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| − | This article was originally written by [[Dan Caldwell]] in 1996 and is also available
| + | #redirect[[Nashville, TN]] |
| − | {{link | website=http://www.smithuel.net/sfchb/hbp3tnku.html|text=here}}
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| − | ==A Short History of [[Nashville]] Fandom==
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| − | | + | [[Category:Locale]] |
| − | Verbage by [[Dan Caldwell]] with help from [[Khen Moore]], [[John Hollis]], [[Mike Griffin]], [[Susan Stockell]], [[Debra Hussey]], and [[Courtenay Fran Bray]]
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| − | Errors by Murphy
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| − | [Believe it or not, this actually has been pared down a bit, by [[TKFW]].]
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| − | === Nashville [[Fandom]] Pre-History===
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| − | 1950s - [[Ken Moore]], [[Ray Jones]], and [[John Hollis]] meet at the [[Nashville]] Model Airplane Assoc.
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| − | 1961 - [[Ken Moore|Ken]] visits a friend at work and meets [[Dan Caldwell]]. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] tells him about something called a [[worldcon]]. [[Ken Moore|Ken]] immediately remarks "wouldn't it be nice to have one here in [[Nashville]]."
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| − | 1962 - [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] drags [[Ken Moore|Ken]] to [[Chicon III]] via an overnight bus ride to [[Chicago]]. Both have a great time. [[Ken Moore|Ken]] swears off ever riding on a bus again.
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| − | 1963-70 - In various combinations [[John Hollis|John]] , [[Ken Moore|Ken]] & [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] go to [[worldcons]] in [[discon I|DC]] (1963), [[tricon|Cleveland]] (1966), [[St. Louiscon|St. Louis]] (1969), New York (1970) and [[noreascon 1|Boston]] (1971). The trio start going to [[MidwestCon]] every year and to the [[Atlanta]] [[DSCs]].
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| − | ==The [[Nashville Science Fiction Club]]==
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| − | 1971 - In the spring, [[John Hollis|John]] receives a flyer from [[Meade Frierson]] promoting the newly founded (by [[Meade]]) [[SFC]]. It contains a list of all known [[fans]] in the south. This inspires [[John Hollis|John]] to start a local [[SF club]] with a mass mailing based on [[Meade]]'s list. The club meets in an upstairs storeroom of the Green Hills Theatre, which is managed by Richard Cornwall, a friend of [[Ken Moore|Ken's]]. The meeting room boasts 2 metal chairs, a broken couch, a large pile of bags of pre-popped popcorn and one bare light bulb dangling on a frayed cord from the ceiling.
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| − | In May [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] returns from graduate school for the 2nd meeting of the club, at which [[John Hollis|John]] is elected President, [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] is elected Secretary/Treasurer. [[Eric Jamborsky]], who is also a movie buff, provided occasional programming by showing 8mm movies in his collection on a borrowed projector. Other members from this period include [[Alan Luck]] and [[Brandy Brandon]].
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| − | After-the-meeting meetings immediately start at Joe's Village Inn located 2 blocks away. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] & [[John Hollis|John]] go to their 2nd MidwestCon. Each thinks the other brought the flyer with the map. Arriving in [[Cincinnati]], [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] immediately takes the wrong interstate. "This does not look at all like the road we used last year," he says. Now it is discovered there is no flyer (or map). [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] gets a wild idea, rolls down the car window and sticks his head outside. "Con, [[bheer]], con suite," he mutters, as he sniffs the air. The sniffing is entirely symbolic, as [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] has no sense of smell at all. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] then navigates entirely by instinct and soon arrives at the con motel. Later, looking at a map, it is discovered that he took the most direct possible route to the motel. This ceremony is used again several times over the years, always with the same positive results.
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| − | [[Ken Moore|Ken]] and [[John Hollis|John]] go to the first [[ChambanaCon]]. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] will go next year. This becomes an annual pilgrimage, like [[MidwestCon]].
