June 1985 Galactic Gazette

That's a dragon spreading his wings, and if you think it's supposed to look like something else, then you're just so wrong.

Tamara Baker, soon-to-be Hodge, has become President for some reason I don't remember.

Somehow, yours truly became Vice-President.  as the last tag on the page above says, "by reason of attrition."  That's probably better than through regicide as in the Star Trek "Mirror" universe.

Mike Hodge, in control of the purse strings, mentions that the Club has a total of more than $400 to its name, "with checks and everything."  He describes attempting to line up geusts for our new convention to be held in 1986, called SoonerCon.  Vonda McIntyre and Gordon Dickson aren't available, and nobody answered at Tom Disch's house.  (Although it worked out that Disch will come to the first Soonercon!)

 Now we have some writings from Veronica Blochowiak.

 We appear to have 23 members of STAR OKC.  Yours truly MAY be the only person of all of this motley crew to STILL HAVE the same address/phone as way back then.  But just in case, we have performed some surgical obliteration.

 Next we have some group fiction by Denise Reedy, Tammy Bothel, and Tamara (still) Baker.

Stay tuned for more of the awesomely fascinating history of the OKC of STAR and the lead-up to the original SoonerCon.

Just don't hold your breath. (channeling the dry wit of M Hodge there)

May, 1985 Galactic Gazette

The STAR OKC Chronicles - The Second Half of 1985

STAR does indeed attend MedFair on April 13-14, sharing a booth with Nosfa.  The Club sells pouches (for gamers’ dice), rats on a stick, wooden swords, and — a surprise hit — Absolutions. This last item was jokingly sug­gested in January by the VP as an example of the real Mediæval mindset.  The Absolutions are printed on parchment and read, “ABSOLUTION. The mortal, ______ , is hereby deemed ABSOLVED of the heinous mortal sin or sins pursued by the aforemen­tioned in the past.” There follows a checklist of the Seven Deadly Sins.  “This dispensa­tion granted by the Sacred Church of Trump­ery.”

The May GG tells the tale. Treasurer Mike reports, “STAR OKC turned a profit of $230 at the Fair.  STAR also received about $60 from Spectrum foods for when we worked down at the Myriad. ... STAR has about $310 to its name.

(LEFT-TO-RIGHT: front: Veronica Blochowiak, Paul Marek, unknown gal in white;
JR Daniels in hood, MIke Hodge. STANDING:  MIke Powell, Bob Higgs, unknown,
Tamara Hodge)

“Because of this, STAR decided to do a con. It will be called SoonerCon and it will be June 6, 7, 8 of 1986.”

Yes, folks, we can thank Absolutions and Rats-on-a-stick for SoonerCon.

The May GG also contains Mike Hodge’s “A History of STAR OKC,” which has helped immensely in the production of these Chronicles, and the first contribution by Janetta Schuch, a new member (with her husband Bob).

Another STAR wedding occurs on June 7, when Mike Hodge and Tamara Baker get hitched in the Rose Garden at Will Rogers Park.

The June GG includes a membership list with these 23 paid members:

Mark Alfred   

Brandon McKay

David Lee Anderson

Mike Powell

Veronica Blochowiak

Mary Powell

Tammy Bothel

J.R. Daniels

Denise Reedy

Denise Rexroat

Cory Furse  

Casey Hamilton

Bob Higgs

Mike Hodge   

Tamara Hodge

James Hoy

Paul Marek

Bob Schuch

Janetta Schuch

Claire Stephens

David Stone    

Tony Trammel   

Lee Wise

            From    about   the       same    time     frame comes the first publicity release for Sooner-Con 1, courtesy of Publicity guy Larry Ne­mecek:  “ ‘SOONERCON 1’ TO BRING WEEKEND OF SCIENCE FICTION FUN TO OKC ... Sponsored by STAR OKC — the metro area’s SF, fantasy and media fan group — Sooner-Con 1 features three days of activities sure to please both the longtime “con”-goer as well as the curious weekender. ...”

In August, STAR welcomes another seven new paid members, and has a Saturday-afternoon cookout at Lake Thunderbird, featuring several members being stranded in the middle of the lake on a catamaran for a half hour or so.

Autumn brings the STAR Halloween Party, this year on Saturday, October 26, at Bob and Janetta Schuch’s, featuring Mark A. with a pump­kin head, Mike & Tamara H. as gorillas, the Schuchs in spacesuits, and other revelations of the attendee’s inner personalities.

In the November GG, it’s reported that thanks to working food booths at the State Fair, STAR now has $1300.  Also, STAR has its first mailout in conjunction with Planet Comics, an early step in what’s become a strange and wonderful af­finity between the Club and this store.

The December GG contains a  letter from California-relocated Veronica Blochowiak, a STAR member short on membership time but long on memories.  Also at the December meeting, of course, elections are held, of which more anon.

On December 21, STAR has a combined Christmas Party and Halley’s Comet Watch at the remote (north of Edmond in the badlands) trailer of Bob Higgs. No one spots Comet Halley, but everyone sees stars from having their skulls bounced off the inside roofs of their cars as they negotiate the Rocky-Mountainesque backroads from their homes to Bob’s trailer and back to civilization again.

"The Official 1985 Price Guide to Star Trek and Star Wars Collectibles" Lists STAR OKC

In this 1985 book, STAR OKC was listed.

Please don't try any of these 27-year-old addresses!

April, 1985 Galactic Gazette ... Harbingers of SoonerCon

Here's mine own cobbled-together cover for the April, 1985 Galactic Gazette.  Back before desktop publishing, such photo montages were accomplished by mutrilating copies of STARLOG magazine and newspapers in the hopes that the photo of the Elephant Man would be somewhat the correct relative size to replace that of Dr McCoy in the pic from STAR TREK II.

The reversed logo was accomplished by photocopying the logo onto cellophane at Kinko's, flipping it, and copying the thing from the back.

BTW ... April Fool's!

These next three pages were notes from the Prez and Vice-Prez.

Above are some of my musings on the sould and its attachment to our bodies.  If we have a soul, and we get transported to Planet X from the starship Enterprise, then (in the words of the Talking Heads), How Do I Work This?

It used to be if the body were destroyed, a person was dead.  But with matter "transportation", there's a live body waiting somewhere else, while the "original" flesh-and-blood is disintegrated.  What happens to your soul?

In much the manner of Farmer's Riverworld thoughts, I posited that "somehow" the soul would be able to find its beamed-over copy, and reattach itself.

These pages are a fun story, "Love on the Rocks," from a STAR member, who last time I heard was on the West Coast.

Next came some fanservice pages.

...followed by more pages from Bob Higgs' "Remember the Heroes."

Our last page is an aid for STAR OKC members to get around at the 1985 OU Medieval Faire.  We sold various items at MedFaire to raise funds for our own convention, spearheaded by Mike Hodge. 

This is important, because without the 1985 Medieval Faire, there would be no SoonerCon.  Then, or now.

More next time on THAT!