Sherlock Holmes’s 146th Birthday and the BSI’s 66th anniversary were commemorated in “thoroughly enjoyable” fashion. Wiggins (Michael Whelan) noted that, to honor of this BSI milestone, the evening’s menu was the same(!) as at the inaugural 1934 dinner. He then thanked the many on whom he relies, especially Don Pollock for his stewardship of the Baker Street Journal, and announced that Steven Rothman would be succeeding Don as Editor.
Wiggins gave special acknowledgment to the two Sherlock Holmeses in attendance that evening - Douglas Wilmer (the portrayer of Holmes on BBC television in the 1960s) and Roger Llewellyn, who was to impersonate the Master on stage the next evening. The esteemed attendees also included four people who have been Irregulars for forty years or more—Poul Anderson (40), Peter Blau (41), David Weiss (42), and Art Levine (44). At the dinner were representatives from the United States, Canada, England, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, and Australia.
Wayne Swift read the BSI Constitution and Buy-Laws. An excellent range of toasts followed, including Leslie Klinger’s toast to Holmes’ individuality, his single-mindedness, and drive to do the right thing. Paul Smedegaard’s toast to Mrs. Hudson, Kate Karlson’s toast to Mycroft, Gordon Speck’s toast to Watson’s Second Wife, and Bob Coghill’s toast to the great Sherlockian Tupper Bigelow. Ralph Hall read the Musgrave Ritual. “The Master Over Three Centuries” began with Bernard Davies speaking of the 1800s and how the century changed. Julie Rosenblatt described the 20th century as the century of Sherlock Holmes. Poul Anderson spoke of the future, saying that Holmes will endure.
Other presentations were in the form of a medical panel, chaired by Robert Katz, MD, who talked about Professor Moriarty. Richard Caplan, M.D., stated that “The Adventure of the Creeping Man” boiled down to sex. Marina Stajic, M.D., discussed the death of Enoch Drebber. Paul Martin, M.D., discussed the aneurysm from which Jefferson Hope suffered. Then, Evelyn Herzog and Ray Betzner proposed a new Constitution for the BSI. However, Andrew Fusco replied that the existing Constitution has no provisions for amendment; therefore, a convention of the original drafters would be required to change it. Paul Herbert read the Vincent Starrett poem “221B.”
Eleanor O’Connor was heralded as The Woman and received, in due tribute, a Golden Door inscribed with “221B.” Eight Irregulars received their Shillings. The Two Shilling Award was presented to Scott Bond.
At the next day’s Sherlockian Cocktail Reception, Certificates were distributed to those Sherlockians who had attended this year’s trifecta of dinners of the Sherlock Holmes Society of Denmark, the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, and the BSI. Judge Albert Rosenblatt performed his annually remarkable summation of the Festivities in verse.
Dinner Details January 14, 2000
Union League Club, New York
Dinner Photo Information
Click on the above photo to see a larger version of it, and maximize your browser window to see the most detail.Key to People in the 2000 BSI Dinner photo (not available at this time)
BSI Honours List
Investitures:Karen Anderson as Emilia Lucca
Donald E. Curtis as Jabez Wilson
Douglas Elliott as Canadian Pacific Railway
Anders Hammarqvist as Jacob Shafter
C. Frederick Kittle as Jack Stapleton
Michael A. Meer as The Englischer Hof
Jean Upton as Elsie Cubitt
Ben Vizoskie as Alexander Hamilton Garrideb
Douglas Wilmer as The Lyceum Theatre
* received Investiture at another event during the year
What is an Investiture?
Two-Shilling Award:
Scott Bond
What is a Two-Shilling Award?
The Woman:
Eleanor O’Connor
What is The Woman honour?
"Stand with me here upon the terrace..."
(as named at this Dinner, not their year of passing)
John D. Clark (The Politician, the Lighthouse, and the Trained Cormorant, 1965)
Herman Herst (Colonel Emsworth, V.C., 1968)
Ezra A. Wolff (Sir James Damery, 1971)
Robert W. Hahn (Colonel Ross, 1963)
Alvin E. Rodin (Palmer, 1989)
Rex Pinson (Inspector G. Lestrade, 1973)
Richard B. Shull (An Actor and a Rare One, 1986)
Alan Addlestone (The Addleton Tragedy, 1985)
Norman S. Nolan (Godfrey Norton, 1972)
What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”
Morley-Montgomery Award:
S.E. Dahlinger, "The Sherlock Holmes We Never Knew"
The Baker Street Journal v49 n3 (September 1999) pp.7-27 (available in the eBSJ)
What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?
The BSI Distinguished Speaker Lecture:
Michael Dirda, "On Glancing Over My Notes: Some Reflections on Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars"
The Baker Street Journal v50 n2 (Summer 2000) pp. 6-17 (available in the eBSJ)
What is the BSI Distinguished Speaker Lecture?
Reports on the Dinner
The Baker Street Journal v50 n1 (Spring 2000) pp. 6-14 (available in the eBSJ).Blau, Peter, Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press, (January 2000), 1.
List of 2000 BSI Dinner Attendees (not available at this time)
Recordings
A recording of portions of the 2000 BSI Dinner is available at Harvard as part of the BSI Archive.Related Material
2000 BSI Dinner Menu (digitized images at Harvard)Two pages. Cover and interior. Sequence 194-195.
The Musgrave Ritual and We Never Mention Aunt Clara (digitized images at Harvard)
The Musgrave Ritual in both English and Italian. Also, the words to the song “We Never Mention Aunt Clara.” Distributed at the 2000 BSI Dinner.
Two pages. Cover and interior. Sequence 196-197.
Karlson, Kate. “BSI Toast to Mycroft” (digitized images at Harvard)
One page. Sequence 198.
Rosenblatt, Albert M., “The Sherlockian Year (And Millennium) In Verse: Baker Street Irregulars, January 15, 2000,” The Baker Street Journal v50 n1 (Spring 2000) pp. 9-11 (available in the eBSJ) Judge Rosenblatt’s rhyming retrospective, delivered at the January 15, 2000 Sherlockian Cocktail Reception.
Dirda, Michael, “Excursions,” The Washington Post (February 6, 2000): P. X15
Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize winning Literary Critic at the Washington Post, wrote about his experience at the 2000 BSI Weekend.
Next dinner: the 2001 BSI Dinner
For an index to all BSI Dinners and photos, see our BSI Dinner Summary list.
The BSI Archive is located at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Archival material may be used by any qualified scholar, subject to the normal rules and regulations of the Library. For links to a detailed finding aid and related information, see our BSI Archive at Harvard page.
Page composed on 8/14/2016 by Tamar Zeffren
Page updated 8/29/2016 by Andrew Solberg.
This page last updated 5/1/24 by Randall Stock.
