Fourteen Sherlockians, with very different profiles, had the pleasure of being invested as BSI this year. Here are their self-portraits collected by La Gazette
Rudy Altergott (‘Old Patrick’) – I am a Sherlockian and ‘bibliofool’ (being obsessed with books like Vincent Starrett and born on April’s Fool Day, 1990) with a keen interest in world affairs, other cultures, history, and the arts. I grew up in Hinsdale, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and, not long after having graduated from Wabash College, a small, all-male liberal arts college in Indiana, I moved into the city of Chicago in late 2015.
I was introduced in 2017 to the Sherlockian realm by a certain ‘Young Stamford’, a fellow Mason named Terry McCammon, who was later given that investiture name at the 2019 Baker Street Irregulars Dinner during my first BSI Weekend. In October 2017, shortly before his first scion meeting, I discovered a plaque commemorating Arthur Conan Doyle’s visit to Indianapolis in 1894, dedicated in 1994 by the Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis, a scion he would later become a proud member of. Then I went to a dinner of Hugo’s Companions in December 2017. That same night, I met my friend, mentor, neighbor, chauffeur, and future BSI classmate Bob Sharfman (‘Killer Evans’).
I became a member of Hugo’s on Guy Fawkes Night 2018 after somehow passing and surviving its dreaded Oral Tripos examination. I have since become part of the leadership of the Torists International and a member of the Hounds of the Baskerville [sic], two other Chicagoland scions, as well as a member of the Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis, the Ribston-Pippins of Michigan, the Crew of the Barque Lone Star, etc., among other scions in the American Midwest and beyond. My Sherlockian scholarship has thus far been focused on the infiltration of secret societies in the Canon, namely in The Valley of Fear and ‘His Last Bow’
Besides presentations and essays on subjects like Sherlockiana, detective fiction, Freemasonry, freethought, mysticism, history, politics, and biography, I have a keen interest in reading and writing poetry and in writing noir-inspired fiction. And besides Conan Doyle, some of my other favorite authors and figures include Martin Amis, Saul Bellow, Rex Stout, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jon Meacham, Abraham Lincoln, Ralph Waldo Emerson, W. Somerset Maugham, Jim Harrison, Katherine Anne Porter, Bruce Catton, John D. MacDonald, Lee Child, Ross Macdonald, Tom Clancy, David Baldacci, Stanley Crouch, Thomas Merton, Walker Percy, WB Yeats, et al. Rudy cites Jim Harrison’s poetry and prose as having an especially profound influence on my writing, worldview, and life. I’m also a lifelong cinephile and melophile, particularly a lover of blues and folk music. In the realm of French literature, I am currently attempting to read an English translation of Raymond Queneau’s Loin de Rueil (1944) by Chris Clarke, my cousin by marriage.
Derrick Belanger (‘The Board Schools’) – I came to Sherlock Holmes stories by way of Doyle’s horror fiction. When I was a young teenager, after reading Doyle’s masterpiece “The Horror of the Heights,” I felt that I had to read more. I picked up “A Study in Scarlet” and, after reading it, I was hooked.
Over the last dozen years, I’ve really flourished as a Holmesian. I’ve written a significant number of pastiches as well as articles for Holmesian journals. I’ve been published in The Baker Street Journal, The Sherlock Holmes Journal, The Strand Magazine, and in The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year (2023). My publishing company, Belanger Books, is the largest publisher of new Sherlock Holmes fiction in America. I was recently elected as Head Surgeon which is the president of Dr. Watson’s Neglected Patients, the Denver-based Scion Society, and I am a board member of Five Miles from Anywhere, an international scion society. I was also awarded the Susan Z. Diamond Award in recognition of outstanding efforts to introduce young people to Sherlock Holmes, and I won the Arthur Conan Doyle Society Doylean award in fiction for my short story, « The Joyce-Armstrong Confession ».
For my career, I am a high school English, Math, and Special Education teacher. I was thrilled when I received my investiture name (i.e. “The Board Schools”) because it ties in with my background as an educator. I’m still in shock about being invested in the BSI. When my name was announced, my jaw dropped to the floor! It is a great honor, and I will continue to contribute to the greater Sherlock Holmes community for the rest of my life.
Tom Brydge (‘Waterloo Bridge’) – My Sherlockian journey began when my college roommate asked ‘What do you think of the Sherlock Holmes stories?’ and I had to admit I had never read any. He rolled his eyes and said ‘you cannot be considered an educated man if you haven’t read at least some Sherlock Holmes’.
