1984 in STAR OKC

In this year, STAR completes the transformation (begun in 1983 with the throw-Mark-Alfred-out controversy) into the inclusive, active Club it has become today (when this was written in the 1990s that is!). The year begins with the Club meeting at its traditional location, the Belle Isle Library. Larry Jones continues as President; Tammy Bothel is Vice-President; Tamara Baker is Secretary. Mike Hodge is Treasurer.


The January Minutes report, “Dues of $3.00 due this meeting.”

The following people attend the Febru¬ary 4, 1984 meeting:

Mike Powell

Mary (his fiancée)

Kathy Lemin

Tammy Bothel

Larry Jones

Mike Hodge

Mary Rottler

Zann Jones

Tamara Baker

John Gilfillan

Karla Jarrett



At the March meeting, it is noted that the Club has $42.00.

Most members of STAR attend the wedding of Mike and Mary Powell on March 24.

Another chapter in the twisting and turning drama of STAR OKC occurs when members try to attend the May meeting. Tamara Baker, Mark Alfred, and Tammy Bothel show up at the Belle Isle Library to find it locked up, closed for repairs. Zann and Larry Jones arrive soon after. Puzzle¬ment is expressed at the President’s not ar¬ranging for an alternate meeting place, since this one is obviously unavailable. Tempers in the Jones family flare, and they rapidly depart, never to return again to STAR OKC — until Larry visits once or twice in the early 1990s. Here’s the complete Min¬utes for this turn-the-corner STAR event: “May 12. Members present: Tammy Bothel, Mark Alfred [and Tamara Baker, who writes these Minutes]. A WASTE OF PAPER. Lib. closed, Zann & Larry Jones’s last ‘meeting’ — in parking lot!”

Only five attend the June meeting. Tammy Bothel fills the vacated President slot, and Tamara Baker becomes Vice-President.

Another step to the present STAR OKC is taken at the July meeting. Tamara Baker’s notes read, “Nosfa style newsletter proposed by M.H.” — meaning Mike Hodge. This is further kicked around at the August meeting, and ...

The September, 1984 meeting sees “the first issue of the new Galactic Gazette. I, being Tamara Baker, Vice-Pres. of STAR, am writing this to inform you of Club happenings. ...”

This cannot be emphasized enough. This September issue of the Galactic Gazette is the first in an UNBROKEN LINE down to our own GG of today. And, it’s thanks to Tamara Baker and Mike Hodge for this, the format continued even today. So, yea, broth¬ers, don’t forget the debt we owe to this first issue of the present GG!

The October meeting is that one of which present STAR members have heard Club Historian Mark Alfred reminisce about, the time “when STAR OKC had only four members.” And they all were there: Mike Hodge, Tamara Baker, Mark Alfred, and Denise Reedy. A four-member Club isn’t much good, so the decision is made to blow the Club’s treasury of $40 or so on Club flyers, and “blanket the city.” The flyer’s text: “STAR OKC — STAR TREK / Science Fiction Fan Club. In our 12th year! OKC’s oldest club for sci-ence-fiction fans.” Then meeting information. Then, “Dues are $3 a year” — probably a pretty good attention-getter.

The October GG contains a letter from the New Prez, Tamara Baker: “Yes, another new president. As you all know Larry Jones our former President re¬signed quite some time ago and left his then vice-president, Tammy Bothel, in charge. ... Yep, you guessed it. Tammy Bothel has become an ex-President.” Mark Alfred becomes Vice-President.

Another feature of the October GG is a 1¼ page proposed Constitution for STAR OKC. Once again, here we see the foundation of the present Club. STAR is “a science-fiction, fantasy, and science-fact fandom organization ... open to all people who feel it within themselves to attend at least 6 meetings a year and to pay the sum of three dollars a year as membership dues.” Note the language about being open to all, and the broad range of interests. This happened because the rank-and-file decided to make the Club this way, and not have it be a personal or political “clique” group. An addition to the section on impeachment of officers makes this clear: “General members cannot be impeached and their membership cannot be revoked. They can, however, be advised as to wrongdoings where the Club is concerned in the hope they will rem¬edy the situation by themselves.”

A further decision is taken at the October meeting to continue the present slate of officers through the next year. Pretty silly to elect three officers from among four or five members!

