Community Profile

The Stilyagi Air Corps is a group of Southeastern Michigan Science Fiction Fans.

Mostly, since once a Stilyagi always a Stilyagi our membership has been become far flung but most members still reside in and around the city of Ann Arbor.

We have weekly meetings, as of June 2008 Tuesdays at Tios in downtown Ann Arbor.

We have parties occasionally and an annual picnic and convention called ConFusion.

For more information on those events check out our website at www.stilyagi.org, also we are on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?id=553752023#/group.php?gid=2320831973

Genesis
(Based on an article by Larry Tucker, with added reminiscences and editorializing by the rest of the Stilyagi) Thanks, Larry!

It all began in 1973 at Torcon, the World Science Fiction Convention held in Toronto. Ro Nagey, while working as a gopher at the Torcon registration table, noticed that a fair number of attendees were from Ann Arbor, where Ro was currently attending the University of Michigan as an engineering student. It seemed somewhat ludicrous that all these Ann Arbor SF Fen should have to travel such a distance to hang out with each other, so Ro decided that Something Should Be Done About It. The first step was to organize a room party at Torcon, where all the Ann Arborites could meet one another. The next step occurred when they returned home from Torcon and began holding weekly meetings in the back room of the Cloak and Rocket, a science fiction bookstore (now long defunct) where Ro was employed.

Initially, the idea was to form a literary scientific and futurist discussion group, organized under Ro's benevolent dictatorship. At one of the first meetings, Ro declared that if within one year the group was sponsoring a science fiction convention, they would have failed in their intended purpose. The group decided to call itself the Stilyagi Air Corps, inspired by a a reference in Robert Heinlein's The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress to a "Stilyagi Air and Pressure Corps". They pubbed an ish of a clubzine called "The Stilyagi Air Corps Strikes".

By November of 1973, Stilyagi filed for recognition as a University of Michigan student organization - not, as later generations of Stilyagi erroneously assumed, because most of the club members were U-M students (they weren't, and in fact for a number of years the "official" members listed on the student organization paperwork weren't even attending members of the club) but because they needed access to free meeting space (the Cloak and Rocket having gone belly up), cheap repro for the fanzine through the U-M copy centers, and a rent-free place to hold ... (gasp) ... a convention.

Then Ro made the mistake of missing a meeting. In his absence Mark Bernstein suggested that they call the next ish of their fanzine "Cap'n Ro's Whiz-Bang", in honor of William Fawcett's first comic, "Cap'n Billy's Whiz Bang" (Cap'n Billy is perhaps better known as Captain Marvel). Failing to learn from this mistake, Ro missed another meeting, where Stilyagi resolved to sponsor a science fiction convention. Belatedly sensing that things were starting to get out of hand, Ro reasserted his authority by declaring himself chairman of the convention.

Thus it was that Stilyagi hosted their first convention, the A^2 Relax-Icon, in the ballroom at the U-M Michigan League in February 1974. Contrary to the name, it was not a relaxacon, but a rather ambitiously over programmed affair including panel discussions, art show, hucksters, a dance (with live music provided by Stilyagi member Mike Gould's Martian Entropy Band, accompanied by his light show, Light Opera) and a masquerade all held in one room! Guest of Honor was author, Ypsilanti resident, and longtime Friend-of-Stilyagi Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Some 87 people attended, and the event was deemed to be a great success. It was so successful that Stilyagi decided they wanted to do it again, with a few modifications.

The Relax-Icon, while a rousing success in most ways, was also our first experience with the inability of mundane reporters to report on fannish events as anything but freak shows. In amongst all the serious discussion, there was one panel at which Ro, Randy, and a couple of others came running into the room wearing nothing but towels around their waists and paper bags over their heads. Guess what picture was published in the Michigan Daily?

The next con would be held in a hotel, the newly built Briarwood Hilton in Ann Arbor, with separate rooms for all of the Con's functions. They also decided to add a movie room, with an amusing twist. Since most of Stilyagi agreed that spending the weekend watching movies was not what a convention should be about, they resolved to show nothing but crummy old movies, available free from the Washtenaw County Library, to encourage people to spend as little time as possible in the movie room and more time at the room parties, where the real action was. Plus, they wanted to add a special element that had been lacking at the first Con. Something that had been forbidden by University regulations. Something that proved its efficaciousness since they had began smuggling it into the weekly Stilyagi meetings at the Union. Booze. All of this, Ro agreed, would be a Good Idea. (As an interesting aside, it should be noted that the flyers for the first couple of ConFusions included the line "brought to you by the only slightly alcoholic Stilyagi Air Corps".)