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| − | 1972 - The club attendance stabilizes at around 12 people per meeting, but the mailing list grows to 120 people. The club gets stuck with the next [[Upper South Clave]] ([[Kubla Khan I]]). [[Irvin Koch]] becomes a regular attendee, along with his infamous "Black Box," a small trunk filled with those [[fanzines]] he wants to get rid of. [[Irv Koch|Irv]] usually sells about half of them at every meeting. [[Irv Koch|Irv]], unlike most [[fans]], is ''not'' infected with pack-rat syndrome.
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| − | Sometime that year, [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]], who is writing the monthly flyer (on a post card to save postage--remember the 120-person mailing list) decides the club would retain more members if we moved to a better location. More than one light bulb would help. The first Club Palace Coup is organized and [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] becomes club president. It is unclear who became Secretary-Treasurer.
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| − | The club starts meeting at [[Ken Moore|Ken's]] house, with [[bheer]] available in the fridge. Club attendance quickly grows to around 25-35.
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| − | 1973 - The club grows due to an influx of [[fans]], such as Dick & Carol Stafford, from the first [[Kubla Khan]] in May. By the fall, the club and [[Kubla]] are being "run" by a fairly tight, self-appointed oligarchy of [[Ken Moore]], [[John Hollis]], [[Dan Caldwell]], [[Eric Jamborsky]], [[Dick Stafford|Dick]] & [[Carol Stafford]], and [[Brandy Brandon]]. They irreverently refer to themselves as "The [[SMOF]]," because they aren't secret and can't manage anything. Sometime in the fall, The [[Smof]] begin a winter of non-stop partying. They met at someone's house during weeknights and on weekends hold 48 hour non-stop sessions at [[Dan Caldwell|Dan's]] place -- actually it belongs to his mother and [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] is basically housesitting -- the rent is cheap. It is a largish 2 story, full attic, full basement, 4 bedroom monster with 3 double beds, 2 single beds, and 2 couches. Everyone has at least part of a mattress to sleep on. Several of these follow [[NSFC]] meetings, with out-of-town [[fans]], and resemble small [[relaxacons]].
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| − | [[NSFC]] meetings will no longer fit into [[Ken Moore|Ken's]] house, so sometime during the year, [[Ken Moore|Ken]] finds us another meeting place in the club room of the Melrose First American Bank. [[bheer]] & ice procurement, (and keeper of the [[bheer]] monies) becomes an important official position. [[Allen Steele]], age 15 (now world famous [[S.F.]] writer) is appointed Official Juvenile Delinquent. Attendance swells to 35-45 [[fans]] per meeting. [[Eric Jamborsky]] shows films almost every month, as this is the most popular programming item, and keeps the maximum number of members (mostly) quiet during the meeting. About 1/2 to 1/3 of the attendees congregate in the parking lot to discuss other things.
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| − | The club has active members in [[Louisville]], Milan TN & [[Chattanooga]]. [[fans]] from Knoxville, [[Memphis]], [[Atlanta]] and [[Huntsville]] occasionally visit. Meeting attendance peaks at 55, with [[fans]] present from all the above locations except [[Atlanta]]. The mailing list keeps trying to top 200, and is kept in check only by culling every 3 months or so. [[Irv Koch|Irvin]] announces that the [[Nashville]] club has the largest active membership of any [[SF club]] between the east and west coasts. Eventually, many of these out-of-town members will start clubs and/or conventions in their hometowns and stop coming to [[NSFC]] meetings.
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| − | Sometime in 1973 [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] meets [[Fran Bray]] while collecting dues at a club meeting. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] has been sending flyers to both her mother, [[Mary Bray]] (who can get to meetings only occasionally) and to a [[Courtenay Bray]]. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] looks at [[Fran Bray|Fran]] and says "Why you must be Courtenay's sister." Wrong!! [[Fran Bray|Fran]] is Courtenay. One thing leads to another and, in the fall of 1975, [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] and [[Fran Bray]] take up residence together. This will last through various moves until 1982. In 1994, fate arranges for [[Fran Bray|Fran]] to become [[Dan Caldwell|Dan's]] landlady.
