Midwestcon 50
Midwestcon 50 (FanHistoriCon 9), was held June 25–27, 1999, at the Best Western Blue Ash, in Blue Ash, OH, near Cincinnati. Among other events it featured a celebration of Howard DeVore and Margaret Ford Keifer, the two fans who had attended all 50 Midwestcons.
In conjunction, FanHistoriCon 9 was held on Saturday, June 26. It was organized by Ted White (who was unable to attend due to an injury), Roger Sims (who had heart surgery right after Midwestcon) and Pat Sims and Joe Siclari (both of whom seemed fine, thanks!).
The FanHistoriCon program[edit]
| Time | Title and Description | Participants |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 AM | Wherefore Art Thou Going, FanHistoriCon? -- Timebinders meeting. | Laurie Mann & Joe Siclari (moderators) |
| 10:30 AM | Midwestcon 50 Brunch. -- The Standard Fare. And Cavin & Tucker too. And Announcements of Fannish Todos! | |
| 1:00 PM | Cinvention: What Really Happened? -- This Worldcon came out of nowhere. There wasn't even a big local fan group? What happened to make Cincinnati such a hotbed of fandom that they wanted to run a Worldcon? What happened at the con? And who was Charles R. Tanner? | Margaret Kiefer, Dave Kyle, Bob Tucker, Joe Siclari (moderator) |
| 2:30 PM | Tall Tales and Outright Lies: the Myths of Midwestcon -- There are few conventions that have more "history" than Midwestcon even though its always been a relatively small con. A large part of this "history" comes from the stories told by the likes of Bob Tucker, Robert Bloch, Howard DeVore and their ilk. Can we believe them? Let's find out whether Jim Harmon was really water-bombed by Harlan Ellison? What's behind the "love plaque"? Is it true that MWC had more nudity per square person in the 60s & 70s? Who were the Columbinnati Mafia and why were they run out of town? Why did "7th Fandom" Rise & Fall at Midwestcon? | Jack L. Chalker, Howard DeVore, Bob Tucker, Roger Sims (moderator) |
| 4:00 PM | The Beginnings and Continuing Saga of Midwestcon and the CFG -- The who, what, and where of how Cincinnati fandom got started. Why did they create a relaxacon instead of a "normal" convention? Are they just party-makers and not really S-F fen? Or did the Cinvention burn them out? Why did Don Ford start this thing? And why have there been only four leaders? What do they do here every year for 50 years with nothing to attend? No Program! No Art Show! No Masquerade! These are mysteries to be solved. | Bill Cavin, Margaret Kiefer, Mary Martin Patterson, Joel Zakem, Mike Resnick (mod.) |
| 8:00 PM | What do We do with All This Stuff? -- Over the years, fen accumulate lots of fannish memorabilia. We take photos and now videos. We collect fanzines and magazines and...and...and... Fannish souvenirs and movie posters. Books and radio shows, and sometimes even money! How can we keep these in the "family" for other fen to enjoy. Do we need some fannish organizations that will help? Are there any groups now? | Mark Olson, Joyce Scrivner, Joe Siclari (moderator) |
(This last panel had a dramatic moment when Ed Wood, a noted collector, stood up and dramatically announced that he was not going to pass his collection on to anyone. It made sense only in the context of his life and when he died he was going to have it burned as a funeral pyre. He then stalked out of the room. (Ed was given to the occasional bit of drama.))
FanHistoriCon staff: Pat Sims, Roger Sims, Joe Siclari, Laurie Mann, Ben Yalow, Scott Street, Ted White (Emeritus).
| Midwestcon 49 | Midwestcon | Midwestcon 51 |
| FanHistoriCon 8 | FanHistoriCon | FanHistoriCon 9.5 |
| 1999 |
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