The Notorious Canary-Trainers
A Scion of the Baker Street Irregulars
for friends and fans of Sherlock Holmes
-- celebrating our 40th year!

Madison's Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts will begin their 40th anniversary celebration as a group when they meet at Booked for Murder Sunday (April 19).

It's the group's regular monthly meeting date, when members and visitors will gather at 3 p.m. to observe the anniversary and to discuss the adventure of "The Blanched Soldier."

Each month, the group focuses on one of the 56 short stories and four novels recounting the career of Sherlock Holmes, as shared with the world by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Known by the strange name The Notorious Canary-Trainers, the group has been a Madison fixture since April 20, 1969, when it held its first meeting downtown to begin exploring the 60 published cases of Sherlock Holmes, as passed along by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Then, as now, the group meets on the third Sunday of each month, making that its longest-standing tradition.

The Canary-Trainers began meeting at Booked for Murder occasionally several years ago, then moved to the bookstore for all of its monthly meetings starting last September.

One of the founders of the Holmes group, Rita Wlodarczyk, also was an original owner of Booked for Murder. During her time with the bookstore, one of the featured permanent displays was a mannequin dressed as Sherlock Holmes.

Rita, who died in 2007, also was a part of another and newer (since 2001) tradition of the group, an annual dinner celebrating the birthday of Sherlock Holmes.

Rita read a Sherlock Holmes-themed and atmospheric poem, "221B," by Vincent Starrett, to begin each dinner program she was able to attend. (221B was the Baker Street address in London of Holmes' lodgings which he often shared with Dr. John Watson.)

The poem begins: "Here dwell together still two men of note who never lived and so can never die: How very near they seem, yet how remote, that age before the world went all awry..."

The name of the group is taken from a brief reference to an unpublished case about "Wilson, the notorious canary-trainer." It's the only Sherlock Holmes group recognized by the Baker Street Irregulars with that name in the world.

The Canary-Trainers started as a book club and since has added other activities to its schedule, normally draws 15-20 people to each meeting. Some who attend are just beginning to explore the Holmes accounts.

Representatives of the group also will be featured on an hour-long program on Madison's WORT 89.9FM Monday (April 20) at 7 p.m. talking about the Notorious Canary-Trainers, as well as Arthur Conan Doyle whose birth 150 years ago this year on May 22 is being observed worldwide. It's also the 75th anniversary year of the Baker Street Irregulars.

(Update: The one-hour program is archived for online listening here.)

For more on the group and its anniversary and other activities in the coming months, please revisit this Web site.

In addition to the WORT program, we're considering a picnic in September and a group viewing of the new Sherlock Holmes movie to be released in theaters Christmas Day. The latter event may be held in conjunction with our 10th annual Sherlock Holmes birthday dinner in early January.

We also hope to schedule a meeting with a founding member of the group, now living in Milwaukee, to talk about the group's early years.

The group also has its own Yahoo Group for member and non-members communications between meetings at groups.yahoo.com/group/nct1969. Anyone is welcome to join that group or subscribe to receive its messages.

Visitors are always welcome at the meetings, and membership is informal and free.

Read more of the history of the Notorious Canary-Trainers here.

If you've ever been part of the Notorious Canary-Trainers, what are your memories of past times with us? You're encouraged to share them here by addressing your email to nct1969@yahoogroups.com.

We're also interested in obtaining originals or copies of items from the earlier years of the Notorious Canary-Trainers. If you have anything to share with our Archives, please contact us at this email address. Thanks!