* New York State
  - Science Fiction Forum (Stony Brook, NY)
    > founded in 1968
    > later in its history hosted ICON convention
    > notables who emerged from this fan club included Jim Frenkel (who became
      a sf book publisher), Norman Hochberg (who, as Norman Hollyn, became a
      Hollywood film editor), and Lou Stathis (who went on to become an editor
      at HEAVY METAL magazine, and then a comics editor at DC Comics)
  - Long Island University SF Club
    > existed for a time in the late 1960s
    > most notable activity seems to have been its fanzine, PERIHELION, which
      was extravagantly reproduced by photo offset
      -- its contents were a bit more plain, however, consisting of fan
         fiction, reviews, and the inevitable article about STAR TREK

* Boston and other Massachusetts fandom
  - Boston fandom re-emerged in the 1960s from nearly a two-decade dark ages
    > in 1940s, Boston fandom was centered around The Stranger Club, which
      included such notable fans as Art Widner, Harry Stubbs, R.D. Swisher,
      Chan Davis, and Louis Russell Chauvenet
    > The Stranger Club formed in 1940, originally under the name of Eastern
      Massachusetts Fantasy Society, lasted through the war years and into the
      late 1940s
    > the group sponsored several science fiction conventions in the early
      1940s, the first Boskones, named after.. ((Doc Smith reference needed))
    > after the demise of The Stranger Club, there was almost no organized
      fandom in Boston until the Boston Science Fiction Society came into
      being in the mid 1960s
  - New England chapter of the I.E.S.
    > I.E.S. not really much of a fan club, but it was mostly scientifictional
      -- formed by John W. Campbell, Jr. in late 1950s
      -- mainly a New York organization, and had died out mostly by 1960 as
         Campbell moved on to other interests
    > before it died away altogether, only significant activity in 1960s for
      this organization was putting on a party for the occasion of Isaac
      Asimov's 40th birthday, on January 2, 1960
      -- took place at the Hotel Touraine in Boston
      -- was attended mainly by fans, including Bill Sarill, Andy Young, and
         Harry Stubbs
  - MITSFS
    > formed in 1949
      -- organization of Massachusetts Institute of Technology sf readers
         >> (founders?)
      -- originally, organization was sercon to the point of being insular
         >> was not aware of the exploits of The Stranger Club, or else had
            no provisions for passing on knowledge of Boston fandom to any
            newcomers
    > was not until the 1960s that the club finally started becoming active in
      science fiction fandom
      -- their motto was "We're not fans, we just read the stuff."
    > maybe because of the sercon and literary nature of the club, one of the
      things MITSFS was notable for was its large science fiction library
      -- by the mid 1960s, it numbered over 10,000 volumes
         >> the person mainly responsible for the enormous growth of the
            club's library during the early 1960s was its librarian, Anthony
            Lewis
            --- (how was he able to accomplish this?)
      -- a separate index to the collection, dubbed the `Pinkdex', was
         maintained by Marilyn Wisotawy, who had gained the nickname "Fuzzy
         Pink" from her roommate at MIT
    > in spite of their sercon reputation, however, the club could be quite
      fannish; one example of this was the way they conducted their annual
      elections
      -- the rules allowed club members to split their vote among the
         candidates in any way they wanted, as long as "the sum of the
         absolute values is less than or equal to one"
      -- this resulted in an election in 1968, where the winning candidate for
         Vice President, James Russell McGregor Seitz, got 8.999 + sine-
         squared-theta votes, winning out over a black frisbee, Nelson
         Rockefeller, and a large plant which occupied part of their meeting
         area
    > MITSFS activities
      -- in May 1968, the MITSFS picnic featured appearances by Isaac Asimov,
         Hal Clement, and Ben Bova
    > THE TWILIGHT ZINE publication (initially funded by Gernsback)
      -- first issue Jan. 1960, edited by Jon Ravin
         >> Ravin also edited 2nd issue
      -- Bernie Morris editor for issues 3 through 11 (1961-1963)
      -- after a series of one-issue editors, Leslie Turek and Cory Seidman
         became editors for issues 17-22 (April 1966-August 1967)
         >> after that they went off to help found NESFA
            --- most of their contributors went with them
         >> founding of NESFA removed editorial pool for TWILIGHT ZINE
            --- there were only 2 more issues in the next four years
            --- publication continued on and off for through the next several
                decades
    > MITSFS INDEX published by Erwin Strauss in early 1960s
      -- it was a mimeographed index to the science fiction magazines, a
         supplement to a similar index published by Don Day of Portland,
         Oregon, about a decade earlier
      -- publication of the index was not without difficulties, however, as
         some financial and legal problems between MITSFS and Strauss arose
         which required a negotiated settlement when a slicker updated version
         was planned (details?)
