Sherlocking In Wisconsin
By Don Hobbs

This week finds me in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. It is my first time back here since I spent six-months working in Milwaukee in 1999. At that time I was flying into town every week. One of my fondest memories was introducing Dorothy Rowe Shaw to Cosmopolitan Martinis. She was living in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex at the time and active in the Crew of the Barque LONE STAR and the Diogenes Club of Dallas. She was also spending time in Milwaukee where one of her daughters lived. It was at this martini introduction get-together that I last saw Dorothy. She crossed over the  Reichenbach Falls soon afterwards.

During the time I was traveling to Wisconsin in 1999 I did not know the late Paul Smedegaard and was unable to spend time with him here. We became good friends in the years after my time in Milwaukee. We spent a lot of time together in New York City and saw each other at regular intervals at Sherlockian events around the country. Paul’s good friend and fellow Wisconsiner, Ed Christensen, was always close by and so it was only natural for me to call Ed when I arrived back in Wisconsin last week. We made arrangements to get together and that is just what we did.

Ed lives in Oshkosh and offered to drive the sixty-plus mile to Wisconsin Rapids and meet me at my hotel. We retired to the Grand Avenue Pub and shared a few pints of Oktober Fest beer from a local brewery. Wisconsin is known for its beer production and practice must make perfect because the beer was wonderful. We drank a few toasts to Paul and Dorothy and to each other before falling into deep reminiscence. We talked about the various meetings we have attended together – Chicago, Minneapolis, New York City, Omaha and the Sherlockian antidotes that each of these places hold for the two of us.

We fell into a somber discussion about all of those who have also passed over the Falls in the past year. So many people are intertwined, coming in and out of our lives and especially in the Sherlockian world. One of Ed’s good friend, Nancy Robles, died this past August. She happened to be seated at my table a few years ago at the William Gillette Luncheon during the Birthday Celebration Weekend in New York City. This also happened to be one of the times my wife, Joyce, was there. Joyce, like me, travels for her job and was preparing to go to Burr Ridge, a suburb of Chicago. Ironically, this is where Nancy lived. They immediately hit it off and visited over the next few years, every time Joyce visited Chicago. Her sudden death affected all of us.

Paul Smedegaard’s death also affected us. The Birthday Celebration Weekend will never be the same without Paul being there. As Ed and I noted, Paul thought he should be a curmudgeon and tried to act the part, but to those of us who knew him, we saw through his act and we knew he was actually a big teddy bear. We spent the better part of an hour telling Paul stories. Many of these somehow involved our many trips to O’Lummey’s in New York City where we always seem to end up regardless of what else took place during the evening. O’Lummey’s is where most nights end during the celebration and Paul was always the ring-leader. Ah yes, the Sherlockian stories we can tell.

The end of the evening rolled around too soon as always but Ed and I vowed to get together again when I return in a couple of months. I look forward to it.

Happy Collecting!!