The November meeting sees a slight response to October’s flyer distribution, in the form of two visi¬tors: a fellow named Marq Pratt, and a gal named Casey Hamilton, who is later to fill many offices in STAR and SoonerCon. The November GG reports that the Club’s funds are down to $7.00, what with paying for the post-office box and the 1,000 flyers at Kinko’s.

A time capsule: The December GG has a cartoon cover by Mark Alfred depicting Santa in a space sled drawn by eight reindeer, each in its own space pod. Prez Tamara’s “Voice from Above” reports on the Halloween Party, the unanimous ratification of the new Constitution, and the possibility of STAR having a booth at the Spring 1985 Mediæval Fair in Norman. V-P Mark’s page is a column on “STAR TREK and STAR WARS’ Appeal.” Treasurer Mike’s “Voice from Beneath the Below” reports he has ordered 100 STAR OKC pens and that “we still have seven (7) dollars in our swelling account.” If anyone has some¬thing for the GG, they should get it copied 20 times and bring it to the meeting. Then ensues a page of Mike’s “Continuing Story of Martin” and a list of SF items wanted to buy by a guy in Florida.

November 1983 Galactic Gazette

Rumblings in 1983

In August, new President Larry Jones, claiming to have the backing of other Club members, sends a six-page letter to Mark Alfred, who now finds himself in the middle of a controversy. It is not overly dramatic to say that the resolution of this conflict changed and reshaped STAR OKC from now until the present day. Here’s a synopsis of that letter, with actual quotations as appropriate.


The Club needs revival and rededication. Among causes for “the low morale of the Club” are: 1) Leadership failures; 2) “Overly wide variation in age, tastes, and family ties”; 3) “Deterioration of the highly moral foundation we have always enjoyed”; 4) “Too little emphasis on STAR TREK”; 5) “Incompatibility of the members on an individual basis”; 6) “Too great an emphasis on the needs of the individual over the needs of the group. ... We, then, need to re-commit ourselves to the needs of only our primary group, and do our recruitment from the same. We see this group as being single persons between 16-23.”

But the greatest problem STAR OKC has, President Jones writes, is a person — the recipient of the letter, Mark Alfred. “Most members have openly expressed a desire for the officers to ask you to leave. ... Each of us has suffered insults and discourtesies at your hands, and you have attack the worth and character of us all. Your complaints and disagreements are incessant. Your humor is indecent and offen¬sive. ...” Another irritant is that Mark doesn’t hide his accumulation of SF videos, including some he has traded for — not bought or sold — that are of bootlegged (unreleased-to-video) movies. “Your boasting about your unlawful and unChristian videotape collection has shamed us.” Still, President Jones says he won’t kick Mark out just yet. “You must change, Mark, immediately. ... I must bend to the members’ wishes unless the problem is solved.” So closes the letter.

While acknowledging a propensity for hasty speech and a bent for a sardonic sense of humor, Mark is stunned and hurt. He certainly doesn’t remember insulting the worth or charac-ter of anyone. And if they don’t like his bootlegged Empire Strikes Back, then they don’t have to watch it if he plays it. Feeling the pangs of rejection, Mark doesn’t attend the September or October meetings. He goes to the November meeting, attended by only three others: Mike Hodge, Tamara Baker (later Hodge), and De¬nise Reedy. Basically, they tell Mark that they heard about “the letter” and think it’s an under¬handed thing to do, and emphasize that Mark is welcome in the Club. It transpires that members of the “anti-Mark” wing of the Club take his being re-welcomed into STAR as an affront to them, and to “their” Club. How dare these lowly members go against their betters’ wishes to boot an unwieldy soul from the Club!?

November also brings the new and improved Galactic Gazette, a 16-page mimeoed zine by edited by Paul Marek. “Instead of a one-page update on fan news,” writes Paul, referring to the now-defunct STAR OKC News, “this format is like an actual fanzine only in a fourteen-to-sixteen page format.” In his closing remarks, Paul also weighs in on the side of inclusiveness in the Club and takes a slam at the mindset of trying to run STAR OKC as one’s own private domain: “A club should not be a clique, but a collection of fans, each striving for a common goal through their diverse methods. ... One person should not be put down.” This is the only issue of this version of the GG.