Then Ro missed another meeting. In his absence, Stilyagi chose a new name for their convention. It was to be called "Condom", complete with a wonderful logo Randy Bathurst created... a Bathurstian alien holding a stick at the end of which was an inflated condom with "Condom" printed on it. This lasted only until Ro got around to writing his first Con business letter. Somehow, "Ro Nagey, Condom Chairman" seemed to lack a certain amount of dignity. He tried a few variations, such as "Head of Condom", but that only sounded worse. On his own initiative, and without the advice or consent of the rest of the club, Ro scrapped Stilyagi's crude pun for a more elegant one of his own invention, ConFusion. He also tacked on a number - 13 - because he liked the sound of it and (possibly) to mislead people into thinking that ConFusion was an established convention. Instead of the expected crowd of 150, nearly 350 people showed up at ConFusion 13 in January 1975. It was a truly legendary event. When the Con ran out of nametags, Stilyagi's resident fan artist Randy Bathurst (several-time Hugo loser and creator of the bird-flipping alien who appeared on our club t-shirts, as well as the "Up? I hope..." alien on the "ConFusion Is A Way of Life" t-shirts) drew over 50 more nametags by hand while sitting at the registration table. A confrontation outside of the Con Suite between, Ro, Confusion's perennial toastmaster and legal advisor Jim Martin and the hotel's night manager (later re-enacted for a scene in Larry Tucker's videotape, FAANS) nearly resulted in the Con being evicted from the Hilton. What it actually resulted in was an event that some of us like to refer to as The Police Riots of 1975. A spontaneous public display of affection in the hotel lobby on Sunday quickly escalated into a group grope that has come to be known as the first Fondlecon - the precursor of the touchy-feely fandom that peaked during the late 70s and early 80s. So that's how it all got started.

Our first two Guests of Honour and Current Only Members of the Michigan Science Fiction Hall of Fame:

The Obituary of Lloyd Biggle the first Author Guest of Honour by his son:

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Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (1923-2002)
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Dr. Lloyd Biggle, Jr., Ph. D., musician, author, and internationally known oral historian died September 12, 2002, after a twenty-year battle with leukemia and cancer.

He was born April 17, 1923 in Waterloo, Iowa. During WWII he served as Communications Sergeant in a rifle company of the 102nd Infantry Division, and was wounded in action, twice. He received a shrapnel wound in his leg, near the Elbe River at the end of the war, which left him disabled for life.

After the war, Dr. Biggle resumed his education. He received an A.B. Degree with High Distinction from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, and M.M. and Ph. D. Degrees from the University of Michigan. Dr. Biggle taught at the University of Michigan and at Eastern Michigan University in the 1950's. He began writing professionally in 1955, and became a full-time writer with the publication of his novel, All the Colors of Darkness, in 1963, a profession that he followed until his death.

Both Dr. Biggle's science fiction and mystery stories have received international acclaim. He was celebrated in science fiction circles as the author whointroduced aesthetics into a literature known for its scientific and technological complications. His stories frequently used musical and artistic themes. Such notables as songwriter Jimmy Webb and novelist Orson Scott Card have written of the tremendous impact that his early story, The Tunesmith had on them in their youths. It literally changed the course of their lives. The Tunesmith was recently chosen for an anthology of stories to be entitled, Masterpiece: The Century's Best Science Fiction. Among his enduring science fiction creations were the Interplanetary Relations Bureau and the Cultural Survey, both featured in novels and magazine stories.

In the mystery field, his Grandfather Rastin stories appeared formany years in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. He loved writing historical fiction set in late Victorian and Edwardian England. He began the new Sherlock Holmes novels, The Quallsford Inheritance and The Glendower Conspiracy, which were researched on long visits to England. These were followed by a series of stories featured in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine starring his Victorian sleuth, Lady Sara Varnley. He also wrote the Pletcher and Lambert mystery novels.

