rodan57 Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Howard's room For some reason I find this picture rather moving... I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TupennyConan Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Great stuff Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theagenes Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Day Four The first official day of Howard Days began at the Howard House and the pavilion next door as the crowds began to arrive. One of the first events is a riding tour around Cross Plains led by Rusty Burke. Neil and I did the tour last year, but Claudia hadn't done it so we hopped aboard. As you can see, the tour bus is state-of-art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senormac Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Looks like fun. Anything on the new conan movie around town ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theagenes Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Among the more interesting sights on the tour is the Cross Plains Public Library with its cool mural. Also the building that used to house the ice house where Howard used to box with the local roughnecks. It was also the place where all the beer was kept in those days of prohibition: After lunch we headed to the local post office to send out some post cards. Every year on the first day of Howard Days, the Cross Plains post office has a special cancellation stamp featuring REH that's only available that day. Next we hit the library for some of the panels. One that might be of interest is the history of REH fanzines panel. From left to right, Dennis McHaney, editor of the Howard Review; Damon Sasser, editor of REH: Two-Gun Raconteur, and Lee Breakiron, a big fanzine collector who is currently working on cataloging the vast number of REH fanzines going back to the 30s. Dennis and Damon began putting out their zines back in the early 70s during the Howard boom at that time and unlike many of their contemporaries are still publishing. Of course what began as mimeographed hand-stapled zines in the 70s are now slick professionally printed publications. Lee brought a bunch of zines from his personal collection to pass around, including some rare Fantasy Fans and Phantagraphs from the '30s. One of the fun things about this little small town library is its great collection of REH-related books and pulps. It's really funny to see these sweet little old church-going ladies proudly showing off their collection of Weird Tales with lurid risque Brundage covers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theagenes Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Looks like fun. Anything on the new conan movie around town ? Patience young grasshopper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BangZoom Posted June 12, 2011 Author Share Posted June 12, 2011 Among the more interesting sights on the tour is the Cross Plains Public Library with its cool mural. Did the library display any of the Howard manuscripts they own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BangZoom Posted June 12, 2011 Author Share Posted June 12, 2011 Howard's room Are any of the furnishings actual pieces that were owned by Robert or his family? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I'm not sure this is NTSB approved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Great stories from your trip. Sounds like a very small informal gathering of true fans. (thumbs u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theagenes Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Did the library display any of the Howard manuscripts they own? Only copies. Most of the original typescripts still belong to Glenn Lord, the long time literary agent for the estate and they will go to the Harry Ransom Center at UT when he passes. Some are still in the hands of collectors. Most of them have been copied digitally and are available from the REH Foundation for legitimate research. Paradox, the current owner of the rights to Howard's are still a little twitchy about sharing too much of the unpublished stuff with general public. Howard's room Are any of the furnishings actual pieces that were owned by Robert or his family? The little camel you see on the desk belonged to Howard and there are a few other items in the house that belonged to him or his parents. The actual typewriter and writing desk may have been located last year and perhaps will be eventually be acquired by the Foundation and displayed here. The books you see displayed are the same editions as ones that Howard owned, but are not his actual copies. Howard's library was donated to the nearby Howard Payne University by his father. The HPU library, not realizing the significance of the collection simply put them in circulation. A number of years ago Rusty went through the library and was able to identify about sixty of the original 300 or so volumes that were Howard's. These are now in a special collection at HPU and they bring it out for Howard Days when they always get a few hardcore visitors. Some of them have inscriptions from his friends and are really cool to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theagenes Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Great stories from your trip. Sounds like a very small informal gathering of true fans. (thumbs u There's a core group of about 30-40 regulars made up of REHupans and foundation members that organize the event and usually about 100-200 general fans that show up over the course of the weekend. It's big enough to justify most of the events and small enough to still be intimate. It's a very fun laid back get together, with very friendly folks from all over hanging out at the pavilion, geeking out, and drinking whiskey into the wee hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theagenes Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Day Four Cont'd I should mention, that Howard Days always has several new publications that make their debut and most if not all of the proceeds go to Howard House and museum. Dennis put out a new book full of tributes to Glenn Lord as well as reprints from some of the rarest REH stories that were only published in Lord's original 60's fanzine The Howard Collector. Some of the REHupans put out a anthology of fiction and verse inspired by Howard (I'll stick to writing non-fiction, thank you). The Foundation put out a volume of REH's fathers letters. And Damon released the newest issue of Two-Gun Raconteur, to which I contributed an article on rough-and-tumble fighting in REH's humorous westerns. Lots of biting and eye-gouging! Getting back to the narrative, after the panels at the library everyone headed over to the high school auditorium for a presentation by Paradox on the Conan movie. I have some pics of this but I can't post them until Wednesday. Fred Malmberg the CEO of Paradox was there and he brought a bunch of props and still shots from the movie as well as debuting the new R-rated trailer that will be released publicly later this week. It looks pretty damn good! He also had a