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Memoirs of a Superfluous Fan, 1944

Page 9

Dollens for a copy of the Collector.

Meanwhile, my first fan correspondent turned up. As I was adicted to writing endless letters to the editors of the three scientifiction magazines then extant, (I was very successful in this venture, having an average of one letter each three months in each of the three magazines) it was natural that I began to receive letters from other fans of the day. John L. Chapman, of the original Minneapolis bunch, dropped e a letter saying that he was looking for a pen pal. I wrote back that while I wasn't especially looking for a pen pal, I had no religious scruples against one. This began a protracted correspondence lasting from the middle of 1937 to and through 1940. I presume this could also be selected as the particular instance which precipitated me into the fan arena.

The languid tempo of my science fiction life began to increase towards the middle of 1937, and shortly I was put in touch with John V. Baltadonis through my good friend Chapman. By now I had received two issues of the Collector from Dollens and by going through [Ackerman's?] collection I acquainted myself with former amateur ventures. Claire Beck dropped me an issue of TESSERACT, and I seriously considered joining the Science Fiction Advancement Association, mainly to get that professional rubber seal which members of that organisation used to stamp MEMBER SFAA on all their letters. I also sent a silly and stupid article to Jullie Schwartz's FANTASY magazine, the themeof which was that science fiction was not widely recognised because it did not come out in books. I often get this ridiculous thing out and laugh riotously over it [illegible] all.

BY AUGUST 1937 I was fairly well established in the Los Angeles Chapter of the Science Fiction League as a rather young but not unduly obnoxious member. I even grew so bold as to contribute to the discussions and arguments. My good friend David Fox gave me much low-down on the dirt of the club, a hobby which I have enjoyed ever since. My turn to write chapter number eight of the "Tale Which Hath No Title" came around, and I was highly gratified that the members accepted it to be as funny as any other. My introduction of the two moons "Oglethorp" and "Arglethorp" caused much hilarity.

I can never thank Russ Hodgkins enough for treating me in those days as an intelligent person. The condescending attitude of Lewis and a few others kept me away from them at first, though in retrospect I cannot blame them in the least. Hodgkins managed to make me feel not so much a waif in the midst of all these activities. The same goes for Forrest J Ackerman. He was undeniably the leading and outstanding fan and figure in the field in those days. I could ask him questions about scientifiction and scientifiction fandom which I know were inane and mayhap stupid, but he managed to patiently explain the mysterious world to me. That this preoccupation with scientifiction could be indicative of other conditions never occured to me for several years. My admiration for Ackerman then as the prototype of a better kind of person was endless.

Somewhere between my joining and April 1937 Myrtle R. Smith (or Douglas) was brought to a meeting by Ackerman. He had first met her at an Esperanto Club meeting. At that time her scientifiction name was Morogo. Her son was a schoolmate of mine, one or two grades below me. This and the coming of Paul R. Freehafer, who was previously a pen friend of Ackerman's, noted for his reading and collecting activities, rounded out the few fans who have survived to the present day from early 1937. Freehafer came from Payotte, Idaho, to attend the California Institute of Technology, and his visits to the club were more or less sporadic for several years before he commenced active membership sometime in 1939 with the publication of POLARIS.

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Dollens for a copy of the Collector. Meanwhile, my first fan correspondent turned up. As I was adicted to writing endless letters to the editors of the three scientifiction magazines then extant, (I was very successful in this venture, having an average of one letter each three months in each of the three magazines) it was natural that I began to receive letters from other fans of the day. John L. Chapman, of the original Minneapolis bunch, dropped e a letter saying that he was looking for a pen pal. I wrote back that while I wasn't especially looking for a pen pal, I had no religious scruples against one. This began a protracted correspondence lasting from the middle of 1937 to and through 1940. I presume this could also be selected as the particular instance which precipitated me into the fan arena. The languid tempo of my science fiction life began to increase towards the middle of 1937, and shortly I was put in touch with John V. Baltadonis through my good friend Chapman. By now I had received two issues of the Collector from Dollens and by going through [Ackerman's?] collection I acquainted myself with former amateur ventures. Claire Beck dropped me an issue of TESSERACT, and I seriously considered joining the Science Fiction Advancement Association, mainly to get that professional rubber seal which members of that organisation used to stamp MEMBER SFAA on all their letters. I also sent a silly and stupid article to Jullie Schwartz's FANTASY magazine, the themeof which was that science fiction was not widely recognised because it did not come out in books. I often get this ridiculous thing out and laugh riotously over it [illegible] all. BY AUGUST 1937 I was fairly well established in the Los Angeles Chapter of the Science Fiction League as a rather young but not unduly obnoxious member. I even grew so bold as to contribute to the discussions and arguments. My good friend David Fox gave me much low-down on the dirt of the club, a hobby which I have enjoyed ever since. My turn to write chapter number eight of the "Tale Which Hath No Title" came around, and I was highly gratified that the members accepted it to be as funny as any other. My introduction of the two moons "Oglethorp" and "Arglethorp" caused much hilarity. I can never thank Russ Hodgkins enough for treating me in those days as an intelligent person. The condescending attitude of Lewis and a few others kept me away from them at first, though in retrospect I cannot blame them in the least. Hodgkins managed to make me feel not so much a waif in the midst of all these activities. The same goes for Forrest J Ackerman. He was undeniably the leading and outstanding fan and figure in the field in those days. I could ask him questions about scientifiction and scientifiction fandom which I know were inane and mayhap stupid, but he managed to patiently explain the mysterious world to me. That this preoccupation with scientifiction could be indicative of other conditions never occured to me for several years. My admiration for Ackerman then as the prototype of a better kind of person was endless. Somewhere between my joining and April 1937 Myrtle R. Smith (or Douglas) was brought to a meeting by Ackerman. He had first met her at an Esperanto Club meeting. At that time her scientifiction name was Morogo. Her son was a schoolmate of mine, one or two grades below me. This and the coming of Paul R. Freehafer, who was previously a pen friend of Ackerman's, noted for his reading and collecting activities, rounded out the few fans who have survived to the present day from early 1937. Freehafer came from Payotte, Idaho, to attend the California Institute of Technology, and his visits to the club were more or less sporadic for several years before he commenced active membership sometime in 1939 with the publication of POLARIS.