'Some Came Running' to Robinson - the Web Pages of the James ...

THE JAMES JONESLITERARY SOCIETYNEWSLETTERVol. 13, No. 4Fall, 2004EditorThomas J. WoodEditorial Advisory BoardDwight ConnellyKevin HeislerRichard KingMichael MullenHugh MulliganDavid NightingaleThe James Jones SocietyNewsletter is published quarterlyto keep members and interestedparties apprised of activities, projectsand upcoming events of theSociety; to promote public interestand academic research in theworks of James Jones; and tocelebrate his memory and legacy.Submissions of essays, features,anecdotes, photographs,etc., pertaining to the authorJames Jones may be sent to theeditor for consideration. Every attemptwill be made to return material,if requested upon submission.Material may be edited forlength, clarity and accuracy. Sendsubmissions to:Thomas J. WoodArchives/Special Collections, LIB 144University of Illinois at SpringfieldP.O. Box 19243Springfield, IL, 62794-9423wood@uis.edu.Writers’ guidelines available uponrequest and online.The James Jones Literary Societyweb page:http://jamesjoneslitsociety.vinu.edu/Information about the JamesJones First Novel Fellowship:http://www.wilkes.edu/humanities/jones.htmlWhere have we been andwhere are we going?--by Jerry L. Bayne,PresidentJames Jones Literary SocietyServing as the president of anall voluntary, not-for-profit, nationalorganization with 27 energeticand enthusiastic board membersis a challenging and interestingendeavor.When I fielded the call in Augustof 2003 from Don Sackrider,who was calling me on behalf ofthe nominating committee, aboutserving a third time as president, Idid not hesitate to accept the invitation.The nominating committeeis comprised entirely of formerpresidents of the organization.Knowing the former presidents as Ido, it was a personal honor for meto have their support and confidencein proposing my nomination.Our organization has a traditionthat the vice president is nextin line to serve as president. I hadalready agreed to serve again astreasurer in 2004, so I had a uniqueperspective to work with DaveNightingale this past year as bothhis vice president and his treasurer.Dave is a tough "can-do" kind ofguy. And I doubt that anyone willbe able to match the amount ofhours which Dave devoted to servingas president. But I pledge to domy best.The James Jones Literary Societyhas traveled so far since theorganization was formed in thatsmall party dining area in thebasement of the Robinson ElksClub following the first symposiumin 1991. I was among thegroup of about 25 having dinnerwhen Mike Lennon stood and said,"I move we start the James JonesLiterary Society and I nominateGeorge Hendrick as the first president,Helen Howe as secretary andJuanita Martin as treasurer." Themotion passed. But, at that momentI had only a vague notionabout what I had just voted to establish,let alone whether the organizationwould survive andthrive or not.The organization grew slowlybut qualitatively the first fewyears. A major event happenedthat would change the course andmission of the organization duringa weekend in April of 1995 in adirty and cheap hotel meetingroom near the Chicago O'HareAirport. Several board membersmet as part of a strategic planningretreat. The intent was to establishsome short-range, mid-range andlong-range goals for the organization.Judy Everson, president ofthe organization then, facilitatedthe brainstorming planning session.There were ten of us participating:Mike Lennon, Kevin Heisler,Tom Wood, Kathy Stillwell,Helen Howe, Juanita Martin, KaylieJones and Vanessa Faurie.The top three organizationalpriorities had already been establishedby the membership and reaffirmedby the board (and rereaffirmedby the membership andboard in 2000). They are, in orderof priority, 1) to sponsor and funda first novel fellowship, 2) to hostannual symposia to promote appreciationfor Jones's literaryworks, and 3) to publish a newsletter.What came out of that thinktankretreat was a definitive plan toguide our organization's growthand success during the past 10years. There were so many wonderfulideas that came out of thatretreat that have evolved to fruition... too many to mention here. But,emphasizing sound financial planningwas an important ingredientin the plan.The JJLS first novel fellowshipendowment was eventuallyPage 2 – Fall 2004James Jones Literary Society Newsletter