He published two-dozen books as well as magazine stories and articles beyond count. His most recent novel was The Chronocide Mission. He was writing almost to the moment of his death. "I can write them faster than the magazines can publish them," he once said, with the result that even though his writing has been stilled, his publications will continue until his backlog of stories is exhausted.

Dr. Biggle was the founding Secretary Treasurer of Science Fiction Writers of America and served as Chairman of its trustees for many years. In the 1970's, he founded the Science Fiction Oral History Association, which built archives containing hundreds of cassette tapes of science fiction notables making speeches and discussing aspects of their craft. He numbered many of these science fiction notables among his friends, and his article in the July/August 2002 Analog Magazine," Isaac Asimov Remembered," was based in part on his personal recollections of that towering celebrity.

He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Dr. Biggle is survived by his wife of 55 years, Hedwig (Janiszewski) Biggle, daughter Donna Emerson of Caro, Michigan, son Kenneth Biggle and devoted daughter-in-law Deanna Biggle, of Adrian, Michigan. His family will cherish many memories, including the special vacations he planned for them to enjoy together. He was an example for his family on how to live each day with courage and hope. Dr. Biggle is also survived by his sister, Donna Otteson, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, sister-in-law Helene Hirvela of St. Petersburg, Florida and dear family friends Doris Maleski and Harry Maleski, Jr. of Willis, Michigan.

Cremation has taken place. Friends may visit the family, September 15th, from 2pm to 8pm at the Janowiak Funeral home, 320 N. Washington St., Ypsilanti, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of White Plains, NY, or Arbor Hospice, of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

---Kenneth Biggle

The Biography of Howard Devore our first fan Guest of Honour from his appearance as our Toastmaster at Confusion in 1999:

Howard DeVore

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We all know Howard as a perennial book dealer and storyteller, but here's a little bit of history:

"I am not now and never have been a member of the Michigan Science Fantasy Society." - Howard DeVore.
"I don't care what Howard says as long as he pays his club dues." - Fred Prophet

The Detroit worldcon of 1959 began with the apparent corpse of Howard DeVore being dragged across the stage (Howard had said there would be a worldcon in Detroit over his dead body).

Detroit fandom of the 1940s was mostly centered around the Detroit Hyperborean Society, which existed from the war years in the middle of the decade until 1948. By the end of the decade, the Michigan Science-Fantasy Society (MSFS), nicknamed The Misfits, rose from the ashes of the DHS, formed by fans who outlasted the club -- these included Martin Alger, Ed Kuss, Ben Singer, Art Rapp, Howard DeVore, and George Young. Howard and George are still involved in Michigan Fandom today, and the Misfits still get together regularly for bowling.

The decade of the 1950s was a golden age for Detroit fandom. DSFL members Roger Sims and Ed Kuss were half of the foursome who hosted the legendary Room 770 party at the 1951 Worldcon. In 1959, after several years of bidding, Detroit fans succeeded in hosting a Worldcon, the Detention. Howard was a member of the concom, in charge of Publicity. It was also around this time that George Young, while visiting Ray Nelson in Cadillac, Michigan, purchased a propeller beanie, which Nelson went on to popularize in fandom. Howard boasted the largest and most impressive beanie ever, made out of an airplane propeller attached to a steel helmet.

In 1966, Detroit fandom, along with Cincinnati and Cleveland fans, joined forces to host another Worldcon, called TriCon, held in Cleveland. Howard served as the Detroit Associate ConChair.

A young "Howie", as his World War II bomber jacket proclaims, served his country as a member of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, riding a full tour of duty as a belly gunner in a B-17 Flying Fortress over Germany. This was at a time when the 8th AF had the highest casualty rate of all US forces - the B-17 crews had a one in four chance of getting home alive, and the belly gunner had the scariest job, hanging below the plane, curled up in a foetal position to fit into the tiny ball turret. After the war, Howard worked at GM and the US Post Office in Dearborn, while maintaining his interests in science fiction, especially collecting and selling the old pulp magazines. Howard has been a longtime member of various APAs and contributor and publisher of fanzines, and his Guide to the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards was published by Advent in 1998. Copies can also be ordered directly from him, and he still sells SF books and magazines out of his home.

Members (105):

Watched by (125):