The Beginning of 1983

1983

The New Year begins with these officers: President Tammy Bothel, Vice President Larry Jones, Secretary Paul Marek, Treasurer Mike Hodge, and Publications Mark Alfred.

At the January meeting, member Mark Alfred announces his first book publication, the article “He’s Dead, Jim,” in The Best of TREK #6. Also, members celebrate that KAUT-43 in OKC will carry STAR TREK. Yes, decades ago there was a TREK drought on TV. Also at the January meeting, it is decided to adopt a “universal dues-paying system. Everyone paid remainder of dues for this year and everyone pays dues in December.”

On April 8, another STAR baby is born: Mark and Joyce Alfred produce Matthew. On April 23, the Club takes an outing to Martin Nature Center on Memorial Road.

At the May meeting, President Tammy Bothel resigns; “Larry Jones gains post. Mark Alfred’s arguing was sorely missed.”

The last issue of the one-sheet, photocopied STAR OKC News is the July issue. Basically, this version of a Club newsletter dies for lack of submissions.

More Photos from 1982

Here are other photos from the STAR OKC 1982 Halloween Party, held at Mark & Joyce Alfred's house.

And here are photos from the STAR Christmas Party of 1982.

The Rest of 1982

Volume 3, for July, has a missive from President Tammy Bothel; excerpts follow: “... Many complaints about the policies of STAR OKC have been raised. ... The Club’s policy on drinking was voted in by the Club’s member¬ship. ... No alcoholic beverage of any kind is al¬lowed at any official Club function. ... The large fraction of Club membership is made up of mi¬nors. One of these is me. ... Any complaints are never brought to me or, for that matter, brought before a Club meeting. They are groused about to non-officers or just left to simmer until it threat¬ens the very health of the Club. I do not like this, and it cannot continue. ... Intelligent considera-tion, not to mention simple courtesy, requires complaints to be brought to light to be handled and answered by the Club officers you elected to do just that.”


[SNIDE EDITORIAL ASIDE: Boy, I am glad that no more of that grousing, grumbling be¬havior happens — now that most Club members are all grown up!]

Also sometime in the summer of 1982, “Southside Comics & Science Fiction presents: N.O.S.F.A.RATU.” (“Southside Comics” was an earlier name for what is now Planet Comics.) This one-day con includes a panel on Upcoming Conventions featuring such STAR names as J.R. Daniels, Mike Hodge, and David Means.

At the October meeting, an auction of SF-related items is held, with a little bit of the pro-ceeds going to the Club; the rest to the individual members who sell the stuff.

The December issue, now called STAR OKC News, announces the 1983 officers (see below), and celebrates the birth on November 16 of Rachel Ann Jarrett to STAR member Karla Jarrett. Was this the first STAR Baby? [STAR Baby: a child born to a member of STAR OKC during the time of that person’s active, dues-paying membership in the Club.]

Some of 1982 for STAR

1982

Regrettably, virtually the only documentation available for this year is the seven volumes of the Club’s newest newsletter, the STAR News.

Each issue, like the l990s GG, is dated the month of the meeting at which it is to be dis-tributed. These 8½-by-11 or 8½-by-14 single-sided one-pagers look pretty amateurish nowadays, but a typewriter and rub-off lettering were the only tools available to the editor. Perhaps this is another case of the product only being as good as the poor putz dumb enough to volunteer.

Volume 1, Number 1 is dated March 1982 and announces, “WELL, HERE WE ARE. ... Your humble and (we hope) honourable servants are: Mark Alfred ... known worldwide for warp-10 mouth and impulse-speed brain. However, he cocks a mean eyebrow. Karen Fullerton ... a diabolical yet angelic per¬sona. ... Mark is Editor and Scapegoat; Karen has volunteered as Assistant Editor and Workhorse. More staff appointments will be announced as they are cornered. ... HERE’S WHAT WE WANT FROM YOU: ... convention reports; book reviews’ movie reviews ... a column authored by YOU ... noble thoughts concerning the place of man in the universe. ... The more we receive, the less we have to concoct ourselves!”

Despite the “we” references, the STAR News is produced solely by the Editor with no assistance and little input.

The Rest of 1981

More from The STAR OKC Chronicles, covering the rest of 1981 ...