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| − | 1974-9 In Nov. 1973, [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] resigns as club president because of job schedule conflicts. [[Eric Jamborsky]] takes over in 2nd Club Palace Coup. [[Eric Jamborsky|Eric]]resigns in summer 1974. [[Ken Moore|Ken]] becomes Club President-for-life, or at least until 1990 or so.
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| − | The club grows again due to a large influx of [[fans]] from [[Kubla II]]. At some point the Melrose Bank closes its meeting room. The club moves to a similar meeting room at the Fidelity Federal bank on Nolensville Road.
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| − | At some point, [[Ken Moore|Ken]] becomes [[Khen]], a spelling based on the tendency of the club flyer and [[Kubla Khan]] [[program book]] editors (usually the same people) of putting extra h's hinto heverything.
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| − | Sometime in 1974 or 75, [[Ken Moore|Khen]] married [[Lou Hangel]], which lasted until sometime in 1982.
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| − | [[Ken Moore|Khen]] proposes that we have a chili bash at one of the winter club meetings. This activity becomes one of the club's most popular events (feed the starving fen and they will crawl out of the woodwork). It is usually the largest meeting of the year. In Feb. 1977, attendance reaches an all time high, when 60+ [[fans]] attend the club chili bash that month.
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| − | The last meeting at the Fidelity Federal is in August because the bank wants its meeting room back. In September the club meets at [[Ken Moore|Ken's]] house. In October the club moves to the Cumberland Science Museum, where it still meets today (1996).
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| − | About 1985, the [[NSFC]] Christmas and Chili bash parties were so large that we could not fit them into the regular meeting space or a members house. So they were moved to the former Days Inn motel on Murfreesboro Road. The motel is known to [[fans]] as the "Blue Bag Inn" because the new owners dealt with the old Days Inn sign by simply putting a large blue "bag" over it.
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| − | The motel had a large number of small suites with a sitting room, sleeping room and a small kitchen. It was a great place for parties that lasted all night, as many [[fans]] could sleep over. And no one had a house to clean the next day. The [[NSFC]] had its Chili Bash and Christmas Party there for several years.
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| − | [IMAGE: Kubla Khan Census Logo]
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| − | In 1986, 80+ [[fans]] attend the [[NSFC]] club Christmas party at the Blue Bag Inn. [[Rickey Sheppard]] brings a seafood gumbo concoction named Khen's Horror because it consists of seafood, rice, toadies (mushrooms) and cottage cheese, all of which [[Ken Moore|Khen]] loathes.
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| − | == Auld Bladderburst==
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| − | Strange things used to happen at Joe's. Both Kubla I and a [[bheer]] were planned there. One night several [[fen]] were sitting in a booth and [[John Hollis|John]] was staring at a sign of a pleasant wilderness scene with a waterfall. [[John Hollis|John]] suddenly realized that it would look great as a label for a bottle of [[bheer]]. The other [[fans]] started thinking up advertising slogans, and even a name for the brew. Thus was born AULD BLADDER-BURST, "The Father of Waters," "the [[bheer]] that made Milwaukee run."
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| − | [[John Hollis|John]] decided that a bottle with such a fine label really deserved some contents worthy of the name. Eric Jamborsky had given [[John Hollis|John]] a beer-making kit, which [[John Hollis|John]] had already successfully used, so opening a micro-brewery was mostly a matter of expanding existing production.
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| − | A few months later [[John Hollis|John]] took a sample of the new product to a club meeting. Reaction was...mixed. There were these strange brown bottles, each with a handmade Bladderburst label, containing a strange tasting, thick brown liquid. It was not a "clear" [[bheer]], [[John Hollis|John]] explained, because he had to use the natural carbonation process, by adding more yeast just before he bottled it. The yeast produced CO,,2,, and died off, leaving a thick sludge in the bottom of the bottle. On the other hand, the stuff was as high a proof as a [[bheer]] could get without freezing it.
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| − | On the other other hand, this meant that the [[bheer]] was under considerable pressure. Unfortunately, [[John Hollis|John]] 's capping machine was barely adequate and top were prone to burst off at odd and unpredictable moments. Like the time [[John Hollis|John]] was taking a new batch to [[Eric Jamborsky]]. The jostling of the car only increased the pressure, tops flew, and [[bheer]] spewed over the car interior and [[John Hollis|John]] . [[John Hollis|John]] arrived at his destination, wet, but grateful for not having come to the attention of the fuzz and trying to explain that he had not had a drink...honest.
