THE BIG POND FUND (1949)

5. Chicago and Indian Lake

"The committee did not get to visit with Ted because we were busy running the con. Afterwards, Ted went through Chicago on business, then was back with Doc at his cottage up at Indian Lake the next weekend. Doc invited the con committee up there for a chance to visit with Ted, and that was so much fun, we decided we should do it some more. So the following spring was the first Midwestcon, and they've been going on every year since."
- Roy Lavender in MIMOSA #16 (1994, ed. Nicki and Richard Lynch)

There are only three photos in Ted's album that were obviously taken in Chicago, none of which are either particularly good or interesting, so those below are all from the gathering at Doc Barrett's cottage over the weekend of 10th/11th September 1949:

Don Ford, Ted Carnell

unknown, Bea Mahaffey, unknown, Dave McInnes, Charles R. Tanner

Rear: Lou Tabakow, Bea Mahaffey, Charles Tanner, Charles Smith. Front: Jerry Barrett, Fred Rothfus, Carnell

Stan Skirvin, Bea Mahaffey, Roy Lavender

Ted on Don Ford:

Don is quiet and unassuming, although extremely forthright on subjects which he thinks need airing publicly, a tireless worker where his favourite hobby is concerned, a great organiser (usually without credit) and as untypical of the Hollywood version of what American manhood looks like as we have found from other visiting firemen. To honour his six feet six of Ohioan flesh and bone we are raising all the lamp shades another foot. My first meeting with Don at the World Con in Cincinatti in 1949 wasn't particularly impressive; he had been up virtually for 48 hours putting the last minute touches to the organisational side of running a con, and as it opened he was on his way home to bed for a few hours. Subsequently we met officially on the stage in one of those bull sessions where half a dozen different things were going on, plus microphone trouble, but with a little effort Don managed to do without the gadgetry for voice production.

With Doc Barrett he later organised a Cincy party in my honour which took place at the backend of my stay at Indian Lake, which was apparently so succesful that it developed into the Annual Midwestcon the following year and has become part of American Convention history.

- excerpted from 1960 EASTERCON PROGRAMME BOOK