established in partnership withWilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The WilkesFoundation money managers,along with Mike Lennon who coordinatesthe annual contest, havebeen outstandingly successful. In2005 the first place cash awardwill become an unrestricted checkin the amount of $10,000.00 to thewinner.Concerning priority #2, it wasrecommended to the take our annualsymposia on the road but toreturn to Robinson, Jones's birthplaceand hometown, every threeyears. Judy proposed that we go tothe University of Illinois at Springfield,which we did in 1996 and1997. Helen and Kathy and Juanitasuggested we hold a symposiumat the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign, which we didin 2000. Mike, Kevin and Kayliesuggested we hold a symposiumon Long Island, which we did in1999. Vanessa suggested we go toParis, which we did in 2002. Tomsuggested we go to the Universityof Texas in Austin, which we didin 2003, and to Memphis, whichwe will do in 2005.The first time I served aspresident, our organizational financesand operations were supportedby Lincoln Trail Collegeand the LTC Foundation. We areall still very grateful for the helpthat was provided by the LTCFoundation in the early years, but Ican tell you that serving as presidentwas often a complicated, confusingand unsettling situation underthat arrangement.After serving as president forone year I became the organization'streasurer. It was during thistime that Ray Elliott, as president,joined forces with a very skilledaccountant named Ron Bailey, Jr.The vision and intent was to secureour own charter and autonomy.Within a year we were grantedprobationary 501(c)3 status fromthe Internal Revenue Service andwe began writing our own checks.(Re: Some Came Running ... weare using the Dave Hirsh bank andnot the Frank Hirsh bank, saysHelen Howe.) Shortly thereafterwe received official not-for-profitcorporation recognition from theIllinois Secretary of State and theIllinois Attorney General.In May of this year we receivedour golden letter from theInternal Revenue Service grantingthe JJLS "permanent status" as a501(c)3 public charitable organization.Ray Elliott, Ron Bailey, JuanitaMartin and Warren Mason,who served as treasurer throughthe Paris project, deserve a bigtime tip of the hat from us all forthis accomplishment.The second time I served aspresident I knew our plan was tohost the annual symposium at theAmerican University in Paris. Iwas serving as vice president and Ihad over a year to help coordinateand organize the Paris project.But, I also knew that we were goingto need a budget of $25,000.00to mount the Paris production.(Considering all who attended, weprobably injected $250,000 intothe Paris economy that week.)Working with the financial planningand fund raising for the Parisproject were Don Sackrider, MikeLennon, Warren Mason and KevinHeisler. Warren and I had somesweaty palms but the money wasraised and the bills were paid andthe Paris project was a fabuloussuccess.So, what is in store for you,and for me, in my third tenure asJJLS president?I think 2005 is going to be afantastic year for The Society. Weare teaming our energies with theEnglish Department of the Universityof Memphis in sponsoring the15th Annual JJLS Symposium thatwill be held at The Memphis Peabodyon Saturday, October 8.There will also be activities on theUniversity of Memphis campus onFriday and Sunday. Detailed informationabout the symposiumwill be included in the next newsletter.Our focus will be on givinga treatment to Jones's last novel,which is the completion of his trilogy,Whistle. A scholarly and insightfulseries of presentations arebeing planned.There are also new initiativeson the table for 2005.Cullom Davis is chairing theHendrick Research Committee.His committee is planning a campaignto promote new scholarly researchabout Jones and his life andhis literature.Ray Elliott, vice president, isspearheading an effort with the IllinoisHumanities Council to providea speaker's bureau promotingJones and his literature.Don Sackrider and his financecommittee members are devisingways to increase our operatingfund endowment, which is entirelyseparate from the Wilkes UniversityFoundation First Novel Fellowshipfund. As our initiativesincrease, so do our fixed costs andfinancial obligations. Their competentwork and proven track recordare very important to our success.Richard King, technologycommittee chairperson as well asour web master, is upgrading andrefining our web site.Several board members will berepresenting the Society at regionaland national literature associationconventions.Tom Wood, archivist andnewsletter editor, has some excitingplans for the newsletter contentin the coming year.Kim Cox, our organization'sattorney-in-residence, is reviewingour by-laws with his committeemembers. And he is working with(continued on page 8)James Jones Literary Society Newsletter Page 3 — Fall 2004