March’s “Zannzine” explains that the $800+ earned by BabelCon 1 made “us” (the Club) a taxpayer, so investigations were underway “on perhaps applying for tax-exempt status, or incorporating.” There’s no further information in the records concerning this part of the question, but here’s the end result: BabelCon ’81, though staffed and planned by S.T.A.R. OKC, is run by and for Larry Jones.


Here’s the reasoning: Booking the Lincoln Plaza and Jimmy Doohan involve Big Bucks, a substantial part of that as up-front money. But S.T.A.R. has neither the cash nor the incentive/commitment to raise that cash in the time left before August.

Therefore, Con Chair Larry Jones uses his own funds to get the Con going. This makes the final step “only logical”: Since Larry’s money is at risk — he being personally responsible for all debts — then he should reap the profits (if any) from his risk. He would also send some of those prospective profits towards S.T.A.R., whose members were staffing the Con. Thus, 10 years before ThunderCon, it may be said that BabelCon ’81 is the Club’s first LMC, or “Larry’s Media Con.”

A final note from March is the announcement that Mike Hodge has taken over the role of Publications Officer from Larry Jones, who now has a Con to attend to.

BabelCon ’81 has its share of strikes against it. In 1980 or early 1981, Doohan had suffered a heart attack and cancelled his personal appearance schedule. However, as sum¬mer ’81 arrives, S.T.A.R. has very strong confirmation from Doohan that he will indeed attend the Con (his first appearance since the attack).

Still, as August approaches, some persons — identified by Mike Hodge as Bart Bush and Gary Burleson of the Oklahoma Alliance of Fandom — begin a “whispering campaign” to the effect that Doohan will not appear; that BabelCon ’81 planners know he will not appear; and that the planners are still advertising Doohan falsely, to rake in the bucks. This malicious, deliberate campaign of lies is intentionally undertaken to “sink” BabelCon ’81 before it can even launch.

Still, the  flyer for BabelCon ’81 goes out. Blazoned across the top is “hug a Trekker,” and it announces Doohan and co-Fan Guests of Honor Stan & Carol Nevins, as well as Special Guests C.J. Cherryh and Mike McQuay. The 3-day pre-reg price is $10, or $20 at the door. In the Dealers’ Room, wall tables are $20, aisle tables $15. Ah, those were the days!

Besides Chair Larry, other ConCom members include: Co-Vices Larry Nemecek, Paul Marek, Mike Hodge; Art Show Karla Jarrett; Video Rooms David Arnold; and a big list of Consultants and Slave Labor, the gofers and such of the Con.

Well, Doohan arrive in town on Thursday night, and S.T.A.R. takes him out for barbeque and presents him with a blue S.T.A.R. T-shirt, while getting him to sign many members’ T-shirts. (Ask Paul Marek to show you his.)

Snide whispering campaigns aside, the Con goes swimmingly for rank-and-file attendees, who remain in blissful ignorance that the Con never makes a cent, leaving Con Chair Larry Jones with a debt of about $2,000 to repay. Vice-President Tammy Bothel has decided that she and other Club officers will be Doohan’s “honor guard” and walk him from his room to his various scheduled Con appearances. She is very disappointed when Doohan instead chooses his own “escorts,” a couple of husky male types (Mark Alfred and Ed Porter) to guard him from drooling fans in the hotel halls.

An exciting feature of the Saturday night banquet is provided by a female fan who’d al-ready offended Doohan earlier. She pitches a fit when not allowed to sit at Doohan’s table, and he walks out in the middle of the banquet, to be seen the rest of the night only at various room parties, where he steadfastly refuses to reveal any plot secrets from the upcoming STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Khan. However, when autographing a fan’s bagpipe case (yes, a bagpipe case!), he does write, “a somber tone” — referring to Scotty’s playing “Amazing Grace” at Spock’s funeral, as figured out much later.

from the STAR OKC Chronicles -- first part of 1981

1981

The year begins with these officers: President Zann Jones; Vice-President Maxine Frantz; Secretary Tammy Bothel; Treasurer Paul Marek; Publications Larry Jones

From January, 1981, here’s a list of S.T.A.R.’s 26 members:

