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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2019)
B1 THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, OcTObER 19, 2019 CONTACT US FOLLOW US Lucy Kleiner lkleiner@dailyastorian.com facebook.com/ DailyAstorian BAKER STREET’S ETERNAL ALLURE Peninsula resident travels world as part of Sherlock Holmes societies By PATTY HARDIN ‘E lementary, my dear Watson.” Iconic words from an iconic character. Sher- lock Holmes lives in the mem- ories of devoted fans and fol- lowers, and Sherlockians are passionate about keeping Mr. Holmes relevant. “The Baker Street Irregu- lars, the first Sherlock Holmes Society, was named after some characters in the Sher- lock Holmes stories,” said Marty Martin. “They formed in 1934.” These characters are street boys employed by Holmes as intelligence agents. International Holmes societies Martin, a peninsula resi- dent, belongs to the London Sherlock Holmes Society, The Noble and Most Singu- lar Order of the Blue Carbun- cle in Portland, the Knights of Baskerville Hall and the Curi- ous Collectors, both in south- ern California. Her enthusiasm for Holmes began when she started watch- ing the old Basil Rathbone movies on television. “These movies were always on TV when I was a kid,” Mar- tin said, recalling a 1950s, black and white display. “I didn’t particularly care for them as a kid, but my friends did.” You may be surprised that many people cross con- tinents, international bor- ders and oceans to follow in the footsteps of two fictional characters. Martin said there are at least 897 Sherlockian societies worldwide. Fans in diverse locations including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark and India gather to read, watch movies and plays, write essays, argue about the same and drink. In addition to England and the U.S., two hot- beds of Holmesiana are Russia and Japan. “The BSI still meet once a year,” Martin said, “around the weekend of January 10 at the Algonquin Hotel,” in New York City during Holmes’ birthday month. In total, the Sherlock Holmes canon includes 56 short stories and four novels. Martin is also a retired civil engineer, fixed-wing pilot and a certified scuba diver. Themed meetings Sherlock Holmes soci- ety meetings are sometimes themed, and many of those attending dress accordingly. Martin’s husband, Bob Walters, is becoming more enthused about participating. “I put the costumes out on the bed and he puts them on,” Martin said. In addition to the expected literature teachers and librar- ians, members include psy- chologists, lawyers, national security and forensics experts, funeral directors, doctors and mathematicians. (Sherlock’s arch enemy, Moriarty, is a math professor.) Martin sums up the Sher- lockian mania best with the following toast she wrote: He sits by the fireplace in Baker Street with Watson by his side. Then they go off pursuing the game that’s afoot, and we go along for the ride. We’ve read every one of his cases, we dress up in funny old clothes. We travel to faraway places, we go wherever he goes. We’ve seen all the Canon’s locations from the top of an old London bus. Where would we be without Sherlock? Where would he be without us? Patty Hardin is a free- lance writer in Long Beach, Washington. A Sherlockian dinner at the House of Commons in England. Sherlockian Marty Martin, right, with her husband Bob Walters.