I bought the Murray editions of the Canon and they started me on sixty years of enjoyment and satisfaction – conferences, papers, presentations, reading the work of other Sherlockians, leading SH courses in a lifelong learning program, membership in several clubs, founding and leading a club for eighteen years.
All of which culminated at the BSI Dinner with the unforgettable walk from my seat to the podium, with 200+ folks cheering and clapping, and receiving my BSI Investiture ‘Waterloo Bridge’, And then finding the pleasure of an unanticipated close relationship developing among all of the 2024 BSI Class.
Fabienne Courouge (‘Henri Fournaye’) – The first Sherlock Holmes adventure I read was The Hound of the Baskervilles, when I was 11. I remember very well that I couldn’t put this book down until I finished it, late at night.
I followed my Sherlockian path alone for a long time, convinced that I was not cut out for club life, but I sometimes contributed to publications or websites.
In 2018, however, noting that there was no magazine dedicated to Sherlock Holmes in France while there were many in English, I decided to found La Gazette du 221B and met people wishing to contribute to it within the Cercle Holmésien de Paris, a club that I regularly attend today. I also became a member of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London.
Everything changed during the Covid epidemic, when I started chatting online with Sherlockians of all nationalities, and in particular Steven Doyle who suggested that I attend a meeting of the Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis, then to become its first foreign member.
From then on, I had the opportunity to meet many American Sherlockian fellows who offered me the opportunity to write for their publications (Sherlock Holmes Review, Baker Street Almanac, The Essential Sherlock Holmes, etc.).
Invited for the first time to the BSI dinner, I did not expect to be invested. Also, what emotion when I heard my name! And I appreciate even more the bond that was created with my classmates!
Daniel L. Friedman (‘Sir Leslie Oakshott’) – I received my B.A. in History with a minor in Music from Stony Brook University, followed by my M.D. degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine. During my undergraduate and graduate years, I performed research on diabetes and Cystic Fibrosis.
Presently, I am a practicing pediatrician in Floral Park, New York, where I work alongside my father. I also hold the rank of assistant clinical professor at Northwell-Hofstra University Medical School, where I strive to impart my knowledge to the next generation of nurse practitioners and physicians with dedication and enthusiasm.
My fascination with mystery stories began with my Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown series, sparking a lifelong passion for the genre. However, it was Steven Spielberg’s « Young Sherlock Holmes » that introduced me to the consulting detective Mr. Sherlock Holmes. It wasn’t until medical school that I began to appreciate the true genius of Arthur Conan Doyle when I stumbled upon numerous articles written by Doyle on the subjects of syphilis, tuberculosis, smallpox, and water-borne illnesses. Not only were Doyle’s works impeccably researched, they were also incredibly well-written.
Instead of immediately delving into the adventures of Holmes and Watson, I chose to explore the man behind the mysteries, reading anything I could get my hands on related to Doyle’s life. It would take a few more years before I immersed myself in Doyle’s tales, captivated by the adventures of Holmes and Watson.
I consider it a great honor to bear the name of the renowned fictional surgeon, Sir Leslie Oakshott, a surgeon who attended to Holmes, suturing his scalp lacerations after a murderous attack that occurred during his favorite adventure, “The Illustrious Client.”
As a versatile writer, I authored « Doyle’s World: Lost and Found” and “The Strange Case of Dr. Doyle: A Journey into Madness and Mayhem,” both delving into the enigmatic realms of SherlockHolmes andConan Doyle. With over 40 published articles on Holmes and Doyle, I have received accolades such as The Sydney Passengers’ Montpelier Award for the best article of the year.
I eagerly look forward to reconnecting with his fellow classmates at future Baker Street Irregular meetings and events. It is a genuine pleasure for him to share his love of Holmes with others who appreciate Holmes and Watson as much as he does.
Chuck Kovacic (‘Baker Street’) – My entry to Sherlockian matters began as a commercial one. Performing as Holmes for numerous « Murder Mystery Events, » guests delighted in my authentic attire and whatever props I might bring to the proceedings. I began collecting period antiques and details to furnish a Sherlockian sitting room. Indeed, these investigations brought elements of Baker Street into my California home! I’ve shared unique insights and offered rare items at scion gatherings and conferences both in the States and Europe. My artistic talents have placed my portraits of Christopher Morley at New York’s famed McSorleys’ while my William Gillette rendering graces his namesake annual luncheon. Being the proprietor of 221b BAKER STREET/Los Angeles has become a lifetime endeavor and the endeavour of a lifetime, and I invite you all to take a virtual tour of my namesake creation at www.chuckkovacicarts.com
Stephen Chahn Lee (‘Alex MacDonald’) – Stephen grew up in Michigan and currently lives in Chicago where he practices as an attorney.
