About Us
- We are a not-for-profit organization
- Our goals in the Beacon Society
- We give two awards each year
- Our Website provides
- Our audience
- Why the "Beacon Society"?
- Our history
- Background for press release
We are a not-for-profit organization.
The Beacon Society is a scion society of The Baker Street Irregulars, an international organization of Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts founded in 1934 by Christopher Morley. The Irregulars (known as the BSI) meet every January in New York City for a weekend of celebration and study. The Beacon Society serves as a link to other scion societies, providing teachers with local resources to bring the magic of Sherlock Holmes to life in the classroom.
Members of the Beacon Society come from all over the U.S. Most of us also belong to one or more other Sherlock Holmes groups. We enjoy each other's company every January and stay in touch on our Internet forum the rest of the year. We joined the Beacon Society because we share a commitment to introducing young people to the pleasure of reading and enjoying Sherlock Holmes.
By-laws, Minutes of the Annual Meeting, and a Presentation about the Beacon Society given at Harvard College in 2009
| Beacon Society By-laws |
Download document (PDF / 257 KBytes / 4 pages) |
| Minutes of the Annual Meetings 2010-2003 |
Download document (PDF / 477 KBytes / 11 pages) |
|
Children Yet Unborn (How We Envy Them!)
TEACHING CONAN DOYLE |
Download document (PDF / 901 KBytes / 10 pages) |
Our goals in the Beacon Society
- Recognize exemplary educational experiences that introduce young people to the Sherlock Holmes stories
- Encourage teachers and librarians to use Sherlock Holmes to engage young people in the pleasure of reading
- Enjoy reading and teaching people about Sherlock Holmes, Dr Watson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
We give two awards each year
- The Jan Stauber Grant funds a project that proposes introducing a number of young people to the Sherlock Holmes stories (applications are accepted anytime for a March 1 deadline)
- The Beacon Award recognizes a project that has successfully introduced young people to the Sherlock Holmes stories (nominations are accepted in October for a November 1 deadline)
Our website provides
- Ideas for using Sherlock Holmes as a teaching aid in classrooms and libraries
- Examples of projects that have successfully introduced young people to the stories of Sherlock Holmes
- Help for Sherlock Holmes societies who want to get involved with teaching in their communities
- Information about the world of Sherlock Holmes for students and teachers of all kinds
Our audience is
Our history
The Beacon Society began in January 2003 as the brainchild of New York Sherlockian Maribeau Briggs, who introduced the idea of organizing a group of Sherlockians willing to make a concerted effort to teach young people about Sherlock Holmes. There was an immediate and enthusiastic response to Maribeau's suggestion and the Beacon Society was on its way, “supporting educational experiences that introduce young people to the Canon and recognizing exemplary efforts that do so.” Significant contributions to the Society’s efforts during its first year were Laurie Fraser Manifold (logo artwork), Myrtle Robinson and Jan Stauber (programming committee), Betsy Rosenblatt and Sue Vizoskie (awards committee). The Society’s first “Head Light” (Chairman) was Scott Monty, succeeded by Joe Coppola. In 2011, Susan Diamond, "Percy Phelps" (secretary) since the founding, was elected Head Light. See "Contact Us" for current officers and committee chairs.
Why "The Beacon Society?"
A quotation from Sherlock Holmes was the inspiration for the name of the Society. Holmes finds the sight of London’s public elementary schools "a very cheering thing" as he and Watson leave the city by train in "The Naval Treaty."
"Look at those big, isolated clumps of buildings rising above the slates, like brick islands in a lead-colored sea. . . Lighthouses, my boy! Beacons of the future! Capsules, with hundreds of bright little seeds in each, out of which will spring the wiser, better England of the future."
Background for press releases
Most "scion societies" of the Baker Street Irregulars are fun-loving literary groups that focus on the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle—primarily his Sherlock Holmes stories. These groups typically meet every month or two, usually for dinner, and discuss a different Sherlock Holmes story. At most gatherings, a member presents a "scholarly paper" or some other type of presentation that raises issues or elucidates various facts that can be found in one or more stories. Members of Sherlockian societies include people from all walks of life: educators, students, authors, health care professionals, business people, government employees, retirees and others.
The Baker Street Irregulars ("BSI") is the premier international literary society concentrating on Sherlock Holmes. It grew out of the roundtable luncheons of the early 1930s, but was officially started by the author and essayist Christopher Morley in 1934. The membership quickly grew to include people with a wide range of professions and interests. In 1946, the BSI started a magazine called the Baker Street Journal in which analytical Sherlockian articles are published. The Journal has published four issues a year since 1946 (except for a brief hiatus in 1950). Critical thinking has always been a hallmark of the Sherlockian world.
Today, the BSI includes more than 300 men and women from around the world. It always meets in New York City every January. Members include writers, ambassadors, teachers, actors, judges, doctors, business people, and many others. Not all Sherlockians are members of the BSI (though several members of the Beacon Society are). Usually people are "invested" as Irregulars after significant accomplishments in Sherlockian writings or in other areas. However, one does not have to be a BSI member to get together with other Sherlockians. There are hundreds of local Sherlock Holmes societies all over the world.
The Beacon Society is an unusual scion in having the specific goal of educating young people about Sherlock Holmes. Each Beacon member belongs to at least one or more typical scion society but Beacons are united in their commitment to introducing young people to the pleasure of reading and enjoying Sherlock Holmes.