Star Trek Con (1969 convention)

From the cover of the program: "Special Edition, Published For and Dedicated To, The Friends Who Pitched In To Help Put On The Star Trek Conference. Pax Vulcanis --Sherna."
Though it's commonly thought that the first all-Star Trek convention was held in 1972 at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Manhattan, New York, another convention predated it by three years. It was simply called "The Star Trek Con" and took place in the afternoon on March 1, 1969 at the Newark Public Library. The free event, organized by librarian Sherna Comerford Burley (at the time, Sherna Comerford) and Devra Langsam (co-editors of Spockanalia), was low-key and celebrity-free and attracted roughly 300 attendees. "The first-ever Star Trek fan event, organized by Sherna Burley, actually took place in March, 1969, at the Newark Public Library, as TOS was ending. It wasn't a convention, just a small (if still kind of formal) gathering, with no actors from the series, just a slide show." -- Star Trek Conventions in the Seventies by BoG dated April 15, 2010; WebCite
Prior to this, Star Trek had only appeared in programming of general science fiction conventions such as FunCon in 1968.
=="Nimoy-In" and Other Small Gatherings==
While Sherna C. Burley and Devra Langsam's con in March 1969 was the first all-Star Trek regionally-publicized con, there had been smaller, lesser-known fan gatherings that are mostly now lost in the mists of time. One such was Nimoy-In, a August 1968 gathering in a church basement hall in Englewood, Ohio. This fan gathering, sponsored by the fan club Capsule 7, was from 12 noon to 7:00 pm, featured door prizes (Leonard Nimoy LPs and Star Trek books), "some movies taken from Star Trek episodes and movies taken from the President and Vice-President's trip to California last summer." There was plenty of food and soft drinks. Cost was .75 per member and each member could pay 1.00 and bring one guest. See Nimoy-In and The Crewman's Log for more.
==From a January 1969 Flyer==
A flyer for the con was printed as the last page of the program book.
From that flyer: 
==Programming==
1:00 -- Elyse Pines and Lee Smoire gave a slide show called "Enterprising Beings" -- "A slide tour of the Enterprise, as a stage set, and a survey of some of the more unusual aliens the program has created."
1:40 -- "The Spock Phenomenon" by Chuck Rein. "Why has Mr. Spock attracted such a following? An interview with an expert on the subject: the audience."
2:00 -- Chuck Rein, Ron Bounds, and Nara Sangster led a round of filk singing -- "Songs of, and from, Star Trek, including a recreation from "Charlie X."
2:40 -- a fan panel on "The Star Trek Phenomenon" -- "Mr. Spock is not the only reason why Star Trek has inspired such things as fanzines, letter campaigns, and a conference like this. A panel of fans examines the subject." With Allan Asherman, Lee Burwasser, Debbie Langsam, and Sue Lewis. The Moderator was Brian Burley.
3:00 -- Rest Break
3:15 -- "SF in the Visual Media": "Trends in SF movies, and their reflection in Star Trek." Presented by Allan Asherman.
3:45 -- Hal Clement gave a talk called "Star Trek and Science": "Pertinent [sic] commentary from One Who Knows."
4:15 -- the convention ended with a short skit by Sherna called "Spock Shock, which had been printed two years earlier in the zine Spockanalia #1. "A satyre satire by Sherna Burley, from Spockanalia #1, as produced by Chuck Rein. With Ron Bounds, Chuck Rein, Nara Sangster, Brian Burley, and various unfortunates drafted at the last minute of the speaking chorus."
==Its Organizers' Memories==
From Fan Writing Panel or Don't Make Him Say That!, a panel/interview in 1973: 
==From the Program Book==
From the eight-page program book (two pages were hand-drawn detailed maps showing fans where the con was located):
 File:startrekcon1969-1.jpg| first page of the script for Spock Shock
Image:startrekcon1969-2.jpg|second page of the script 
Image:startrekcon1969-3.jpg|third page of the script 
Image:startrekcon1969-3.jpg|
Image:startrekcon1969-4.jpg|
Image:startrekcon1969-5.jpg|an original flyer, printed in the program book
==Convention Reports==
A convention report was published in the clubzine Anti-Matter #3 in March 1969:
This is another report, this one from March 1969 in Plak Tow #13: 
==Further Reading==
* Fandom and Libraries
==References==
Category:Star Trek ConventionsCategory:Star Trek TOS Conventions
Category:1969 Conventions
Category:Conventions in United States