Fwd: The Amateur Mendicant Society’s 80th Anniversary Announcement
Max Magee
From: The Amateur Mendicant Society <amateurmend...@substack.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 19, 2026 at 6:32 AM
Subject: The Amateur Mendicant Society’s 80th Anniversary Announcement
To: <MaxP...@gmail.com>
The Amateur Mendicant Society’s 80th Anniversary AnnouncementBack to where it all started...
“the message, and the place of origin” My dear fellow Sherlockian, You are cordially invited to join the Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit as we celebrate our 80th anniversary. We will hold a special dinner at 1:30 pm on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Detroit. Details can be found below, including informal events, travel and accommodation information for out of town guests, and more — please be sure to read this in its entirety. Please feel free to share this with any Sherlockian who might be interested (they needn’t live in Michigan).Where It BeganOn a clear and cool night of April 26, 1946, a dozen intrepid individuals gathered to celebrate the first meeting of the Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit. Unable to find a lower vault of a furniture warehouse, the group was fortunate to find the Stag Room in the lower level of Cliff Bell’s, luxuriously appointed in mahogany and brass.
While the Stag Room is no longer available, Cliff Bell’s is still in operation, still appointed in mahogany and brass, and it retains its Art Deco charm from the 1930s. Thus, it seemed like the ideal place to celebrate our origins and some new beginnings. The last weekend in April will find us at Cliff Bell’s once again, and we’ll have some informal events that bookend the dinner for our local and traveling attendees. DinnerThe details of the dinner are as follows: Saturday, April 25, 2026 We will host a dinner at 1:30 pm on the afternoon of Saturday, April 25 at Cliff Bell’s on Park Avenue in Detroit. Dinner will consist of a buffet that includes beef tips with mushrooms in a red wine demi glace, chicken marsala, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, bread, and dessert. A cash bar will be available.
AgendaWe will be revisiting our historic toasts, under the guidance of David MacGregor — who will be looking for volunteers to toast:
Our Commissionaire Chris Music will regale us with stories of the early days of the Mendicants, as he recounted in his fine book From the Lower Vault: Treaures from the Archives of the Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit 1946-1964 (The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 2015). And in the spirit of history, we will have a fun quiz — the original 10 entrance examination questions to become a Mendicant. We will have some special announcements (locked in the vault for now) And we are pleased to bring back the Beggar’s Cup — the award for an outstanding paper given at our annual meeting. The Beggar’s CupWhen the Society was in its formative stage, Vincent Starrett, who even in the 1940s was widely considered to be the dean of Sherlockians, encouraged Detroit News drama critic and AMS founder Russell McLauchlin to consider who would be admitted. Starrett suggested:
We are inviting all attendees to consider presenting a paper to the assembled group.The format is entirely up to the presenter and can be a topic of anything related to Sherlock Holmes or Arthur Conan Doyle — serious, spurious illustrious, hilarious, or anything, limited to 5 minutes (approximately 600-700 words). Please submit papers to us at amateurmend...@gmail.com no later than March 31, 2026. Under the guidance of Rich Krisciunas, the Reading Committee will review all submissions and will determine three (3) for presentation at the meeting. At the meeting, the best paper will be determined by popular acclamation, with a large Beggar’s Cup (more akin to a bowl) going to the winner for a year; they will also be given a smaller cup as a permanent keepsake. The ParticularsThe cost of the dinner, including a keepsake, is $75. To attend, please click here to pay online or send a check made out to: Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit and mail to the address below. Checks to: AMATEUR MENDICANT SOCIETY OF DETROIT, c/o Brad Schwartz, 2244 Burcham Dr., East Lansing, MI 48823. Mendicant FundWe recognize that the cost of our anniversary event is higher than our typical rump meetings, but it is our sincere desire to have as many of you with us as possible. To help those who might find this a hardship, the Executive Committee has established a Mendicant Fund (how appropriate!) to help defray a portion of the cost. If you find yourself in need of the Fund, please email us at amateurmendicantsociety @ gmail.com and let us know if we can help. ParkingIf you are driving into the city, we recommend the following options for parking:
Related Events / Visitors GuideTo keep this communication from getting overly long, we encourage you to check out our Visitors Guide where you can find additional information about:
We look forward to welcoming you to the exciting, vibrant, and transformed city of Detroit on April 25. And again, please share this with anyone who you think would find this even a bit interesting. The game’s afoot!
Scott Monty, BSI The Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit is a Sherlock Holmes society where all are welcome, regardless of how much or little you know about Sherlock Holmes — in any form. If you would like to receive updates from us, please sign up below. The Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit is a free publication. Please share it with other Sherlockians who might be interested in our events.
© 2026 The Amateur Mendicant Society of Detroit
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