Excerpt from“The Trap”by John E. SmelcerWinner of the 2004 JJLSFirst Novel Fellowship.“The Trap” has been accepted forpublication by Henry Holt.It was getting late, later thanthe old man usually stayed awake,but he and the night were restless.Several times he rearranged hisbed of green boughs, pulled thestrings tight on his fur-lined parkahood, turned on his side and triedto sleep. But sleep did not come.His body was restless and tensefrom sitting under the tree all daywith nothing to do but to worryand wonder.It was a perfectly clear night.Frost-sharpened stars filled thesky, a full moon lit the landscapeso bright that he could see acrossthe wide valley, and on the horizonabove the far white mountains thenorthern lights were shimmeringand dancing, pulsing across thenight sky in long, shifting ribbons.Contrary to popular myth, theymake no sound at all. Nothing. Theonly noise was the creaking of thetree in the wind. He watched thedancing sky for a long time. Theshimmering waves of green andred light were beautiful. Words areuseless. The borealis must be experiencedfirsthand to be understoodby the heart.Like love or the loss of achild.It was a beautiful, clear night,even though it was so cold nowthat his boots and gloves barelykept the old man's hands and feetwarm. If the temperature droppedmuch further, they would be useless.If there was any consolationin the cold, it was that there wereno tormenting clouds of mosquitoes.He carefully dropped a fewmore pieces of wood onto the fire,and for a few minutes the flameswere happy and provided light andwarmth. But no matter how good itfelt, the old man knew that therewas not enough wood to burn sucha bright, hot fire all night. He hadto ration what firewood he had, sohe curled into a tight ball, hugginghimself to keep his body heat frombeing swept out across the fieldand into the clear, star-raddlednight.He watched the dancingsky for a long time.The shimmering waves ofgreen and red light werebeautiful. Words are useless.The borealis must beexperienced firsthand tobe understood by theheart.Like love or the loss ofa child.But no matter how tightly hecurled up his arms and legs, as if tohave them vanish entirely so thatthe cold could not touch them, hebegan to shiver and tremble. Whenhe opened his eyes, he could seethe snowmobile and sled, wherehis sleeping bag lay inside a dark,green waterproof bag. With hisfoot caught as it was in the wolftrap, the machine might as well bea hundred miles away."How different this nightwould be curled up in that bag," hethought.He closed his eyes again andtried to sleep, tried to dream abouthome and his warm bed in hiscabin with its smell of woodsmoke and fish head soup. He triedto dream about his old wife nestledagainst him in their small, warmbed.He was close to falling asleepfinally when he heard something inthe distance. It was getting closer.It sounded like breathing, likepanting. Then, it was closer,sounding like the panting of sleddogs after a long run. The old mansat up slowly, without turning hiseyes from the approaching sound,and reached for his spear leaningbeside him.He could see something comingfrom the far side of the field,shadows loping and panting andkicking up snow as they crossed.It was the wolves.He could see them now.There were five. Two were in thelead and three more ran about abody length behind the next. Theywere coming straight for the tree,straight for the man who did notmove or utter a sound.A lone wolf is a timid creature,nervous and unsure of itself.But a pack of hungry wolves is adangerous thing, quick and cunningand deadly. The old man rememberedhow a pack of wolves,scavenging along a great lake,once came upon a cabin with adozen sled dogs chained to theirlittle wind-proof houses. Thewolves killed and ate several dogsbefore the trapper, hearing thehowling ruckus, came out anddrove the wolves away with his rifle.He had to put down his leaddog, which whimpered and trembledin pain from its wounds.They stopped when they cameupon the snowmobile and itshitched sled, sniffed around foronly a minute, until they found themoose quarters. All five attackedthem, though the frozen meat wasnot alive and did not move. Theyripped them from the strings securingthem to the sled, dragged themonto the snow, and tore at themand growled and fought each otherPage 4 – Fall 2004James Jones Literary Society Newsletter