taped message from Jason Momoa apologizing for not being there. Paradox had planned to surprise everyone by having Jason show up. I had heard a few weeks ago through the grapevine that this was in the works, but apparently he had another commitment that came up. By all accounts he is real down to earth guy and a true REH fan who was really looking forward to just coming and hanging out on the pavilion and drinking some beer. If the movie is a success and it looks like he's going to be Conan for a few a sequels, then it wouldn't surprise me at all if he shows up at a future Howard Days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BangZoom Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 Getting back to the narrative, after the panels at the library everyone headed over to the high school auditorium for a presentation by Paradox on the Conan movie. I have some pics of this but I can't post them until Wednesday. Fred Malmberg the CEO of Paradox was there and he brought a bunch of props and still shots from the movie as well as debuting the new R-rated trailer that will be released publicly later this week. It looks pretty damn good! It sounds great. I'm looking forward to seeing the trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BangZoom Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 The first official day of Howard Days began at the Howard House and the pavilion next door as the crowds began to arrive. One of the first events is a riding tour around Cross Plains led by Rusty Burke. I was looking at the town's website http://www.crossplainstx.com/ and http://maps.google.com/ and it doesn't seem that development in the last 75 years has altered the look of the area very dramatically since the time of Howard's death. What kind of comments did the riding tour elicit from the REH Days visitors (especially those from foreign countries)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Just wondering if I missed something significant. I watched the Good Humor Man movie with Jack Carter and George Reeves this morning and it was followed by the Three Stooges Around the World which was directed and produced by Norman Mailer. It made me wonder whether it was Superman's birthday or some such thing since there were two comic related movies back to back. It looked like Norman did the credits for the Stoogies movie as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theagenes Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I was looking at the town's website http://www.crossplainstx.com/ and http://maps.google.com/ and it doesn't seem that development in the last 75 years has altered the look of the area very dramatically since the time of Howard's death. What kind of comments did the riding tour elicit from the REH Days visitors (especially those from foreign countries)? Cross Plains has changed very little. The railroad is gone, as are the oil wells, but otherwise it's pretty much the same. Because of that many of the houses and building associate with Howard are still around. I think many of tour riders were fascinated by seeing landmarks that they were familiar with from Mark Finn's biography and the film _The Whole Wide World_. As for the foreign contingent, Fabrice seem to enjoy Cross Plains, but Miguel couldn't stand the food. I tried hard to get him to eat fried pickles and chicken fried steak, but to no avail. Al came with his grandmother and two aunts last year and they must have enjoyed it because they were back again. Everyone in cross plains knows these three energetic Scotsladies as they are just all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theagenes Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Day 4 Cont'd After the movie annoucement it was time for the banquet at the community center. The place was packed -- about 140 people. There were speeches, a silent auction, the presentation of the annual REH foundation awards, and some pretty decent catered Tex-Mex. Next it was back to the pavilion for some late night drinking and carousing. The jug in the middle is home-made mead, an appropriate beverage for such a gathering: There was a poetry circle: My dog brother Mark Finn. Some of you may know him from his work at Dark Horse but he's also the author of _Blood and Thunder_, the best REH biography. Mark and I were roomates at the PCA conference where we both gave papers on REH for the pulp studies session. While we were there he was talking about how the one thing he really wanted was the Fight Stories with his favorite Steve Costigan yarn "Circus Fists." Well, as synchrocity would have it, I lucked out and won a cheap copy on ebay that flew under the radar while we there so I was able to hook him up: The drinking and carousing lasted into the wee hours, before I had to stumble back to the motel next door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theagenes Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Day 5 Saturday is actually when the biggest crowds arrive. The town holds an arts and craft/antique car show nearby called the Barbarian Festival, timed to coincide with Howard Days. I slept in a bit after the previous night's debauchery but I made it over to Jean's Feed Barn for the annual lunch for Legacy members of the Foundation. We got some great swag, including a pin and a limited chapbook with the previously unpublished drafts of "The Hyborian Age" essay. We all got a laugh as Swedish Paradox CEO Fred Malmberg posed with his new cowboy hat. After lunch there were more panels and a swap meet at the Pavilion. One of waitresses from Jean's had heard me talking about comics and so she showed up with a tub of about 150 beat up Conan comics and wanted to see if I would buy them. I hate having to break the news to people that their comics aren't worth what they think. Next, everyone caravaned to the nearby Caddo Peak Ranch for the big BBQ. The ranch owners host the event and provide every thing, so all procedes go to help the museum. The annual REHupa groupshot. I'm third from the right. After the BBQ, many folks went on their way, though some of us diehards went back to the pavilian for another night of hanging out and drinking. Here, Damon, foundation editor Rob Roehm, Mark, and myself discuss upcoming projects. Looks like I may be working on the index for Howard's Collected Letters. It's amazing what one will agree too when under the influence of Irish whiskey. Of course there had to be one last session of geeking out over pulps: All good things come to end, however, and Claudia and I eventually said our goodbyes and we are now on our way back to Tallahassee. It was a great time and I'm pretty well hooked now. I'll be coming back to Cross Plains for a long time to come. If you are a fan of REH's work and enjoy hanging out with like-minded folks in an atmoshpere that's more intimate than your typical con, then I highly recommend checking out Howard Days some year. (thumbs u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Calhoun Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 great report ! thanks - Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
