HIGHLIGHTS OF PAST EVENTS
Sometimes it's only standing room only at an event.
Over the past six years, the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention has been host to a number of great slide show presentations. The history of The Green Hornet was highlighted by commentary from Fran Striker Jr., whose father created the legendary masked vigilante. Terry Salomonson of Audio Classics in Howell, Michigan, presented a historical look back at the formation and popularity of The Lone Ranger. Robb Farr of Slapsticon, an annual event in Virginia that presents the very best and the very rare of slapstick comedy of the early 20th Century, presented a glimpse of Buster Keaton with rare film shorts and clips. Author and historian Michael J. Hayde gave us a fascinating look at The Adventures of Superman on radio and television.
Historian Francis M. Nevins offered us a fond look back at Hopalong Cassidy and The Cisco Kid, and then returned to MANC with a biography about Bill Whitney, considered the Hitchcock of pure action film (and once praised by Quentin Tarantino as one of the best directors in Hollywood). Whitney worked for Republic Pictures during the late 1930s and early 1940s, and was responsible for making Roy Rogers look good in a fist fight and Captain Marvel’s flight through the air with ease.
A long line waiting for the next seminar!
In 2011, the adventures of Buck Rogers in comic strips, movies, radio and television was highlighted by Maury Cagle of the Metro Washington Old-Time Radio Club. Buck Rogers had become an important part of American popular culture and the phenomenon paralleled the development of space technology in the 20th Century and introduced Americans to outer space as a familiar environment for swashbuckling adventure. Also that same year, David Weinstein, author of The Forgotten Network and the Birth of American Television, presented a fascinating look at the DuMont Television Network, one of the world’s pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. From 1946 to 1956, the DuMont Network went up against stiff competition, regardless of the fact that it offered Rocky King, The Cavalcade of Stars and Captain Video.
Past events also played host to a number of great documentaries. Harvey Chertok introduced his one-hour documentary, The Great Charlie Chan, which first premiered in a gala event at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Gene Blottner, author of the new Columbia Pictures Movie Series, 1926-55, offered us a fascinating overview of the 27 movie series produced and released through Columbia Pictures during the Harry Cohn years, including Boston Blackie, Jungle Jim, Ellery Queen, Blondie, The Lone Wolf, and many others. Ed Hulse, editor of Blood ‘n’ Thunder, gave us two presentations: one about the history of pulp magazines and another about cliffhanger serials from the movie studios. Buck Biggers, co-creator of the Underdog cartoons, delivered a lecture on the origin and popularity of the cartoon series, which delighted hundreds of fans who flocked to meet him.
Charlie Chan documentary about to be screened.
Last year we were treated to Jack French’s “Sky Gals: Lady Aviators in Real Life and Popular Fiction,” which revealed the history of female aviators who helped pioneer the skies, even though they were not expected or welcomed by the press during the early part of the 20th Century. Harriet Quimby, Amelia Earhart, Ruth Law, Marjorie Stinson, and Jackie Cockran leading her WASP group, all earned their place in the sky memorial hall of fame. Their airborne accomplishments were replicated in American pop culture, as we soon learned.
Preservationists Bruce Barrett and Norman Cavey gave us a nostalgic look back at The Enchanted Forest, located in Ellicott City, Maryland, considered the first theme park in Maryland and the East Coast, and the second oldest theme park in the United States. The park no longer exists today, but thousands of people remember taking their children to the park to see the six mice that pulled Cinderella’s Pumpkin Coach, Mother Goose and her Gosling, the Black Duck, giant Lollipops, the Crooked Man and the Crooked House, bell-shaped flowers, the Little Red Brickhouse, the Easter Bunny’s residence, Gingerbread Men, Papa Bear and many others.
This year MANC will offer many visual presentations (MANC encourages slide show presentations), covering a variety of subjects. The schedule of events will be posted and updated throughout the year. If this is your first visit to the convention or plan to stay only for a day, we recommend you check out a couple seminars and enjoy what the convention has to offer. There’s much more than vendors and celebrities — there is interaction with the fans who share a common interest, rare films to watch in the movie room, and seminars on stage that we are certain will make you more knowledgeable than you were when you first came.
CONVENTION TIP: Your admission badge grants to access to all seminars any time of the day. There is no need to sign up to attend, simply walk in and make yourself at home. Some of the seminars are extremely popular. To accommodate the increasing size of the crowd, we moved the seminars to a larger room. Even with 100 plus additional chairs and room for folks with electric scooters, we cannot ensure seating space for all of the events. There is no reserved seating. If you want good seats, we recommend you visit the seminar room before the scheduled event. Seats are taken on a first-come, first-serve basis.