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| − | [[John Hollis|John]] made a batch every so often with varied results. Some batches were almost undrinkable and others very good indeed. The problem was that [[John Hollis|John]] did not have the equipment to maintain the yeast strains and had to start with a new packet of yeast each time.
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| − | Of course, Auld Bladderburst was in the Kubla bathtub that year. Some [[fans]] drank several bottles of it, others took one sip, looked at the contents, put the bottle down and walked quietly away. Still other were inspired to concoct new slogans for the Bladderburst advertising campaign and tape them to the bathtub wall. Like "At last a [[bheer]] you can chew on," and "Not a [[bheer]] to be drunk early in the evening."
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| − | [[John Hollis|John]] 's enthusiasm waned as the problem of flavor quality remained unsolved. Eventually, the giant crock in which Bladderburst was brewed was broken and never replaced. Auld Bladderburst is now but a fannish memory. Besides, now we have Swill.
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| − | ===The Invention of Swill===
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| − | About 1983, maybe earlier, a new drink is invented at a [[NSFC]] party. It consists of vodka, with orange and grape juice which supply vitamins that the alcohol kills off in the body. It is actually good for you...well, less bad for you than straight booze. A contest develops for a name for this concoction. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] suggests [[Nashville]] Kikapoo Joy Juice --but no one recognizes the reference. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] then suggests SWILL, a name which seems to describe the product, especially as real swill is always made in trash cans (for the flavor). The drink has been prominently featured at [[Nashville]] room parties ever since. "The roar of the blender, the smell of the Swill."
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| − | [IMAGE: Swill Recipe]
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| − | === [[Sercon]]===
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| − | In 1979, an alternate club [[Sercon]] was formed. As the name suggests it was to be devoted to "serious" discussions of almost anything. The members were all drawn from the [[NSFC]]. Meetings were held at various members' houses, including [[Barbara Harmon]]'s and [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] & Fran's. Meetings lasted about 6 months, but the club never caught on and eventually died.
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| − | === [[BEMS]]===
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| − | In 1980, [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] and [[Fran Bray|Fran]] returned from their short stay in [[Louisville]] and Ft. Wayne. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] felt that club programming got in the way of what everyone really wanted to do--talk non-stop. During a club meeting everyone would be happily chatting away when they had to be stopped (sometimes forcibly) for announcements and what programming was scheduled for that evening. So in Oct. 1980 [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] started [[BEMS]], a separate club, which met in the duplex apartment on Caylor Drive that he and [[Fran Bray|Fran]] shared.
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| − | [[BEMS]] was composed mostly of [[fans]] from the [[NSFC]], with a few others who had dropped out of the club. Attendance averaged between 20-30 [[fans]]. Late in 1982, when [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] & [[Fran Bray|Fran]] split up, [[BEMS]] moved to Castle Chaos on Compton Ave. inhabited by [[Fran Bray]], [[Maurice Lewis]], [[Melissa Walker]] and [[Sharon Roberson]]. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] still ran the club until the fall, when he moved to Atlanta for 7 years. [[Fran Bray|Fran]] then took over as the head of [[BEMS]]. In Feb. 1984, [[Fran Bray|Fran]] moved out of Castle Chaos and [[BEMS]] met in various houses for the rest of the year.
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| − | In 1985, [[BEMS]] moved to the "Blue Bag Inn" on Murfreesboro Road. The site was chosen because the [[NSFC]] had just had a great Christmas party there.
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| − | In 1986, we used the same suite for [[BEMS]] on Friday night and a [[NSFC]] club party on Saturday night. Several people including [[Steve Francis|Steve]] and [[Sue Francis]] came in from out of town. A lot of people slept over both nights. On Saturday night, around 4 am, a very brazen and quiet burglar came in through an unlocked sliding door into a suite where at least a dozen people were sleeping (ok, some were passed out). [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] woke up when he heard the door slide shut. Eventually, everyone was awake and checking his/her belongings. A few had purses rifled or wallets lifted, but [[Rocky Halleron]] had lost his pants.