until there was nothing left but theheavy, stripped bones.Then two of them, those thathad come earlier, the old manthought, turned their attention tothe huddled shadow crouched beneaththe tree. Cautiously, theycame closer, weaving from side toside, stopping to look and smell.Curious. Wary.The others followed.This wasn’t the first time theold man had been encircled bywolves. Once, long ago, when hewas still a boy, a pack of wolvesfollowed him as he trudged homeon snowshoes with a rucksack fullof rabbits he had shot in the winteredhills. He had been all day inthe field with his single-shottwenty-two rifle. For over a milethey followed him, weaving on andoff the trail ahead and behind him.At times, they loped along in thescraggly trees left or right of thetrail, hiding behind tree trunks ordeadfalls, curious and determined.When he came upon a clearing,the pack circled him, snarlingand snapping at the cold air. Hestood his ground with his rifle,even though he knew he wouldonly get off one shot before thepack would fall upon him.But they didn’t.Both sides stood their groundon that white field, yelling orgrowling, showing their power andmenace. Finally, Albert realizedthat it was the contents of his packthey wanted. They could smell thegame. Slowly, without taking hiseyes off the wolves, he fumbledwith the drawstring, opened thebag, reached in and pulled out eachrabbit and flung them as far awayas he could. While the hungry packdevoured their easy meal andfought over bits and pieces, theyoung boy ran home as fast as hissnowshoes could carry him acrossthe deep snow.The wolves did not follow,and he never saw them again.But on this day, on this winteredfield, five hungry wolveswere only steps away from the oldman who stood up and shouted,holding his spear tight in bothhands, his legs apart. He yelled andwaved the sharp-pointed spearwhile the wolves growled andbared their fangs and took quicksnapping bites out of the cold airand made terrible, clicking soundswith their teeth. Their ears werepulled back flat against their dark,shaggy heads, and their eyesseemed to glow in the moonlight.But no matter how loud theman shouted and no matter how hewaved the long spear, they did notretreat. The man's presence mayhave frightened a lone wolf, oreven two, but he did not intimidatea pack of hungry wolves.Still shouting and holding thespear and without once moving hiseyes from the pack, the old manbent over slowly and reached forone of the long, thick spruceboughs he used for his bed. Whenhe found one, he stood up andeased the bushy end into the fire.Within seconds it was aflame. Theentire end was engulfed in flamesand it seemed to light up the wholeworld. He waved the firebrand inthe faces of the ferocious animalsthat, fearing fire more than the oldman, turned and ran back into thenight, into the trees and into the farhills.When he could no longer seethem, he placed the burning boughon the fire and stood for a longtime, catching his breath and calminghis nerves. His body waswarmed from the activity and therush of fear.Somewhere nearby, in a treeacross the field, an owl was callingto him, speaking his name, its softvoice like a dull knife cuttingthrough the night.In their culture, parents used totell children who were talking atnight instead of sleeping that owlswould cut off their feet. They alsosay that the hoot of an owl outsideyour window at night is a harbingerof death. Such is the seriousnature of the northland, grim andwithout humor.Albert Least-Weasel sat downand did not listen to the owl.“Go away,’ he shouted to thedarkness. “Tonight is not my timeto die.”His mind began to wander towarm places. He thought about thesmall sauna behind his cabin. Oncea week, he and his wife went out tothe sauna, sat inside it until theirsweat flowed from their bodies tothe plywood floor, where it gatheredinto a river which emptiedinto a lake of salt water behind thesmall wood stove that glowed redhot--packed with dry, split spruceor birch. Every so often, theywould step outside to cool downbeneath the stars, steam rising offtheir naked, brown bodies.He wished he could be in thesauna with his wife now.But there was no warmth hereand no companionship, only a drywind singing over the snow.For the rest of the long, anxiousnight, the old man did notsleep. He sat with his back to thetree with his arms folded across hischest and his knees tucked up closeagainst his folded arms. He waitedlike that, watching for shadows tocome down from the hill on theother side of the wide, moonlitfield.But nothing came. The hoursand hours dragged on, and thenight dragged on. Somewhere longpast midnight, the owl flew away,and the great white world wasquiet and empty again, so quiet theold man could almost hear starfallas he sat waiting for the onrush ofsleep.Copyright 2004, John E. Smelcer.Used with permission.James Jones Literary Society Newsletter Page 5 — Fall 2004

Photographs from the 14 th Annual James Jones Literary Society Symposium,Lincoln Trail College, Robinson, Illinois, October 23, 2004.L- R: Kaylie Jones(daughter of JamesJones), John Smelcer(winner of the 2004 FirstNovel Fellowship), DaveNightingale (outgoingJJLS President), andEvan Inboden (winnerof the 2004 JamesJones Creative WritingAward).JJLS Director HelenHowe and Shirley Kellyof Lawrenceville, Illinois.Howe was a friend of“Arkie” Ashby, and Kellyis his daughter. Ashbywas the model for thecharacter “Bama Dillert”in Jones’s novel SomeCame Running.

