3 Days in a Weekend, 3 Ways to be a Sherlockian

The Illustrious Clients at the Zoo

Collecting memberships in Sherlock Holmes societies can be like collecting books, except easier and cheaper. Without trying I’ve joined a half-dozen or so. But the ones I am closest to are the ones I am closest to – geographically.

This weekend my wife Ann and I attended meetings in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Indianapolis. We rather feared it was going to be a Bataan death march of a weekend, but it turned out to be delightful. And together, the three meetings show the wonderful variety of Holmes-mania.

On Friday, the Tankerville Club met at a Cincinnati-area Panera restaurant. We had a quiz and a discussion about “The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez.” Official Secretary Paul Herbert’s legendary prowess at creating excruciating quizzes has not waned. (Example: “Would an investigation uncover any collusion between the Russians and either Arthur Conan Doyle or John Watson? Yes No Uncertain.”)

On Saturday, the Illustrious Clients made a field trip to the Indianapolis Zoo, led by the Illustrious Client, StevenDoyle. It was scavenger hunt in which we were charged with finding Canonical animals on a check list. A few examples will suffice:

Baboon: “The Speckled Band”

Lion: “The Veiled Lodger”

Ostrich: “The Engineer’s Thumb”

Tiger: “The Empty House”

Eagle: The Second Stain”

Gild Monster [lizard]: Tie breaker – what story? (A Study in Scarlet)

Ann was able to check off 16 animals, some of which she found on a carrousel, but her dogged attempts to find the worm from “Thor Bridge” proved fruitless.

On Sunday, the Agra Treasurers met for lunch at a Dayton restaurant and a quiz on a “The Red-Headed League” by member Stanley Wyllie. The Agra Treasurers’ tradition is that the winner of the quiz has to prepare the next one. Why wasn’t I warned? That task has now fallen to me.

There are many ways for a Sherlock Holmes society to function, but friendship is the lifeblood and the fun of it all. If you don’t belong to a group, join one. If there isn’t one near you, start one.

The Tiger of San Pedro or a Sebastian Moran target? (Steven Doyle photo)