  - Boston Science Fiction Society (BoSFS)
    > brought into existence in 1965, largely by efforts of Dave Vanderwerf
      -- others in the organization included Leslie Turek, Andrew Whyte, Harry
         Stubbs, and then-neofan Ben Bova
    > brought into existence to be the sponsoring body for a new series of
      Boskone conventions
      -- did run Boskones #1, 2, & 4
    > BoSFS proved to be successful as a convention-running organization, but
      there really wasn't any permanent structure to do anything more than
      organize Boskones; the way BoSFS was structured, it could never become
      what many Boston area fans wanted: a permanent science fiction fan club
      that had interest in and capability to do more than put on a weekend
      event once a year
      -- it was a different problem that led the demise for the BoSFS, though:
         after the second Boskone, there started to be growing personality
         conflicts within the organization
         >> in the end, the organization was allowed to die of neglect; the
            4th Boskone, in 1967, was its last activity
    > BoSFS was dissolved in the middle of 1967, and turned over all its
      assets (and liabilities) to the new organization, NESFA
      -- these amounted to a coffee pot, about $70, and the right to use the
         name `Boskone' for its annual convention (latter was also approved by
         Doc Smith's daughter)
      -- good news was that there were no liabilities
  - New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA)
    > came into existence on September 23, 1967, at an organizational meeting
      held at the home of Bill Desmond
      -- Tony Lewis assumed the position of Acting Chairman at that meeting
      -- the first order of business was to start incorporation procedures
      -- choosing the club's official name came next
         >> continuation of the name `Boston Science Fiction Society' was
            repudiated, as Susan Hereford had earlier reported in INSTANT
            MESSAGE, because it had "outlived its value, and has a number of
            bad connotations outside the area"
            --- (reference to what??)
         >> names eventually rejected included `Massachusetts Science Fiction
            Association', `Bay State Science Fiction Association',
            `Massachusetts Bay Science Fiction Association' and `The
            Boskonians'
         >> an alternate informal name, `The Eddoreans' (after the characters
            in Doc Smith's `Lensman' novels that founded Boskone) was also
            adopted, but it never caught on and was soon abandoned
      -- it wasn't until the third order of business that the purpose of the
         club was discussed
         >> the club was able to agree that its activities should include
            publishing a fanzine and holding an annual convention (the
            Boskone, which it had inherited from the defunct Boston Science
            Fiction Society)
    > by early October, all the details had been worked out, and the club held
      its first official elections: Tony Lewis became the first President of
      NESFA, Dave Vanderwerf the first Vice President, Linda Rosenstein the
      Treasurer, Susan Hereford as Clerk, Paul Galvin chair of the convention
      committee, and Cory Seidman the editor of the club's fanzine, which
      became called THE PROPER BOSKONIAN
      -- meanwhile, INSTANT MESSAGE was kept going as a biweekly newsletter
      -- also, Susan Hereford became Susan Hereford Lewis in April 1968 when
         she married the club's President
         >> the March 12, 1968 INSTANT MESSAGE announced their upcoming
            marriage: "ARL announced that to consolidate power he will annex
            the Clerk on April 7th"
         >> by beginning of 1969, Susan became known in fandom as Suford Lewis
      -- meanwhile, Tony Lewis was so popular and competent as President, he
         was re-elected by acclamation in 1968 and 1969
    > club quickly gained popularity with area fans
      -- within six months, NESFA consisted of 30 regular and associate
         members, plus another ten subscribing members
      -- after another year had passed, there were 65 members total, including
         27 corresponding members
    > some other members during the 1960s included Andrew Whyte, Ed Meskys,
      Marilyn [Fuzzy Pink] Wisowaty, Harry [Hal Clement] Stubbs, Ed Meyer,
      Mark Walsted, and Mike Ward
      -- Ward moved to California soon after NESFA was formed, and became
         involved with the Pennsfa club there
      -- in the middle of 1969, Alexei Panshin moved from New York City to the
         Boston area, and soon afterwards, Cory Seidman became Cory Panshin
      -- Isaac Asimov appeared at the September 15th, 1968 meeting, where he
         talked about writing an preview for TV GUIDE about what turned out to
         be an abysmal science fiction series, LAND OF THE GIANTS; he said he
         was warned not to eat beforehand.
         >> apparently he enjoyed himself; he became an frequent visitor to
            other NESFA meetings after that, including a memorable meeting in
            early 1969 where he had to make contributions to the NESFA pun
            fund three different times
    > like LASFS, NESFA also held annual Halloween parties
      -- one of the most memorable was 1968's, which was attended by about 40
         people, including Charlie Brown who drove up from New York
         >> prizes for best costumes were won by Bill Desmond, Drew Whyte, and
            Cory Seidman, with Seidman, in a breastplate and loincloth,
            attracting much attention from men who were present
         >> Brown painted designs on anyone who didn't come in costume
            --- Isaac Asimov got a PLAYBOY bunny on his cheek, and lived up to
                it by chasing every girl in sight
    > NESFA Press formed; first book (Aug. 1968) was update to Strauss index
    > hosted Boskones
    > other publications
      -- a weekly newsletter: INSTANT MESSAGE
         >> first issue appeared on September 11, 1967, before NESFA
            officially even existed
            --- it was mostly a report on an informational meeting for a
                successor organization to the Boston Science Fiction
                Association, and speculation on whether a Boston bid could
                win as site for the 1971 Worldcon
         >> edited in the 1960s (except for one issue) by Sue Hereford Lewis,
            who as NESFA Clerk, had that as part of her club duties
         >> contents of the newszine mostly emphasized NESFA activities,
            rather than reported on general fan news; there was always a recap
            of the previous NESFA meeting and sometimes even an agenda for the
            next
         >> first 27 issues done via ditto, before switching to mimeo
      -- a general-interest fanzine: PROPER BOSKONIAN
         >> had the unusual feature of starting with issue no. 0
            --- the explanation for this was in a postscript directed toward
                fanzine collectors: "If you don't like our numbering system,
                come up to Boston and look at some street addresses some time.