Banner over MainStreet in Robinson,Illinois, announcing the2004 James JonesLiterary Society Symposium.Long-time Robinsonresidents Dr. Otto “Bud”Prier, Mary Fran LewisWhittinghill, and Wilbur“Wib” Powden sharedtheir reminiscences withthe Symposium crowd.James Jones Literary Society Newsletter Page 7 — Fall 2004

Where have we been…(continued from page 3)a committee to explore the possibilityof holding the 2006 symposiumat Florida International Universitywhere Jones taught creativewriting when he and his family returnedstateside from Paris. Kimhas also been asked to serve asRay's vice president ... so our leadershipplan for the coming years isin place.Kaylie Jones (and wherewould the organization be withouther cheerful, honest, heartfelt energyand optimism?) continues towork with publishers to reprintJones novels and to promote theliterary works of our first novelfellowship award winners. Sheand her committee members haveonly chosen deserving and truly artisticunpublished writers.The JJLS is a one-of-a-kindorganization. Our future is bright,blindingly bright. 2005 is going tobe a year to remember. Thank youfor giving me the privilege to serveas president again. During my 30years as a community college instructoror administrator, I havedone many things. Being a part ofthis organization is in the top tierof the list of personally rewardingexperiences.(And, thanks Helen Howe -during my rookie years especially -for introducing me to Jones's literatureand for teaching me manyother things too.)Have you moved?Planning to move?Send your change of address to:James Jones Literary SocietyP.O. Box 68Robinson, IL 62454‘Running’ to Robinson(continued from page 1)attendance at the seven previousRobinson symposia. That’s overwhelminglymore than the attendanceat the 2003 symposium inAustin, Texas. And that’s evensomewhat more than attended theSociety’s 1999 “all-star” symposiumin Southampton, New York,which featured such legendarywriters as Norman Mailer, WilliamStyron. Budd Schulberg, BettyComden Kyle, Peter Matthiessenand the late Joseph Heller.The 2004 crowd also led toseveral new faces coming underthe JJLS banner. “We increasedour membership during symposiumweek by a minimum of 10per cent and we’re still awaitingthe results of a spin-off recruitingdrive from the event,” said Nightingale,who also is the Societymembership chairman.Why the huge attendance increase?According to Nightingale,it was for two principal reasons.“First, our live cast was comprisedentirely of current or formerRobinson residents. And they havea much greater drawing powerthan an outside speaker who—although perhaps a titan in his orher own particular field—is notwell-known in a small community,”he said.“And second, because we wereable to concentrate all of our promotionin one specific smallarea—Robinson and surroundingCrawford County—we were ableto put on the most intense advertisingcampaign in symposium history.It included banners over MainStreet, a mayoral ‘James JonesWeek’ proclamation, merchantwindow flyers, broad distributionof JJLS newsletters that had a 100per cent symposium editorial content;television and radio promotionaltalks; extensive newspapercoverage in the area; and a neverbefore-attemptedfull page newspaperadvertisement.”Society planners admitted thatthis symposium wasn’t really designedto draw attendees from far,far away. Still, “some came running”from all directions—fromCalifornia, Washington and Alaskain the west; from Arizona, Texas,New Mexico and Oklahoma in thesouthwest; from New York, NewHampshire, Florida and the Districtof Columbia in the east; fromnearby Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennesseeand Ohio—and even fromAmsterdam, The Netherlands.The goal of the symposiumwas to inexorably tie the town ofRobinson to Jones’s Some CameRunning novel, both in terms ofthe physical and the personalities.Three octogenarian panelistswith local roots—Wib Powden andBud Prier of Robinson and MaryFran Whittinghill of Winter Haven,Florida—spent their stagetime discussing how the swinginglife in post-World War II Robinsoncertainly would have been able toprovide Jones with all of the necessaryingredients for the plot ofhis novel. And author Ray Elliottof Urbana, Illinois, another countynative and former JJLS president,guided them through their paces asmoderator.Society director Kim Cox ofSan Diego, California, tied thephysical points of the novel’smythical “Parkman” and “CrayCounty” to physical points in today’sRobinson community andCrawford County.Flashes of glitz came from apanel discussion about Robinsongambler “Arkie” Ashby, the prototypefor Some Came Running’sBama Dillert character. Panelistswere Robinson’s Helen Howe, along time friend of Ashby’s, andPage 8 – Fall 2004James Jones Literary Society Newsletter

