The Announcement!

The Beginnings!

Director Kent Ross offers greeting and calls The Gathering into session!

Atanta's Phil Walker's presentation "Sherlock Holmes and Four Masons who Never Lived" informed the gathering about the four Freemasons mentioned in the Canon, viz, Jabez Wilson (REDH), John Hector McFarlane (NORW), detective Barker (RETI) and the late Enoch Drebber (STUD), but Mr. Walker had his doubts about Enoch Drebber's membership.

Nashville's famous Bill Mason (who, with his wife Cindy, wowed them in St. Louis with his Groucho Marxish "Hooray for Dr. Sterndale"), presents his insightful, yet droll, analysis of the (magical?) number 3 in the Canon.

Richard Green of Birmingham's Genus Loci drew the undisguised admiration of the assembly with his extensive (and enviable) collection of Sherlockiana which included some extremely rare items such as copies of Harper's Weekly, in which American versions of Holmes cases where originally published in 1892 and 1893.

As most Sherlockians know, The Adventure of the Six Napoleons has been often maligned on the basis of the presumed low probability (5 to 1 against) of the Black Pearl of the Borgias not appearing until the sixth bust of Napoleon was smashed - - SO. . .

Joel Senter prepares for his famous demonstration showing that the Black Pearl of the Borgias was, is, and always will be, in the sixth and last bust of Napoleon!
(Be it noted that although Joel is from north of the "grits line," he is a member of two of the Southern scions represented at The Gathering.)

Janet Walker (former Brownie of unimpeachable veracity) bravely volunteers to assist in the Six Napoleons demonstration.

Here is the procedure for the demonstration. A small black bag is produced and given to a spectator to examine. In Chattanooga, Ms. Walker volunteered for this exacting task. The bag is seen to be ordinary and to contain five gold colored marbles. One additional black marble is shown and examination shows that it is identical to the gold colored marbles in all respects, except its color. This black sphere represents the Black Pearl of the Borgias. The black marble is placed in the bag with the gold colored marbles. Six participants from the audience volunteer to serve as "bust of Napoleon" surrogates for the demonstration.

The six "Napoleon surrogates" were aptly played at The Gathering 2 by (left to right) Jerry Abbott, Rick Rickard, Josh Green, DJ Henderson, John Oxley, and Ira Block

While the demonstrator (Joel) diverts his vision, each volunteer selects a single marble from the bag with the instruction not to look at it, to conceal it in a closed hand and, particularly not to let the demonstrator see it, until instructed to show it to the audience later. Members of the audience then select the order in which the Napoleons are to be examined. In accordance with the audiences' choices, each volunteer is tapped on the shoulder (symbolically representing the original "smashing"). No matter what order the audience indicates the "Napoleons" are to be examined, the black marble representing the Black Pearl of the Borgias always appears in the possession of "the sixth (and last) Napoleon." For the occasion of this demonstration, the "Black Pearl" was found in the possession of "Napoleon surrogate" Rick Rickard - the last "Napoleon" to be chosen by the audience. Joel concluded the demonstration by reminding the audience that over a century ago, regardless of the mathematical probabilities, the Black Pearl was found in the sixth, and last, Napoleon; at the end of the demonstration on April 8, 2006, the marble representing the Black Pearl was found in the sixth and last Napoleon, and 100 years from now, the Black Pearl will still be found in the sixth and last Napoleon. Dr. Watson said that it was so, therefore, it must be true.
It is a matter of faith, not mathematics.

Kenneth Carr from Atlanta's Wisteria Lodge presented "On the Characterization of Latin-American Females in the Canon with Observations on their Heredity and Environment" an insightful analysis of Sir Arthur's representation of latin women and a topic of great personal interest to Kenneth and his wife Irene (who arefrom Cuba). If you ever run into Kenneth or Irene at a Sherlockian affair, ask them to tell you the romantic story of how they got together.

The cast of The Case of the Most Singular Day take a bow to well-deserved applause! (L to R) Beverly Keith, Joshua Green, Richard Green, Mary Ann Ellis, DJ Henderson, Elise Bodenheimer, Jerry Abbott and Steven Sears.

Jerry Abbott made such an insidious Moriary that we thought he deserved a picture of his own. Also, we wanted to call attention to the "bell rope" in the background. That design of "the speckled band" crawling down the bell rope was created by Carolyn Senter back in the last millennium. The item hanging in this scene was actually done in needlepoint by Mrs. Jerry Abbott.

Sherlock Holmes (Ken Carr who also wrote the play) and Dr. Watson (Gord Shriver)are called upon by Violet Montoya (Irene Carr), a native of Argentina currently living in London. Daughter of the late Argentinian ambassador to the Court of St. James, Miss Montoya seeks Holmes's assistance as she is being blackmailed by none other than Prof. Moriarty. Aided in his scheme by Col. Sebastian Moran, Moriarty plans to spin his web of crime on an international level. To close the curtains on these foul-hearted men, Holmes and Watson go undercover and display their talents as never seen before or even conceived of.
(Synopsis courtesy Gord Shriver. Thanks, Gord)

James Moriarty (R - Dennis Sullivan) and Sebastian Moran (George McCellan) hatch.their nefarious little schemes designed to extract blackmail monies (not to mention pain and anguish) from Violet Montoya.

Moran threateningly confronts Holmes and Violet with "The Letters!"

The case is solved and Violet is saved. To celebrate the occasion, Holmes and Watson climax their performances with a little soft-shoe dance number (after all, it was a musical - much to this writer's regret, no pictures were available of Holmes and Watson doing the tango to "Hernando's Hideaway!!").

The cast's bows and numerous curtain calls were greeted by thunderous applause! (L to R) George McClellan, Dennis Sullivan, Irene Carr, Ken Carr, and Gord Shriver.

"This is the Distinguished Group who were awarded Honorary Membership in Birmingham's GENIUS LOCI by BodyMaster Jerry Abbott(L). From (L to R) they are: Ken Gordon-Memphis, Kent Ross-Atlanta, David Milner-Greenville, Billy Fields-Nashville, Jody Baker-Chattanooga."

Greeville's Survivor of the Gloria Scott, David Milner (well known editor in Chief of the Gaslight Gazette), presents a bottle of very rare wine decanted from casks discovered in the ruined hold of the barque Gloria Scott. It is rumored that three bottles of this singular wine brought unprecedented prices at open auction at the 2006 meeting of The Study in Scarlet Sherlockian Society in Chicago earlier this year.