction club of some kind in Washington.
A couple of weeks later, (don't ask me for dates; I rarely remember them and they are not recorded) we three met on Ninth Street and conspired. We planned a meeting to be held in my basement room of the local fans whose names and addresses we had. The meeting was held the following Saturday evening. Those present included Mr. & Mrs. Ray Courtis, Bob Pavlat, and Chick Derry, in addition to us three. I must confess that there were fewer than seven at several of our subsequent meetings. Willy Ley, Groff Conklin, and the Stokeses expressed their regrets at not being able to attend. We seven decided a few things, such as time and place of meetings and a name for the organization. We were to meet every other Sunday at our present meeting place, and were to be known as the Washington Science Fiction Society.
We progressed fairly well; we attracted some new and valuable members: Willy Ley attended a couple of meetings and once we had both Mr. Ley and Seabury Quinn. Then disaster threatened. Russell Swanson, who had been acting president, was discharged from the Army and left Ft. Myer for his home in Haddam, Connecticut sometime in December 1947. I found myself acting president, secretary, treasurer, publicity director, et. al. I won't say that I did my very best to keep things going--I won't say that the rest of us did. But school boys must go to school and study at nights; we working men must work eight hours a day, get our rest, conform to social obligations, etc.
In short, not enough of us had enough time to keep everything going as it should. Perhaps the inclemency of the weather contributed to our difficulties.
Perhaps we needed organization. Sometime in the spring, Russell made a return visit and asked Willy Ley over for an interview. We had a better meeting that time than we had been having. Among those present was a bespectacled gentleman from Alexandria. He seemed to be quite interested in WSFS, but little did I suspect the extent of his interest.
At the next meeting, Louis E. Garner, Jr. returned bright and early, full of plans and with a rough draft Łor a constitution drawn up. Before the evening was over, and before we quite realized it, lo, we were organized! Garner was president, Briggs was vice president, and I was secretary-treasurer. Legally!
There are some who think over-organization is staring us in the face, but I doubt it. Garner may be a bit too ambitious, but we can compensate for that. Just look what we have done. By the time you read this we will have put out the second issue of QUANTA. Our publicity is working nicely. We have made active fans out of many adamant Washingtonians.
And now what? How about conventions? Washington would be nifty for nineteen-fifty; and if not, how about Washington in 'fifty-one?
(WSFS became WSFA in July, 1948. WSFA ran an unsuccessful Worldcon bid for 1951. In September, 1948 John W. Campbell and Hugo Gernsback, among others, were elected to Honorary Membership. The first local convention sponsored by WSFA was held in 1950.)
The January Fifth Friday Party will be held at Kent Bloom and Mary Morman's new house in Silver Spring, and will also be their housewarming. Welcome to SAD-OGRE!
January Fifth Friday At Kent and Mary's
[map coming soon]
Take I-495 to the Georgia Ave/Silver Spring exit. Follow George SOUTH approx. 2½ miles to Blair Rd. Turn LEFT on Blair, and follow it around a hard curve to the right. Turn LEFT into the Brummel Manor townhouses. #551 is the first unit facing you on the right. Park anywhere. Our new phone is SAD-OGRE - - - if you get lost!