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| − | For some reason, no one wanted to go back to that motel, so in 1987, [[BEMS]] and various [[NSFC]] parties moved to another motel further down Murfreesboro Road. It sported a variety of names, over the years and was last known as Travel Lodge South. This motel was even better, because it had a pool we could use during the summer months.
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| − | In 1992, [[Fran Bray|Fran]] went into [[gafia]] and gave up control of [[BEMS]]. It met for a while at Rick Dunnings' apartment and then quietly died. There was a hiatus of several months until [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] moved back from Atlanta and revived [[BEMS]], again at Travel Lodge South. In 1994 we started having trouble with our reservations there and moved everything to the houses of individual [[fans]]. [[BEMS]] currently rotates between the homes of [[Dan Caldwell]] (summer only), [[James Fulkerson]], [[Tom Billings|Tom]] & [[Lee Billings]] and occasionally others.
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| − | === [[MTSFA]]===
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| − | While [[BEMS]] was started by those who felt the [[NSFC]] had too much programming others felt that the [[NSFC]] was not serious enough, and had too little programming. In July 1986 a group led by [[Nancy Holland]], [[Barbara Harmon]] and [[Beth Gwinn]] split off from the [[NSFC]] to start [[MTSFA]] ([[The Middle Tennessee Science Fiction Association]]). [[MTSFA]] also took up residence at the Cumberland Science Museum, meeting on a different night from the [[NSFC]]. Although there is a considerable overlap in membership, about half of the [[MTSFA]] members dropped out of the [[NSFC]] meetings.
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| − | ===[[Nashville]] Clubs Through the '80s & '90s===
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| − | All 3 clubs had a large overlap in membership. Both [[BEMS]] and [[MTSFA]]s had memberships almost as large as [[NSFC]] for many years. But in the '90s they all dwindled considerably. Many of the younger members went off to college, to new jobs or just drifted away. Although individual members of the various clubs tried to recruit new members, the intake of new [[fans]] was never able to keep up with membership losses.
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| − | === The New Year's Parties at [[Ken Moore|Ken's]] Place===
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| − | In 1973 [[Ken Moore|Ken]] threw a New Year's party. A lot of people came, some from out-of-town. The next year even more people came. Things went on like this for several years. It mostly resembled a room party totally out of control or a small relaxacon. Eventually, several people began to set up huckster tables and any difference from a con vanished.
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| − | Usually most of the attendees slept in the living room and den, completely covering the floor (thin rug, no pad) in the best sardine-can style. One year, [[Irv Koch|Koch]] even brought a small portable bed, which many people were deeply envious of.
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| − | In 1982, [[Ken Moore|Ken]] and [[Lou Moore|Lou]] split up. The New Year's party moved to [[Charlie]]* & [[Anita Williams]] apartment. But it was never the same, perhaps because the apartment was smaller and had less crash space.
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| − | === The [[NSFC]] Summer [[Bheer]] Bust and Bash===
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| − | Shortly after the [[NSFC]] was founded, [[Ken Moore|Ken]] decided that a summer party around the 4th of July would be a good idea, especially if we held it at the lake where we could go swimming. [[Ken Moore|Ken]] said he had a great spot in mind and would draw a map for the flyer. About half the attendees got lost, because [[Ken Moore|Ken]] had left an important left turn off the map. When his error was pointed out, [[Ken Moore|Ken]] justified his map by claiming that "everybody knows you are supposed to turn left there." The club unanimously voted to remove [[Ken Moore|Ken]] from map duties forever. Several people came from out of town, including [[Andy Offutt]], and all had a good time.
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| − | Thereafter, the summer [[bheer]] bash was held at Khen's place and someone else drew the maps. In the early 1990s we had the bash at the Travel Lodge South for a couple of years, where we had air conditioning and a pool. In 1994 the bash was held at [[Dan Caldwell|Dan's]] house (see below) and, in 1995, at the Kubla motel, so we could use its swimming pool.