Danna A. Mancini (‘McMurdo’) – I had a 55 year career in the manufacturing arena. My jobs were primarily in mechanical drafting and engineering. Though there were other positions as well. When I was about 15 or 16, I was browsing the mystery section of the local library. I was looking for something new to read for my grandparents. At one point I came across the very large book in a red dust cover, a copy of the Doubleday Complete Sherlock Holmes. Something made me take it off the shelf and review the contents page. I found some of the story titles very interesting, so I borrowed the book for myself. I read the entire canon in just over two weeks. I’ve been collecting and reading Sherlock Holmes books ever since.
My first scion was The Speckled Band of Boston, then there was the Men on the Tor, next was the Cornish Horrors and, finally the Cheshire Sherlock Holmes Society.
I became aware of the BSI through attending my local scion meetings. Probably the most important and memorable story involves my first meeting of the MEN on the Tor. As you probably know, the founders of that scion are Teddie and Tyke Niver. That night, they were the first people to greet me; dressed in some of their many Victorian outfits. Recognizing that I was a newbie, they took me under their wings and spent the whole evening making sure I was very welcome. They told me about the history of the scion, introduced me to everyone else there, other scions, The Game, and the BSI. I couldn’t have asked for a better initiation to the whole Sherlockian community. I’ve written three Sherlockian papers, about a dozen toasts, and a few quizzes/puzzles. My paper ‘Who Else Knew’ was published on the website of the Sherlock Holmes Society of India at the end of 2022. My BSI name is McMurdo. The prize Fighter/boxer, not the Pinkerton agent. Holmes refers to boxing as ‘a scientific profession’, and I’m an engineer and scientist.
Maxine H. Reneker (‘Lomax, the Sub-Librarian’) – I began reading Sherlock Holmes around age 10, in the original Doubleday edition and have read through the canon numerous times. I first became active in scion societies in Arizona, in the Moulton’s Prospectors and then as a member of several societies in the San Francisco Bay area and on the California Central coast. I am the founding member of The Deerstalkers of Monterey Bay. I hold the investiture, Lomax the Sub-Librarian in the Knights of the Gnomon of Redwood City and in the Baker Street Irregulars. My professional career was in university libraries, so he investiture seem fitting. I have been the co author with Marsha Pollak of an article about Watson and the London Library in the Autumn 2020 Baker Street Journal, “Watson, Lomax, and the Goodly Volume.” I am delighted to be invested in the BSI and literally was shocked when my name was mentioned at the 2024 Annual Birthday dinner.
Olivia Rutigliano (‘Lady Alicia Whittington’) – Olivia is a writer living in New York. She is also the editor-in-chief of CrimeReads where she publishes many articles.
Jessica Schilling (‘The Queen’s Shilling’) – Although I’d read all the Sherlock Holmes stories as a child, it wasn’t until years later that the bug finally bit me. I’d just met my partner, Eric Scace, and was intrigued to learn one weekend about a fancy-dress Holmes-themed party he was attending — later, I learned all about Boston’s Speckled Band and their annual dinner (and was one of the inaugural group of woman inductees), but at that point all I knew was that an intriguing man I’d recently met was going to a dinner in a tux and top hat to celebrate an intriguing man I’d read all about as a youngster! And with that, I’d pretty much fallen down the Sherlockian rabbit hole.
As a former journalist whose academic training included a deep dive into the early days of online fandom culture, the Great Game and everyone who plays it proved to be a facet of the world that felt both totally fascinating and a second home, and since then it’s been a joy to get to know so many wonderful people both in person and through the scholarship they’ve produced in print and online. I attended my first Birthday Weekend in New York in 2014, and have been lucky enough to take part every (non-pandemic) year since, but it came as a surprise to be invited to the BSI dinner two years running … with so many lifelong Sherlockians in attendance, I just assumed I’d be on the periphery for a very long time. This past January’s dinner, I was also there to cheer on Eric, who’d won the Morley-Montgomery Award for the Baker Street Journal — I’d won the same award in 2020, and was so delighted that we were a matched pair in that regard, so to speak. So I was completely surprised to hear my name called for the class of 2024, since I’d figured that all of the good news for the night had already been made apparent! As for my investiture — I suppose it really couldn’t be anything else, could it? But there’s also another fun little connection in the details: In SIGN, Jonathan Small takes the Queen’s shilling to join the 3rd Buffs regiment … and though I don’t have any military connections, I did graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder, home of … the Buffaloes, better known as the Buffs. It’s a small world!