Gail Martin Downey (by speakerphonefrom Toluca Lake, California),the daughter of the late DeanMartin, who portrayed Dillert inthe film version of the novel.(Parenthetically, a member ofthe audience—Ashby’s daughter,Shirley Kelly from nearby Lawrenceville—gaveher solid stampof approval to the discussion.)The body of the presentationwas held together by the introductoryremarks of Society chairmanNightingale and by a segment inwhich he matched real local namesto the faces of the novel’s characters.The symposium closed with ashowing of the motion pictureSome Came Running, starringFrank Sinatra, Dean Martin andShirley MacLaine.But perhaps the real eyegrabberwas one of the convocation’sopening numbers. That wasa 12-minute Edward R. Murrow“Person to Person” video clip fromJanuary, 1958, with the televisionpersonality interviewing JamesJones and his wife Gloria on theday the novel Some Came Runningwent to press in New York. Thiswas followed by an on-stagecommentary from Jones’s novelistdaughter Kaylie of New York City,and that combination reallyseemed to energize the audienceand to serve as the keynote for theday’s program.The final highlight of the day?The artistic was replaced by the financial.The Society realized $2,000 inthe form of a grant to the symposiumfrom the Illinois HumanitiesCouncil, $1,050 from outright giftsto JJLS operating coffers duringsymposium week and $750 fromnew membership dues.That cash total almost equaledthe out-of-pocket money spent onthe production by the JJLS, whichis chartered as a not-for-profit organizationin the state of Illinois.However, it did not begin tocover the more than $1,000 contributedin the form of servicesprovided by co-sponsor LincolnTrail College of Robinson, such asrent-free use of the LTC auditoriumand the services of the menwho handled the stage technologyand clean-up. Nor did it covermore than 500 hours of volunteerwork by members of the 2004symposium steering committee.“But one other unique set ofsymposium financial figures willremain with me for the longesttime,” said Nightingale. “We spentan average of $5 a head in promotionto attract the crowd that wedid, a crowd that didn’t have topay a cent to attend. Now, I grantyou, that doesn’t sound very goodin a business sense—so maybethat’s why we don’t have any troubleretaining our not-for-profitstatus.“But we certainly wouldn’thave been able to purchase a fullpage newspaper ad without the financialassistance of the IllinoisHumanities Council and without aprogram that was relatively inexpensive,because we didn’t have tofund large amounts of travel costsand honoraria for the participants.”SYMPOSIUM SIDE NOTES—Bayne moved up to presidentof the JJLS for the next two years,after serving as vice-president andtreasurer in 2004. He replacedNightingale, who will become thetreasurer in 2005. Former presidentElliott was chosen the new vicepresident,while Kathy Stillwell ofKnoxville, Tennessee, retained hersecretary’s position and TomWood of the University of Illinoisat Springfield library remained asSociety archivist-historian andnewsletter editor….Eastern IllinoisUniversity instructor DougLawhead, a former Robinson DailyNews photographer, has beenadded to the Society board of directorsfor a three-year term, replacingDr. Robert Klaus of Chicago,who resigned due the pressof medical duties….Dr. Ed Seidelof Washington, D.C., also wasnamed to the board to fill the finalyear of the term of Southern IllinoisUniversity instructor TonyWilliams, who resigned because offamily commitments….Dr. Seidelis the grandson of late Robinsonjudge Bill McCarty, who was identifiedas the prototype for “JudgeDeacon” in Some Came Running.Minutes of theJames Jones LiterarySociety Board ofDirectors