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| − | === Excess Firewood Removal Parties at [[Dan Caldwell|Dan's]] Cozy Cottage in the Urban Boonies===
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| − | In 1993 [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] rented a small house from Fran. Although only 5 miles from downtown [[Nashville]], it sat on several acres of fields and woods. The house was over 100 yards back from the street, where it seemed like you were 50 miles out in the country. In 1993, the [[NSFC]] summer [[bheer]] Bash and Bust was held there. At dusk we saw 2 deer on the opposite side of the field. The party started on Sat. afternoon, lasted all night and most of the [[fans]] came back on Sunday to do it again.
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| − | It was so popular that in the fall [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] held 2 more "Dheer Watchings," both of which lasted all weekend. By then it was cool enough to have a bonfire at night. Mostly everyone sat around outdoors by the fires and talked all night.
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| − | That was the winter of the Great Ice Storm, during which nine, repeat 9, trees came down in [[Dan Caldwell|Dan's]] yard. So in the spring of 1994 [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] held the 1st Excess Fire Wood Removal Party, for the purpose of using up as many tree parts as possible. The all-weekend parties were so popular that they took place almost every dry weekend in the spring and fall of that year and again in 1995.
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| − | === Tales from the Sardine Can===
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| − | [[Nashville]] fandom did a lot of things as a group. We ran a club, put on a con, went to other cons, and partied together between cons. The [[Nashville]] style of con-going mostly resembled a portable [[slan shack]]. We were all low on funds, so we shared a single room to save money. Before [[Kubla I]], it involved only a few people and easily fit into a single room.
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| − | Then there was [[torcon II|Torcon]], the Toronto [[worldcon]] (still one of the best ever). [[Ken Moore|Ken]] reserved a single room. In the south this meant a regular room with two beds and only one registered occupant (and only one key). But in [[Toronto]], this meant a small room with a couch that folded out into a bed. As [[Ken Moore|Ken]] was on his way to the room, he met friends looking for crash space, and he told them they could stay in "his" room. We ended up with 13 male [[fans]], 1 [[femfan]], no privacy, and a permanent line into the facility. At night, the floor resembled a sardine can, hence the name.
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| − | Unfortunately, as [[Nashville]] fandom grew, we kept going to cons as a group. It was common to have 10 or 12 people in the room. Then it grew to 2 rooms, with one for the Kubla party, the other for those who went to bed early (like 3 am). Still 10-12 [[fans]] per room. On the other hand, we were never robbed, because the room(s) were never empty. We also had an official guard dog. [[Mel Clark]] & [[Dave Roble]] had a German shepherd named Bojay. They would get him a con badge, and he would stay in the room throught the con (except for facility breaks). Bojay knew all the [[Nashville]] [[fans]] and growled loudly when strangers (especially hotel security) appeared in the door.
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| − | Then there was the [[Nashville]] "hot bunk" system. Some [[fans]] went to bed early, others not until dawn, and a lot of the group took naps at various times. Since beds were prime sleeping spots, they were rarely empty. You could go to sleep next to a good-looking person of the opposite sex, and wake up to find someone/thing totally different in that spot.
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| − | This led to creative solutions to finding a space of your own. It was desirable to find a spot out of the traffic pattern so you did not get stepped on in the dark. [[Joe Celko]] liked the closet floor, others tried sleeping under the table (and cursed when they forgot and sat...well tried to sit up, in the morning). [[Allen Steele]] even tried the bathtub once. Maybe it was the only horizontal space left. Then [[Ken Moore|Khen]] came in at dawn, and without looking (nobody sleeps in bathtubs...right) reached in through the bath curtains and turned on the shower. Of course the water started out ice cold, and the resulting yell woke the entire sardine can. Needless to say, the bathtub remained unpopulated thereafter as crash space.
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| − | All too often, [[Ken Moore|Ken]] would arise early (circa 7-8 am) and want company for breakfast, while some of us had just gotten in at 6 am. [[Ken Moore|Ken]] would throw back the curtains and yell "SQUEET" (let's go eat). Many people had the urge to kill, but no one had the energy.