                Around here, that sort of thing is *very* proper."
         >> that zeroth issue, plus the next four were edited by Cory Seidman
            --- she and Leslie Turek has previously been co-editors of the
                MITSFS publication, THE TWILIGHT ZINE, even though they had
                been students at Radcliffe and not MIT
            --- the zeroth issue was dated October 31, 1967; it was only 10
                pages long, but featured an informative history, written by
                Anthony Lewis, of Boston-area fandom of the 1960s to that
                point
         >> in her relatively short tenure as PB editor, Seidman managed to
            corral some interesting contributions, mainly from local fans
            --- there were many entertaining convention reports, translations
                (by local fan Dainis Bisenieks, from the Latvian language) of
                articles on SF from the Soviet Union, book and movie reviews, 
                games and assorted fannishness, and even some detailed fanzine
                reviews
                >>> in the third issue the fanzine reviews were divided into
                    three categories: crudzines, STAR TREK zines, and
                    newszines; Mike Symes, who had been roped into reviewing
                    the first category, introduced himself by saying "I feel I
                    should reveal my `credentials' for reviewing crudzines.  I
                    publish one."  His reviews were insightful, however,
                    giving reasons for a fanzine being a crudzine, and some
                    ideas for escaping that classification
            --- additionally, PB featured covers by well known artists:
                Stephen Fabian, Jack Gaughan, and 1950s artist Margaret
                Dominick (who went under the signature of DEA)
         >> Seidman resigned the editorship after marrying Alexei Panshin and
            moving to Pennsylvania, in 1969
            --- editorship taken over in issue 5, in late 1969, by Richard
                Harter
            --- in later decades, the fanzine would see a succession of
                editors
    > perhaps because of NESFA's predilection for structured business
      meetings and the appearance that the club was a bit overly-regimented,
      it got the reputation over the years for being sercon; however, NESFAns
      were not without their moments of fannishness
      -- in the May 19, 1968 meeting, the club voted to give member Andrew
         Whyte a nickname
         >> he had mention at that meeting that he hated the nickname `Andy';
            since `Andrew' seemed too formal, the club decided to help him out
            by finding a more suitable nickname
         >> when the objection was brought up that perhaps Mr. Whyte should
            have a say in what he'd be called, it was pointed out that Whyte
            had a vote just like everyone else
         >> in a close finish, `Drew' won out over `Andre', `Handy Andy', and
            `Hey You!', and he became `Drew Whyte' after that
  - University of Massachusetts SF Club (Amherst, Mass.)
    > formed in 1965 by Joe Ross, who was a student there
      -- after he graduated, the club faded from view, but it didn't disappear
         altogether
    > in the 1980s, the club returned to prominence by sponsoring an annual
      convention
  - Western Massachusetts SF Society (Springfield, Mass.)
    > came into existence in early 1968
    > started by Robert Toomey, Jr.
    > lasted until (when?)
  - Brookline High School SF Club (Brookline, Mass.)
    > worth brief mention as one of the few high school fan organizations of
      the 1960s
    > perhaps their highlight of the decade was when they succeeded in
      `buying' Isaac Asimov for $23 at the 1969 Boskone
      -- this was an example of the `Auction Bloch', which was popularized in
         the 1950s when Robert Bloch often auctioned off an hour of some well-
         known writer's time to raise money for a worthy cause
    > (which fans?) originated with the group
  - another Boston-area high school sf club, the Newton South SF Club, came
    into existence at the end of the 1960s
    > was started by Gayle Kaplan in 1969
      -- she had attended the 1960 Boskone, where her interest in science
         fiction was stimulated when she discovered there were female science
         fiction writers
    > other members included Morris Keesan, Jacob Bloom, Jill Trugman,
      Georgine Chacran, and Donna Christina Benders, all of whom became better
      known in fandom in subsequent decades
      -- Benders, who went by the fannish name "Krissy", was one of the first
         black women in fandom
    > club only lasted a few years, and passed from existence in the early
      1970s after Kaplan and the others had graduated
      -- it was another example of a fan club that owed its entire existence
         to the coming together of a small group of actifans