Meeting,Friday, October 22, 2004The James Jones Literary SocietyBoard of Directors met on October22, 2004, at the home of MaxineZwermann, Robinson, IL.President Dave Nightingalecalled the meeting to order at 3:15p.m. Board Members presentwere: Jerry Bayne, Cullom Davis,Dwight Connelly, Kathy Stillwell,Thomas Wood, Judy Everson, RayElliott, Kim Cox, Kaylie Jones,Helen Howe, Richard King, JuanitaMartin, Mike Mullen, DianeReed, Jon Shirota and MaxineZwermann.Jerry Bayne moved, secondedby Kim Cox, that the minutes ofthe 2003 Board meeting be accepted.Motion carried.It was moved by Kim Cox,seconded by David Nightingale, toaccept the Treasurer’s Report aspresented by Jerry Bayne. Motioncarried.Committee Reports:2004 Symposium CommitteeDavid Nightingale reported nounforeseen problems. Kinks in thevideo tape have been remedied forJames Jones Literary Society Newsletter Page 9 — Fall 2004

Saturday’s presentation. Nightingalementioned his appreciation ofthe cooperation he received fromLincoln Trail College. The dedicatedassistance of LTC presidentDr. Carl Heilman and of ZwermannArts Center manager DanBruneau, were invaluable to thesuccess of the Symposium’s presentationand is noted to be wellappreciated by Nightingale and theSociety. The overhead banners atthe East and West entrances toRobinson were provided by Pepsithrough Hellman and Lincoln Trail.First Novel Fellowship AwardCommitteeKaylie Jones reported that therewere 593 entries this year. Thereaders -- including Kaylie, MikeLennon, Patricia Heaman, hergraduate students in the MFA programat Wilkes -- narrowed themanuscripts to 60, and then furtherto six finalists. The winner wasNative American John Smelcer ofChugiak, Alaska for his novel"The Trap.” Jones reported thatnine of twelve past winners havebeen published. Two novels remainunfinished and one author refusedsuggested changes and remainsunpublished. The 1999 winnerhas just recently been published.The JJLS First Novel Fellowshipaward, which will be$10,000 beginning in 2005, is wellrespected in the literary world withonly one other award at that level.Jones did not recommend raisingthe entry fee at this time.Technology CommitteeChair Richard King reportedthat the web site is runningsmoothly to date. It continues tohave steady traffic, with over45,000 "hits" over the last six toseven years. He complemented theinformation sent to him as usefuland informative. He recommendedwe all take a look at the “Love Letters”link as it is very worthwhileand heartwarming. Kaylie Jonesapproved her website link to be included,as it encourages participationin the JJLS. Point of fact: fivepersons at this year’s Symposiumare attending because of informationgleaned from the website..King thanked Mike Mullen andTom Wood for their cooperation inthe frequently asked questions sectionof the site. Vincennes Universitycontinues to be happy to providefree web service to the Society.George Hendrick ResearchAward CommitteeChair Judy Everson reportedthat she and Mike Lennon had discussedthe Award in August of thisyear. They were not aware of anythingbeing appropriate for considerationat that time. Subsequentlyno nominees were presented. Eversonwas hopeful that next yearscholarly interest in the distributionand republication of Jones’snovel The Merry Month of Maywould produce a suitable work forconsideration.Membership CommitteeChair Dave Nightingale reportedthat as of October, 2003,there are 216 members. In 2004there was an increase to 221 with83 lifetime memberships. Therewere a total of seven membershipsgiven as gifts amounting to $105.Delinquent members total 33. Sixof these will get their last newsletterthis year. Delinquent membersare given a one year grace periodthen terminated. Sample newsletterwill be available at the registrationtable on Saturday along with formsto join the Society with a listing ofnames and addresses.Newsletter CommitteeChair Tom Wood reportedthat he will continue to use PrestonMathews of the Wayne CountyPress for publication of the newsletter.He will publish the text ofWilliam Styron’s presentation atthe 1999 Symposium. He is alsoconsidering using Dr. Morris Dickstein’saddress from the 2003Symposium.Publicity CommitteeChair Dave Nightingale waspleased to report a greater amountof