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| − | [[Ken Moore|Khen]] and [[John Hollis|John]] are still noted for the fact that once asleep they might as well be in a coma. Only mother nature can rouse them from their slumbers. A group of [[Nashville]] fen were at [[Rok-Kon I]] in Little Rock. It was near dawn and all the sardines were asleep or some facsimile thereof. The spring night was warm and the room window was wide open as a thunderstorm erupted over the hotel. This bothered no one at all until a lightening bolt struck a power transformer on a pole about ten feet from the window. The blast was as much felt as heard, and the light made people think of H-bombs at ground zero. The Vietnam vets were already under the beds yelling "INCOMING!!!," while others levitated several feet in the air from a horizontal position. Even [[Ken Moore|Khen]] and [[John Hollis|John]] woke up. When we looked out the window to see what had happened, the transformer was smoking and the window panes were still shaking. Khen, like most of us, never did get back to sleep, but [[John Hollis|John]] , being made of sterner stuff, went right back to sleep.
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| − | Sometimes it was the trip that was memorable. [[Arthur Townsend]]'s car was so unreliable that he carried a large box of spare parts with him, so the car could be fixed when it broke down. From which come several tales of roadside repairs at odd hours of the night. Or stopping to fix a flat and discovering that a dead skunk lay only a few feet from the car. We set a world's record for the time to unload a station wagon to get to the spare tire. Or discovering [[Khen]]'s car broken down in the middle of nowhere and trying to find a tow truck or garage on Sunday afternoon.
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| − | Or the wreck of the Wolf wagon on the way to [[Discon II]]. It was a new VW van that [[Larry Wolfe]] had just bought. The 5 am accident destroyed the motor but Larry did not have the money to replace it, and had to sell the body (still in good shape) for about 1/4 of the van's value. The van's inhabitants had to collect all their schtuff (one was on his way to the [[Pensic Wars]] and had all of his [[SCA]] gear with him) and wait all day by the side of the road in the nearest (small) town for the ''one'' bus that made a stop there--at sundown. We called the [[Nashville]] sardine can at the con but no one was willing to drive 100 miles to pick us up. We tried to pass the time with an impromptu fighter practice, but had to give this up as it excited the local fuzz way too much (don't you-all know duelin's illegal?).
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| − | Eventually, most of us got better jobs and could afford to share a room with less than a small army. Now at cons, [[Nashville]] fandom has several rooms, each with only 4 or 5 people in them.
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| − | === [[Kubla Khan]]===
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| − | 1972 - November - [[Ken Moore|Khen]] & [[John Hollis|John]] go to Irvin Koch's Upper South Clave in Johnson City, TN, way up in the northeast corner of the state. [[Irv Koch|Irvin]] (easily) persuades [[Ken Moore|Ken]] to have the next one in [[Nashville]] in 1973. Dan, [[John Hollis|John]] and [[Ken Moore|Ken]] hold a war council at Joe's Village Inn after the club meeting. [[John Hollis|John]] and [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] decide that since [[Ken Moore|Ken]] got us into this, he can get us out. [[Ken Moore|Ken]] is elected con chairman by a vote of 2 to 1. [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] & [[John Hollis|John]] want to hold the con in the fall of 1973 to give us time to get some publicity out. [[Ken Moore|Ken]] can't wait and insists on having it in May.
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| − | [[ChambanaCon]] was coming up and it was one of the few places we could put out a flyer in those days. But to have a flyer the con needed a name. After AthenaParthaCon, AutoClave, and Ghengis Khan were rejected, [[Dan Caldwell|Dan]] came up with Kubla Khan and wrote a flyer draft based on the Coleridge's poem "Xanadu."
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| − | For more on [[Kubla Khan]] follow the link to the [[Kubla Khan]] page.
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| − | Also, see: [[Xanadu]]
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| − | Other [[fannish]] organizations in Nashville:
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| − | * [[Lomelindi]], a [[smial]] of [[The Tolkien Society]]
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| − | ''* not the same person as [[Charlie Williams]] the [[fan artist]] from [[Knoxville, TN]]''
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| − | {{locale}}
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| − | [[Category:US]] | |