Mark Alfred
David Kirksey
Diane LeBlanc
David Arnold
Paula Bell
Brian Lemons
Tammy Bothel
Paul Marek
Kathy Bennett
Kathy Milligan
Jeff Midkiff
Eddie Cunningham
Mary Jane Dossett
Andrea Murray
Lori McCoy
John Gilfillan
Sandra McCool
Larry Nemecek
Mike Hodge
Mike Powell
Larry Jones
Gary Saunders
Zann Jones
Theresa Wilson


At the January meeting are 12 S.T.A.R. members. Yearly dues are $4. A rank system is in place that gives points for recruiting, attending meetings, fundraising, giving rides to func-tions, and so on. Achievement Awards are established for Attendance, Fundraising, Recruit¬ing, Trivia, and Most Valuable Member. However, some members also interject snide remarks concerning how silly they think a Rank System is.

The February meeting sees a Zann¬produced one-page update, the Stardate Review. President Jones discusses the Rank System and offers Club T-shirts for sale. These official S.T.A.R. OKC shirts are light blue and feature Mark Alfred’s design: the Club name in STTMP lettering and the Starfleet insignia across the chest, with the STTMP-style belt buckle at the waist. Also, Zann announces that BabelCon ’81 will be held at the Lincoln Plaza on August 7-9, with Special Guest James “Scotty” Doohan. However, total Club funds, including S.T.A.R. and BabelCon accounts, amount to only $39.49 So what do we do now?

Among the activities used to raise funds for BabelCon ’81 is the sale of Gold C Coupon Books, which at its ending in March has raised all of $65. S.T.A.R. is a long ways from what it needs to hold the big Con being planned.

More Photos from BabelCon '81

 As you can tell by comparing these photos, I shaved off my mustache between Friday and Saturday.

On Friday at BabelCon '81 I shared a Dealer's table with my friend Ed Porter, and wore my blue ST:TMP uniform, visible in the center picture.

On Saturday I wore my "Admiral" ST:TMP costume, and in the evening was in character as "Selik the Vulcan."  Both of these works of sewing art were wrought by my own Wonder Woman, "she who is my wife," Joyce.

The gal in the top and bottom photos was named "Sunny" (spelling?), and she made a big hit with GOH James Doohan when she proved she could in fact PLAY those bagpipes. Besides being cute.  As you can see, she had her own Trek costume, from Engineering, which also tickled Doohan a bit.

Wife Joyce was also there Saturday evening, and the two of us, along with Sunny, ended up at a room party also attended by Doohan and another BabelCon '81 guest, CJ Cherryh.

One of the topics of conversation was, of course, the not-yet-released Star Trek II.  And Doohan was very skillful at deflecting questions about it.  He didn't leak a thing that would have given us a further clue than the available publicity.

Except for ONE thing, which only made sense in retrospect.  Doohan was kind enough to autograph Sunny's bagpipes case.  Besides his signature, Doohan wrote, "A sombre tone."

This only made sense to me after seeing STII and witnessing the bagpipes "Amazing Grace" sequence.

Very tricky, Mr Scott!

Jimmy Doohan and BabelCon '81

 The night before BabelCon '81, our Guest of Honor, James Doohan, was in town, so S.T.A.R. OKC took him out for dinner.

Most members of S.T.A.R. also took this chance to have Mr D autograph their Club T-shirts.  So it seemed only a fair turnabout to take a Club T-shirt and have all the Club members autograph it, and give it to Doohan!

This T-shirt was designed by yours truly.  It used the ST:TMP font for the club name ("STAR OKC" not "S.T.A.R." you will note) across the chest.  On one side of the chest was a Starfleet symbol, with the belly-button area featuring the Perscan device seen also in ST:TMP.

Also you can tell that Mr Doohan was a fine judge of womanflesh.  That's my wife he's glomming onto, in the top photo.

In our next post, we'll see some of the outfits worn by me and others, at BabelCon '81.  And remind me to tell you about Sunny's bagpipe autograph ...

Let's Throw a Bigger Con! - BabelCon '81

With the success of BabelCon 1 in 1980, plans were laid to hold a bigger con in 1981.  It would be at the big OKC Lincoln Plaza Hotel, and our main guest was to be James Doohan, "Scotty" himself!

Now, this was after ST:TMP had revitalized TREK fandom, and before the hotly awaited-and-debated release of STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Khan.  At least among some of us, the appearance of a STAR TREK movie in ANY form justified and made righteous our ten years "in the wilderness."  We had been rewarded for our fanatical loyalty with a movie.  And a second film was in the wrapping up stages.

