Universal Musketeers
Aka UM.
| From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959 |
| A club for younger fans formed in 1949 by Ronald Friedman of Brooklyn. Friedman was elected president in the first election, and had all dues sent to him instead of to Secretary-Treasurer Rose Davenport "because of the bill he had to pay for mimeoing the Official Organ, XRAY". Elsberry, from whom our data comes, was appointed Welcome Chairman, but neither he nor the other officers were able to contact Friedman after taking office, and no official publications ever again came out except for one Universal Musketeers News dated June'50. (In his Science Fiction Weekly -- not a club organ -- Friedman said a lack of publishing facilities had forced temporary cessation of activities.) In July '50 an attempt was made by Elsberry, Knapheide, Rose Davenport, and Jack Schwab to oust Friedman from the prexyship, but this failed for lack of a majority in the club's officialdom. The club was supposed to have about 100 members in January 1950, says ODD, tho Friedman never made public the membership roster.
Around the end of 1950 Friedman denied that he let UM "go to pot due to lack of interest and embezzlement of UM funds", and claimed that the club owed him more than $100, explaining that "illness, business, and National Guard duties" prevented him from having any contact with fandom for "many months". In March 1952 he announced that UM had combined with another club, the Teens Fantascience Club (of which he was also president) into a group called International Scientific Council. Further history, if any, is unknown to your Suetonius. |
Disgruntled UM members in the Bay Area formed a splinter group, Tellurian Sciencefictioneers, about 1950.
Members included Agnes Rundle.
| Club | 1949—1952 |
| This is a club page. Please extend it by adding information about when and where the club met, when and by whom it was founded, how long it was active, notable accomplishments, well-known members, clubzines, any conventions it ran, external links to the club's website, other club pages, etc.
When there's a floreat (Fl.), this indicates the time or times for which we have found evidence that the club existed. This is probably not going to represent the club's full lifetime, so please update it if you can! |
