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Madison's Sherlock Holmes
society founded in 1969
Local Scion recognized by the Baker Street Irregulars in 1975
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Cover of Nicholas Meyer's
1993 book, "The Canary Trainer"
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We're the local Sherlock Holmes society in the Madison area for fans of The Master Consulting Detective and his biographer, Dr. John Watson.
We are an officially-recognized scion of the Baker Street Irregulars. Membership in the Notorious Canary-Trainers is open to anyone of any age interested in the Sherlock Holmes case accounts. Guests are welcome at any of our meetings.
About Our Strange Name
A Brief History of the Notorious Canary-Trainers
Another "Notorious" Website
ABOUT OUR STRANGE NAME
The name Notorious Canary-Trainers is based on a brief reference in the account called "Black Peter," now found in the collection, "The Return of Sherlock Holmes". Dr. Watson remarks at the beginning of the story:
"In this memorable year (18)95 a curious and incongruous succession of cases had engaged (Holmes') attention, ranging from his famous investigation of the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca -- an inquiry which was carried out by him at the express desire of his Holiness the Pope -- down to his arrest of Wilson, the notorious canary-trainer, which removed a plague spot from the East End of London."
What's a canary trainer? The most obvious explanation is, of course, that it describes someone who trains canaries, either for legal or illegal uses (example: training canaries to serve as "lookouts" by giving warning chirps when the police show up during the commission of a crime). The explanation members generally prefer is that it's someone who teaches operatic singers how to sing.
Although Arthur Conan Doyle never found any notes in the files of Dr. John Watson which reported any additional details about Wilson, his career and his crime(s), Doyle's son, Adrian, later addressed the matter in the story, "The Adventure of the Deptford Horror" in his compilation titled "The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes." (In that story we are told that Wilson's first name was Theobold.)
Nicholas Meyer also published his account, called "The Canary Trainer," in 1993, citing a "missing manuscript" located by a computer in the bowels of a major university "where it had collected dust for over half a century." (The book was a Book of the Month Club selection and sold well.) Wilson also figures in the plot of the 1970 movie, "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes," with Robert Stephens as Holmes.
(The above quotation explains why a hyphen appears in the official name of the group.)
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A BRIEF HISTORY
The Notorious Canary-Trainers was founded in 1969 by Sherlock Holmes' enthusiasts in the Madison area. The first meeting was held April 20, 1969.
The group began its existence, however, under another name, as the Amateur Mendicant Society of Madison, -- a name it kept for several years.
The Amateur Mendicant Society was an organization investigated by Holmes in 1887 which "held a luxurious club in the lower vault of a furniture warehouse," according to the account in "The Five Orange Pips" case study.
The first issue in 1971 of the AMS newsletter, Journal of the Amateur Mendicant Society, contained this account of the founding of the group:
"The Holmes addicts of Madison…wished to form a group of devotees, led by Mr. Ira Fistell, host of Radio Station WKOW's 'Nightline' program, who became our first president and has since moved on to Milwaukee."
Fistell also was the first recipient of the group's first award, the Mycroft trophy (a form of recognition no longer presented). Fistell later left Milwaukee for Los Angeles, where he continued to work in radio hosting talk programs as late as 2006. The newsletter has been renamed the Tweet Sheet and now is published six-eight times a year.
According to Rita Wlodarczyk, one of the founding members, the organization's establishment was prompted by Fistell's asking callers trivia questions about Holmes on his "Nightline" radio program. Because of the response that program generated from callers, there appeared to be enough interest in the Canon to justify an organizational meeting.
According to the first newsletter, "There were approximately fifteen charter members, of whom five are still with us, including the present president (Miss Joanna Overn) and vice president (Mrs. Donna Kopecky)."
The group eventually submitted a request to the Baker Street Irregulars, the leading American Sherlock Holmes organization, for formal recognition. But as the Madison group soon learned, the Amateur Mendicant Society was a name used by a group in Detroit. Since BSI discourages duplicate names for organizations it recognizes, it proposed in 1975 the name the group adopted and uses today.
(Find out what the Detroit scion is doing currently here).
An organization recognized by BSI is called a Scion, although membership of individuals in BSI remains by invitation only. No current members of the Notorious Canary-Trainers are members of BSI.
The group first held its meetings in downtown Madison at the Community Center. Later meetings moved to the Wisconsin Union (Room 221, of course), to members' homes for parties and picnics, an antique shop, and eventually the Canterbury Booksellers and Coffeehouse at 315 W. Gorham.
Since July 1996, the group has met at Barnes & Noble Booksellers/West Towne. (We also sometimes meet at Booked for Murder on University Ave., when Barnes & Noble is not available.) NCT was one of the first groups to begin meeting at the Barnes & Noble location after the store opened.
In spring 2006, the group adopted the practice of formalizing the use of Canonical names by those members wishing one. The initial list included a dozen names suggested by people, places or events from the 60 Sherlock Holmes' case histories. Others are assigned when requested by those in the group.
The group's newsletter, now called the "Tweet Sheet," once was named "Notes from a Notorious Card Club" as a joint publication of the Notorious Canary-Trainers and a similar group in Milwaukee called the Bagatelle Card Club. The editor of these publications and a member of both groups was Susan Flaherty, the only remaining original member of the Madison group. The current editor of the Tweet Sheet is Michael H. McCoy.
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WE HAVE ANOTHER WEB SITE
Our interactive Web site where you can post messages and read those from others is at groups.yahoo.com/group/nct1969
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(For more 'Canary notes' relevant to our name, click here.)
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