Now the rumor mills, which had buzzed about how Leonard Nimoy didn't want to play Spock in the firts film, were now whispering the speculation that Nimoy had agreed to come back for II only if he could kill the character off.

THAT was the big question, would Spock die or not?

Meanwhile, the putting-on of such a big con required lots of staff, organization, and ... MONEY.  My understanding of the situation for BabelCon '81 is, that because S.T.A.R. OKC president Larry Jones personally put up the money for the con (including a mortgage I heard), the con was legally "in his name" so that, along with the risk, he could receive the payoff (of there was one).

This makes perfect sense to me.

Well, the con was set for August 7-9, 1981, with guest Jimmy Doohan, as mentioned above.

And then Doohan had to go and have a heart attack!

As it turns out, our favorite Engineer had recovered pretty well by the time of the con.  However, in the months in between, some OKC "fans," who (for whatever reason) did not wish BabelCon well, began spreading rumors that not only was Doohan too sick to show, but that the con knew this and was still using Doohan's appearance as a vehicle to sell tickets.

It's this kind of petty, childish infighting that often helps destroy social groups of all kinds, from SF fan clibs to churches.  It's a sad human foible to exult in the misfortunes of others.  The Germans call it Schadenfreude, sorrow-joy.

Here are a flyer for BabelCon '81, and the cover of the Program Book.  As you can see, Doohan DID show up.  How else would he have autographed the flyer with thanks to Larry Jones the Con Chair?

Next time ... when Jimmy Doohan ate BBQ before the con.

CORRECTION:  Doohan autographed this flyer to Larry Nemecek, later famous as the founder of ThunderCon.

 

Photos from 1980

1980 in S.T.A.R. OKC

1980

S.T.A.R. OKC begins 1980 with these officers: President Paul Marek; Vice-President David Morgan; Secretary-Treasurer Zann Romero; Publications Larry Jones; Personnel Ron Moore.

Twenty-five attend the January meeting, where it’s decided to spend $50 to run a com­mercial for S.T.A.R. on KGMC Channel 34 “for the first episode of STAR TREK to be aired on February 1, 1980.”

And at the February meeting, members are naively astounded to realize that the huge $50 fee only paid for one showing of STAR's TV ad! Also by February, Zann Romero has become Zann Jones, the first of many STAR marriages — people who first met at STAR meetings and later wed.

In March, plans are being laid for Ba­belCon 1, to be patterned as a conference of Starfleet diplomats a la the STAR TREK epi­sode “Journey to Babel.”  The Southgate Inn on I-35 is selected.

An April “Current Contacts” list in­cludes 36 people, including later Club Historian Mark Alfred, his first documented contact with S.T.A.R. He is listed as a “guest” at the May meeting.  An April officers’ list includes not only the five mentioned above, but Activities Officer Bob Higgs, Communications Maxine Frantz, and Publicity Andrew Helfer.  One may get the idea of a group of kids making sure there’s an office for every member, but rest as­sured that there are also 28 just plain members.

The agenda for June includes “officer’s terms reduced from 2 yrs to 1 yr” and an outing to see The Empire Strikes Back. June also brings the one-and-only issue of The Trecorder, another unsuccessful run at a S.T.A.R. OKC publication. Its editor, Larry Jones, utters the eternal plea for submissions.  S.T.A.R. now has 30 members, with $3.09 in the Club account, and $81.10 in the separate BabelCon account.

Speaking of which, BabelCon 1 ex­plodes onto the scene July 25-27, 1980.  Russell Bates, author of the STAR TREK animated epi­sode “How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth,” is Guest of Honor.  Bates and other guests Brad Sinor and C.J. Cherryh also speak at the Am­bassador’s Banquet on Saturday night, along with longtime S.T.A.R. Larry Nemecek as Fan Guest. Costumes include Federation diplomats; a TREK TV Romulan; an ambassador in black tie and tails “from Landru’s planet”; S.T.A.R. member Bob Higgs as the Alien from the 1979 film; a tall blonde as the Salt Vampire from “Man Trap;” S.T.A.R. “schismatic” Dawn At­kins in a steel-mesh bikini as a “Fantasy War­rior”; and Mark Alfred in a blue STTMP cos­tume and pointed ears as one of Spock’s rela­tives. Mark makes an impression on the gulli­ble souls around him by not eating meat from the buffet (Vulcans are vegetarians, dontcha know). Such posturing impresses the Guests who, as judges of the Costume Contest, award First Place to Mark as Selik the Vulcan.

