Dayton, Ohio was once again the setting for the
17th annual Sherlock Holmes/Arthur Conan Doyle Symposium.
DAYTON, OHIO: Where the Dream of Flight Began
The Wright Brothers are perfect as Watson and Holmes! Especially Wilbur as HOLMES Take a look! |
 Visit the FIRST FLIGHT WEB SITE CELEBRATION PLANS FOR FIRST
FLIGHT |
Dayton (like London) has a long and illustrious history.
The city is located on
the banks of the Great Miami River (similar to the
Thames). Whereas London
is the capital of Great Britain, Dayton is the county
seat of Montgomery County.
The population of London during Sherlockian times
was approximately 4.3 million
persons. The present population of Dayton is 182,044.
Founded in 1805, Dayton
became a port and landing hub for a fertile farm area.
Does this sound familiar? The
city grew with the extension of canals and railways
in the 1830s and 1840s. Does this
sound familiar? While Sherlock was the Master innovator
in terms of the art of detection,
Dayton was the home of Orville and Wilbur Wright.
These contemporaries of the Master
were the inventors of aviation. Dayton boasts proudly
that it is the Wright place to
be,
Sherlock was the “right man” for his time and any
time.
Weather
A thick mysterious London fog hung over the Holiday Inn Conference
Center
during the gathering.
Problems
There were several “Problems” connected with the conference (ask
Greg Sullivan
about the double meaning here). Attenders included Ken Gordon
and Scott Price
from Memphis, Nancye Zimmer from Chattanooga and David Bradley from
Nashville.
Host Greg Sullivan is a subscriber to our newsletter, making him
an honorary member
of our group.
Characters
There were several characters who played an important role in
the plot.
1. A technical writer for repair manuals
for jet engines, a vaguely sinister figure,
who hosted the event and who has assumed many aliases over the last
several years.
Greg Sullivan filled in and gave Mark Alberstat’s talk on“Sherlock
Holmes, Doyle
and Sports,” his own discussion of the “Challenger Channel”, with
a special spiritual
appearance by the professor, and adapted the two Readers Theatre
presentations.
2. A Registered Nurse, John Smithley
II, who gave a picture discussion of
“Major Sherlockian Sites in London."
3. A graphic artist, entertainer and
corporate speaker, Chuck Kovacic, who showed
pictures of his recreated 221b Baker Street sitting room in Baker
Street in LA.
4. A librarian, Walter E. Young, who
spoke on the BBC Holmes radio shows in
Arthur, Arthur, Son of Arthur.
5. A postmistress, Cathy Gill, who
gave a scholarly presentation
A Most Consummate Actress.
6. A man who was described as suffering
from an all consuming disease, one that is
becoming more common among Nashville Scholars The Holmes Disease.
David Richardson, who came to the defense of Professor
Moriarty in
A Forgotten Victorian: Some Remarks Upon Academic
Career and publications
of Professor James Moriarty.
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