The fourth issue of the NYFS newsletter prints Mike Lindner’s account of the fourth meeting, a roundup of fortean activity, and John’s explanation of why it takes so long to produce a newsletter. The film, by the way, has survived; we’ve made a digital transfer, although we didn’t preserve the faded 8mm Bugs Bunny cartoon. (It was this one, if you’re in the mood for some Bugs.) Mark Chorvinsky was scheduled to appear, but apparently didn’t.
John Keel’s notes for the fourth meeting of the New York Fortean Society (March 26, 1988) are on four index cards. He introduces his film “Egypt — 1954,” preceded by a Bugs Bunny cartoon; gives some updates on members and gets in a dig at James Randi; and introduces Mark Chorvinsky.
John started a school newspaper when he was fifteen. Jester apparently lasted four issues; he then stepped up to writing for the Perry Herald. Jester‘s finest moment, perhaps, was when it scooped the grown-up papers with a report on Thomas Dewey’s visit to Perry.
This is what remains of Jester. It was rather crudely printed, and is often hard to read; I’ve increased the contrast, which helps a bit. John was off to bigger things; and, as he says, “As long as our tired fingers can punch the keys of a typewriter something will be published by the Keel enterprises.”
Theo Paijmans, an indefatigable newspaper researcher in the grand fortean tradition, has passed along some of John Keel’s work for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Here, for example, is a 1967 article about UFO occupants. Thanks, Theo!
In the third issue of the NYFS newsletter, Mike Lindner reports on the MIB talks offered in the third meeting, Ron Rosenblatt reports on the Chinese New Year gathering, and John Keel announces upcoming events. “Disgusting things with chickens”! You wouldn’t want to miss that, would you?
I’ll follow up the last post on Men In Black with one of John’s private documents on the subject. He sometimes sent out letters to fellow researchers, not intended for publication, and often different in tone and content from his books and articles. In this memo from 1968, he was concerned about the latest MIB reports.
There don’t seem to be any notes for the second meeting; but I’ve found the index cards that John used for the third. It was held on January 23, 1988; and was devoted to those ever-popular Men In Black, with talks by Timothy Beckley, Peter Rojcewicz (spelled phonetically on the card, just for safety), and John Keel himself. I didn’t post this to coincide with the new release from the movie franchise, but I will note that John liked to mention where J and K got their names.
John also recorded meetings, and made cassettes available for members.
“Richard E. Wiplash” (Floyd Murray) contributed this parody of John Keel to the seventh issue of Caveat Emptor (Spring, 1973). “Oswald Lurch” is probably a reference to Oliver Larch, whose disappearance was retold in many books; Ambrose Bierce’s short story “Charles Ashmore’s Trail” is now suspected as the origin. The humor here is broad; John wasn’t always popular among ufologists.
The second issue of the NYFS newsletter gives an account of the second meeting, reports on members’ activities, reviews a couple of books, and announces the next meeting. Not surprisingly, John also works in a gibe at Jim Moseley.
As a hard-working television writer, John Keel took on all sorts of work. Writing for television was not always agreeable to him; in the ’60s, he became disenchanted with it, and started specializing in forteana.
These pitches were, unfortunately, rejected; but if you’ve ever wondered what “The Flintstones” would have been like if it had been scripted by John Keel, read on…
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