Robert Sharfman (‘Killer Evans’) – I first learned of Sherlock Holmes from the Rathbone/Bruce movies. The subject was dormant until the mid 1960’s when my law partner told me of a « meeting of Sherlock Holmes fans » taking place in Chicago. He heard about it on the radio and said that maybe I would be interested. I attended my first meeting of Hugo’s Companions that evening along with about 50 or so other men. No women were allowed membership, a fact shared by many organizations, groups, clubs and the BSI itself at that time.It was there I met Vincent Sterrett who was introduced to me as « The editor of the Book Section of the Chicago Tribune (Chicago’s most important newspaper at the time). I was very impressed but had no idea of this man’s importance to Sherlockiana. I also met Eli Lebow, John Lellenberg, Bill Goodrich, John Neminski (sp?), John Bennett Shaw and many other notable (iconic??) voices in our hobby.
I had no idea of just how important these people were to Sherlockiana or the BSI…but I did purchase The Canon (Doubleday Edition with the Morley Introduction) and started reading. I was sporadic in attendance at meetings but always came back to enjoy the fellowship of the group. I was dazzled by the scholarship and hoped some of it would rub off on me. I kept up my membership and was soon offered a membership in The Hounds of the Baskervilles (sic) and stayed with that group. I am still a member of both and proud to say the 3 of the 6 Wiggins have been Hugo’s Companions and « Hounds » My membership certificate in Hounds is signed by Vincent Sterrett and says I am a member of The Baker Street Irregulars as Sterrett thought this group was the pinnacle. Lots have been written on this and I will not try to elaborate further.
Fast forward 60 or so years to January 14 2024 I was stunned to hear my name called as part of the class of 2024. Worthy or not I moved this old body as fast as I could to accept my schilling from Wiggins before they might find out they had made a mistake
The 2024 Olympics will be held in Paris this summer and athletes will win events and accept the gold medal and stand on the podium while their country’s anthem is played. I think I know how they will feel. Their feeling will be what I felt the Friday night in New York when I received my schilling. What a great honor. What a wonderful feeling to be in the company of such great Sherlockians and more importantly-to me-such good…really good in every way…people. My father always said that you are known by the friends you have. He would be proud of me today with friends like my classmates.
Liese Sherwood-Fabre (‘Mrs. Farintosh’) –
I grew up in Dallas, Texas, and after obtaining my PhD in Sociology from Indiana University, I worked for the US government in various capacities in Washington, DC, Honduras, Mexico, Russian, and then, back in Dallas. Along the way, I started writing short stories and novels, gaining awards for some.
I cannot identify when I first read a case from the Canon, but I do recall being very aware of any character (including those in cartoons) who put on a deerstalker hat and carried a magnifying glass as imitating the detective who appeared in the old black and white Basil Rathbone movies.
When Robert Downey, Jr. re-ignited a popular interest in Sherlock Holmes, I considered writing a novel about the man. I had already penned several (some of which had won awards), and I thought about a new spin on him, focusing on his origins. My first novel, The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife, required a great deal of research: What was a country squire? How did this impact his upbringing? And many others. As I compiled all this knowledge, I thought it a pity to keep it all to myself and decided to write short essays on various subjects to share with Sherlockian scions for their newsletters. One that I contacted was the Dallas scion (The Crew of the Barque Lone Star), and its leader Steve Mason invited me to a meeting. I was hooked.
Over the years, I have participated in too many events—from those in Dallas, to Baltimore, to Dayton, to Atlanta—to list them all, but I have made the acquaintance of so many fascinating people: lawyers, doctors, academics, and others—all united with the same interest in one fictional character. Having the opportunity to meet in New York with those in the BSI was a highlight for me and being invested, a great honor. When I consider some of the others with the same certificate, I’m humbled. Mine was the last name to be called in 2024, and before the last introduction was read, I had resigned myself to not having “made the cut” once again. When my name was actually called, I was more than a little shocked. I think the photos of me receiving my investiture certificate will show I was holding it upside down.
I vaguely remember the events of that evening after that: a blur of faces telling me “congratulations” as they shook my hand after leaving the dais, hugs from the others invested that night, and a desperate wish I’d checked how I was holding my certificate when Michael Kean (Wiggins) handed it to me. Regardless, it was a night to remember.
George Schwartz (‘The Alpha Inn’) – Georges lives in the Boston area and is the president of The Speckled band of Boston club.
.
La gazette du 221 B 