A reporter from the Oklahoma City Journal shows up Saturday evening and shoots a group photo of some of the costumed partici­pants and a solo shot of Dawn Atkins and her aluminum bikini.  A full-page spread on Babel-Con 1 appears in the paper’s Sunday, August 3 edition.

From the tiny bits of documentation available from BabelCon 1, it appears that Maxine Frantz was the prime mover and shaker behind the Con. A report from August states that BabelCon 1 has come out $840 ahead, but since it was not a charity convention, the money stays with S.T.A.R.

Our final material from 1980 is from November, when a new constitution is accepted unanimously and officers elected.  Future 1990s Club Historian Mark Alfred has joined in time to be listed as a member at the December meet­ing. S.T.A.R. has a Christmas Party at the apartment of Zann and Larry Jones off Rock-well and Melrose. Mark and Joyce Alfred show up in Santa Suits to much hilarity. 

As soon as we figure out a posting problems, we will share some photos of this party.

Selik Meets Russell Bates

 On the Saturday night of BabelCon I, there was an Ambassador's Banquet, as narrated previously.

I was there as the stuck-up Vulcan, Selik, in a costume my wonderful wife was nagged at, to finish in time.

This overexposed picture nevertheless shows the masking-tape-and-latex ears that were self-applied in the bathroom.  Also the Vulcanian eyebrows, the result of shaving off the outside ends of the brows and spirit-gumming the resultant shavings.

The Banquet had a yummy repast.  But, being Vulcan, ol' snooty Selik ate only vegetables.

It was also pretty darn hot in that big enclosed space,  which also contained the indoor pool.  However, Selik professed to find the heat (if not the humidity) refreshing.

What a doofus!

One of the guests at BabelCon 1 was Russell Bates, most famous to Trekkers as the author of the animated STAR TREK episode, "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth."

Somehow Bates was impressed enough to not only take this picture of a line-up of "Ambassadors," he also took my home address and mailed me the photo.  The white-lettered caption is made of peel-n-stick letters, pressed on by Bates.

Also in the Bates photo you can see the ol' Vulcan eyebrow-cock.  I may be the only person who will admit to practicing for hours in front of the bathroom mirror until they could raise his eyebrows independently, "just like Mr Spock."  In the 1960s, as a teenager, not in 1980!

Our next post will cover the road to BabelCon '81.

More Scenes from BabelCon I

 More young types dressimg up for BabelCon I, summer, 1980.

Next time you can check out my wife's great sewing and I'll tell you a story about being a little too-much-in-character.

BabelCon - STAR's 1980 Con

"BabelCon I - and so it begins" was the slug line made up for STAR OKC's 1980 Convention.  It was help in the summer of 1980 at OKC's Southgate Inn, on I-35.

Here are the members of S.T.A.R. Oklahoma City in 1979 -- the group that started BabelCon:

 

... And at BabelCon I, my friends, your humble Chronicler makes his appearance.

I don't know how I found out about BabelCon, but I arrived on Friday night of the three-day-affair.  I walked through the small area of panels and dealers.

I came back on Saturday and spent the day.  I brought my STAR TREK scrapbook to show off -- oooh, how cute! -- and was scandalized when somebody offered to buy it off me.  Parenthetically, most of the stuff posted by me during last year's "STAR TREK month" on my Super Blog came from my scrapbooks.

the banquet

On Saturday evening there was an "Ambassador's Banquet."  This was a tie-in to the con's name, BabelCon.  As we all know, Babel was the site of a peace conference referred to several times in Star Trek.  So what better name for the Saturday-night feast?  All the people in costume could be ambassadors!

Ambassador from Landru's Planet

Salt Vampire and what-is-it

Dawn Atkins as a "Fantasy Warrior"

Paul Marek as Poochie; Maxine Franz as the
Pooch Keeper

Next time: more photos from BabelCon -- the con with no shame!  (oh, that's ME that has no shame, sorry)