Beatley's

Beatley’s Hotel in Indian Lake, Ohio, was the site of Midwestcon from 1951–1953.

Midwestcon left for reasons which are probably multifactorial. Certainly one reason was that three fans were turned away from Beatley's at Midwestcon 4 in 1953 because the proprietor would not rent a room to an African-American fan, Bev Clark, and Buck Coulson and Gene DeWeese left with her. (Harlan Ellison expressed outrage, but remained.) Also, according to Coulson, “Randy Garrett was surprised by the house detective in a compromising situation, there were blows exchanged, and the convention was invited to go somewhere else.”

7th Fandom’s rowdy uprising also contributed.

According to Bob Tucker, writing in Psychotic 15 (September 1954):

The large rambling lakeside hotel at Indian Lake, about twelve miles distant [from Bellefontaine, Ohio, where Midwestcon 5 was held in ’54], was lost to the Midwestcon this year for two general reasons. First, the accumula­ted rowdyism of 3 consecutive years was more than the good woman could stand; and second, the late meeting date this year would have cut in on her lucrative vacation trade. There had been a great deal of blame placed on what might be called 7th Fandom rowdyness for the loss of the lake hotel, although misbehavior was rampant long before 7th Fandom was born.  Actually the teen-age hooligans are only half to blame for our getting booted out -- perhaps half a dozen quite-adult hooligans contributed their share to Mrs. Beastley's breakdown. 

An elderly couple, not related in any way, each made a nuisance of themselves year after year. A young couple, again not related, created a particularly unpleasant scene last year. Individual adults who persisted in exhibiting their personalities contributed to the expulsion. All these, plus the young fans who just couldn't resist raising hell, caused Beastley's-on-the-Bayou to become only a memory.

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

The popular Ohio resort hotel on Indian Lake; scene of the Midwestcons till things got too 7th Fandom-like for the Beatleys to stand. Randy Garrett is credited with the byname, "Beastley's on the Bayou".

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

Apparently this tag for the resort (Beatley's) on Indian Lake, where the early Midwestcons were held, was coined by Steve Schultheis in the April '52 Cleveland SFS Bulletin, rather than (as I originally declared) by Randall Garrett.

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Venue

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