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Fantasite, v. 1, issue 2, February 1941

Page 8

THE MINNEAPOLIS FANTASY SOCIETY
by SAMUEL D. RUSSELL

Minneapolis has long been distinguished by its silence in regard to fan activities.  Profound scholars in science-fictional trivia may recall that in June '37 [underlined] TWS [/underlined] appeared a notice of the formation of the Minneapolis SFL, with Oliver E. Saari as director.  The full story of the curious meeting therein briefly recorded I shall leave to be told by one of its participants, several of whom are still extant; suffice it to say at this writing that that first official meeting of the MSFL was also its last, and that nevermore was the ill-omened club heard from, outside of Minneapolis.

But its core was not yet totally extinct.  The five leading members--Oliver Saari, John L. Chapman, Douglas Blakely, Arden Benson, and Robert Madsen----stuck together, became close friends, and met frequently for both science-fictional and purely social purposes.  In fact, they carried on almost all the activities of a club except the two that distinguish a club from a casual gathering--viz., organization and publicity.  To the quinquumvirate the club doubtless seemed still alive, but to the outside world it was as dead as [underlined] Amazing's [/underlined] aristocratic pretensions.

This situation continued for three years, during which time the chief literary activities of the Unholy Five, aside from writing "letters to the editors" and Saari's miraculously selling three awful stories to Tremaine in '37, were the composition of innumerable Silly Stories--brief, nonsensical satires on current asininities in science-fiction.  But in 1939 Clifford D. Simak moved to Minneapolis, and when the fellows became acquainted with him and began visiting him regularly, their interest in science-fiction was intensified.  Saari and Chapman crashed the pro mags late in '39 and took up spare-time professional writing in comparative earnestness.  It was inevitable that the thought of starting another organization should seductively rise and tantalize.

At last, on Oct. 8, 1940, Chapman sent out the first batch of membership--invitations to bashful Twin City fans, and on Nov. 28 the first meeting of the Minneapolis Fantasy Society was held at Simak's house, as reported in the November [underlined] Fantasite [/underlined].  At the second meeting, Dec. 20, a constitution was adopted, and at the third meeting, Jan. 10, officers were elected (simak, director; Saari, assistant director; Chapman, secretary-treasurer).  Membership is open to anyone in the Twin City area; there are no regular dues; the club is independent oa [sic] all magazine-sponsored leagues and it is to be run on as informal a basis as possible.

This does not mean, however, that the organization is a purely social one whose purpose is simply to let us enjoy one another's company.  There seem to be plenty of such clubs throughout fandom, and one may well ask if a new fraternity could have no higher aim.  Of course, the social element is a definite feature of any gathering, and the first two aims set forth in the club's constitution are directed toward the members' benefit: to stimulate interest in fantasy in the Twin Cities, and to make the name of the society notable throughout fandom. But "notable for what?" immediately occurs and must be answered by a higher aim. Nearly every important fan club has some outstanding trait that characterizes it even to those who are not very familiar with its activities: for example, the Queens boys support the pro mags, the Futurians campaign for political liberalism in science-fiction and fandom, the Angelenos have a good time together, the

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THE MINNEAPOLIS FANTASY SOCIETY by SAMUEL D. RUSSELL Minneapolis has long been distinguished by its silence in regard to fan activities. Profound scholars in science-fictional trivia may recall that in June '37 [underlined] TWS [/underlined] appeared a notice of the formation of the Minneapolis SFL, with Oliver E. Saari as director. The full story of the curious meeting therein briefly recorded I shall leave to be told by one of its participants, several of whom are still extant; suffice it to say at this writing that that first official meeting of the MSFL was also its last, and that nevermore was the ill-omened club heard from, outside of Minneapolis. But its core was not yet totally extinct. The five leading members--Oliver Saari, John L. Chapman, Douglas Blakely, Arden Benson, and Robert Madsen----stuck together, became close friends, and met frequently for both science-fictional and purely social purposes. In fact, they carried on almost all the activities of a club except the two that distinguish a club from a casual gathering--viz., organization and publicity. To the quinquumvirate the club doubtless seemed still alive, but to the outside world it was as dead as [underlined] Amazing's [/underlined] aristocratic pretensions. This situation continued for three years, during which time the chief literary activities of the Unholy Five, aside from writing "letters to the editors" and Saari's miraculously selling three awful stories to Tremaine in '37, were the composition of innumerable Silly Stories--brief, nonsensical satires on current asininities in science-fiction. But in 1939 Clifford D. Simak moved to Minneapolis, and when the fellows became acquainted with him and began visiting him regularly, their interest in science-fiction was intensified. Saari and Chapman crashed the pro mags late in '39 and took up spare-time professional writing in comparative earnestness. It was inevitable that the thought of starting another organization should seductively rise and tantalize. At last, on Oct. 8, 1940, Chapman sent out the first batch of membership--invitations to bashful Twin City fans, and on Nov. 28 the first meeting of the Minneapolis Fantasy Society was held at Simak's house, as reported in the November [underlined] Fantasite [/underlined]. At the second meeting, Dec. 20, a constitution was adopted, and at the third meeting, Jan. 10, officers were elected (simak, director; Saari, assistant director; Chapman, secretary-treasurer). Membership is open to anyone in the Twin City area; there are no regular dues; the club is independent oa [sic] all magazine-sponsored leagues and it is to be run on as informal a basis as possible. This does not mean, however, that the organization is a purely social one whose purpose is simply to let us enjoy one another's company. There seem to be plenty of such clubs throughout fandom, and one may well ask if a new fraternity could have no higher aim. Of course, the social element is a definite feature of any gathering, and the first two aims set forth in the club's constitution are directed toward the members' benefit: to stimulate interest in fantasy in the Twin Cities, and to make the name of the society notable throughout fandom. But "notable for what?" immediately occurs and must be answered by a higher aim. Nearly every important fan club has some outstanding trait that characterizes it even to those who are not very familiar with its activities: for example, the Queens boys support the pro mags, the Futurians campaign for political liberalism in science-fiction and fandom, the Angelenos have a good time together, the