promotion for the 2004 symposiumbecause we were able to usea narrower market scope. He utilizedoverhead banners at both Eastand West entrances to Robinson aswell as more than 100 windowpictureflyers placed in merchants’storefronts, 400 newsletter copiesdistributed locally, two area TVappearances, one local radio show,a full page ad in the RobinsonDaily News and other regional papers.Nightingale zeroed in ontown and county print media.2005 Symposium SteeringCommitteeChair Jerry Bayne reportedthat his committee will be makinga formal presentation at the Sundayboard meeting. He related thatthe faculty of the University ofMemphis’ Department of Englishis eager to participate. A tentativedate has been set for Saturday, October8, 2005.Old BusinessDavid Nightingale said he hasjoined the American Literary Association,as an unofficial representativeof the JJLS, to give theSociety a foot in the door of thatorganization. The membership feeis nominal. We might also considersending a representative to theALA national meeting in 2005.Creative Writing Award winnerannounced by Diane Reed wasEvan Inboden, a graduate of LincolnTrail College. There wereeight entries in this year’s contest.Page 10 – Fall 2004James Jones Literary Society Newsletter

New BusinessJerry Bayne announced the2005 Symposium Steering Committeeto include: Jerry Bayne,Chair, Ray Elliott, Judith Everson,Don Sackrider, Kathy Stillwell,Juanita Martin and Kaylie Jones.Jerry Bayne moved, secondedby Kim Cox that the followingnominees for the Board of Directorsbe elected for three year terms(2004 - 2007): Dwight Connelly,Juanita Martin, Ray Elliott, DaveNightingale, Kaylie Jones, MikeLennon, Tom Wood and DonSackrider. Motion carried.It was moved by Judy Everson,seconded by Cullom Davis,that the following candidates beoffered to the membership by theBoard of Directors for office in2004-2005: Jerry Bayne, President;Ray Elliott, Vice-President; DaveNightingale, Treasurer; KathrynStillwell, Secretary; and TomWood, Archivist-Historian. Motioncarried.Jerry Bayne suggested FloridaInternational University, whereJones taught creative writing, beconsidered as a symposium site in2006. As the incoming president,Bayne asked Warren Mason, DaveNightingale, Kim Cox, Don Sackriderand Kaylie Jones to serve onthe 2006 steering committee and toexplore FIU as a possible symposiumsite. Viet Nam was mentionedby Kaylie Jones as anotherpossible future symposium site.Judy Everson moved, secondedby David Nightingale, thatthe George Hendrick ResearchAward Committee place an ad inthe Chronicle of Higher Educationannouncing the award with a cashprize to be offered. The amount ofthe prize would be determinedlater. Motion carried.Kim Cox suggested an increasein the monetary award forthe runner-up in the First NovelFellowship Award be recommendedto Mike Lennon with thedetermination of the amount to bedecided by Wilkes University.--Respectfully submitted,Kathy StillwellJJLS Secretary2005 James Jones Literary Society Board of DirectorsJames BarhamChampaign, ILjab@barhambenefit.comJerry Bayne (President)Mt. Carmel, ILbaynej@iecc.eduDwight ConnellyMartinsville, ILpublishdc@hotmail.comKim CoxSan Diego, CAkcox2@san.rr.comCullom DavisSpringfield, ILcdavis2624@earthlink.netRay Elliott (Vice-President)Urbana, ILtales@soltec.netJudith EversonSpringfield, ILKevin HeislerNew York, NYkheisler@nyc.rr.comBarbara JonesMiddletown, CTbjones01@wesleyan.eduKaylie JonesNew York, NYkjones5@nyc.rr.comRichard KingVincennes, INrking@vinu.eduDoug LawheadAshmore, ILcfrdl@eiu.eduMichael LennonShavertown, PAlennon@wilkes.eduJuanita MartinYale, ILjmartin2@psbnewton .comWarren MasonMeredith, NHamason@mail.moultonborough.k12.nh.usJack MorrisRobinson, ILalec93@aol.comMichael MullenVincennes, INmmullen@vinu.eduHugh MulliganRidgefield, CThmulligan@ap.orgDave Nightingale (Treasurer)Robinson, ILnite@midwest.netDiane ReedRobinson, ILdreed100@hotmail.comDon SackriderKey Biscayne, FLdonsackrider@cs.comJon ShirotaHacienda Heights, CAJonShirota@aol.comEd SeidelWashington, DCe.a.seidel@att.netKathy Stillwell (Secretary)Knoxville, TNkstill@esper.comJim TurnerTerre Haute, INdocjivo@aol.comTom WoodSpringfield, ILwood@uis.eduMaxine ZwermannRobinson, ILJames Jones Literary Society Newsletter Page 11 — Fall 2004