The following is gleaned from the three years of the newsletter TARANTULA TIMES, published by the original American Tarantula Society that I founded in 1978, the year after my book All About Tarantulas was published, the first book on pet tarantula care. These write-ups below are taken mainly from the sections entitled "Club Progress."
The American Tarantula Society has been in existence slightly more than two months. Within that time, we have gained 42 members in 5 states and Canada, including 26 second graders at the Blaine Elementary School, Blaine, Washington. The membership is steadily growing. Six honorary lifetime memberships have been presented to the following: Dr. Jonathan Reiskind of the University of Florida, Dr. Robert Schick of the California Academy of Science, Dr. Robert J. Snetsinger of Pennsylvania State University, and Dr. Karl J. Stone of Minot, N.D., for their outstanding achievements in the field of arachnology, and to Mr. Paul D. Lund, for contributing his time and labor to provide the club with graphic arts, including the designing of our club logo and the creation of the cartoon character, Spunky.
We are still in the process of attempting to file as non-profit, but the going is slow; the I.R.S. is quite busy this time of year.
For the months of January and February, the club's income was $34.24; the outlay was $61.63 -- a difference of $27.39. This is good for a beginning, considering all the printwork and office supplies a new club needs. The future should be much brighter.
May/June 1978:
Membership has now grown to 53 with a minimum of publicity. But thanks to the efforts of member Susan Yanover and the generosity of new member Larry Lantz of the Midwest Reptile & Animal Sales, Inc., our publicity has begun. Mr. Lantz has offered to send out our brochures along with his next Stock List mailing. This will reach more than 1500 people! And since the Midwest Stock List is purchased by subscription at $2 per year, the people receiving the brochures should be somewhat interested. As Mr. Lantz pointed out, this should get us some membership, spread the info on tarantula care, and save us the postage. Thank you, Susan, and thank you, Mr. Lantz!
Dr. Bill Jackson, a psychiatrist from Madison, Wisconsin with a degree in animal psychology, has also joined the club. He just recently discovered tarantulas in a pet shop, giving birth to a new interest; and his enthusiasm may very well lead to some valuable study. Welcome to the club, Dr. Bill Jackson!
Some of you may have a copy of the book, "The Tarantula" by Dr. William J. Baerg. Unfortunately, the book has been out of print for many years, and is now very much a collectors' item for tarantula enthusiasts. It is believed to be the first book totally devoted to the study of the tarantula; and, as far as we know, Dr. Baerg was the first to successfully raise tarantulas from the egg to maturity. He began studying the tarantula spider in 1918 and continued to 1960. Now, at 92 years of age, Dr. Baerg has accepted membership into the American Tarantula Society. In a letter he writes, "Your enthusiasm pleases me." Allow me to say for the club that your many valuable years of enthusiasm and dedication please us, Dr. Baerg, and we heartily welcome you and Mrs. Baerg to the Society!
There is a good chance now that "The Tarantula" may be revised and reprinted. Dr. J. Russel Gabel from San Francisco University expects to meet with Dr. Baerg in May to discuss the revision. If you wish to offer encouragement and support, Dr. Gabel can be reached at San Francisco University, Dept. of Biology, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA 94132.
For the months of March and April, the club's income was $72.93; the outlay was $50.00 -- a profit of $22.93. This sure beats the last report -- a loss of $27.39. It's getting better all the time. The more money, the more publicity; the more publicity, the more members; the more members, the more ideas and information and possibilities. It's working!
July/August 1978:
A dream come true, as illustrated in this issue. Dr. Bill Jackson of Madison, Wisconsin, has begun a serious, scientific investigation into tarantula behavior and intelligence -- a wide open field that benefits the Society tremendously! Thank you, Dr. Jackson for you time and effort and for sharing your findings with us.
Geoffrey Schrock of Perfect Pets Inc. in Detroit, Michigan, has offered to distribute two hundred of our brochures, which hopefully will increase our membership. Thank you, Mr. Schrock.
More publicity will be coming in October. Gale Research Company has agreed to include the Society in the "Encyclopedia of Associations," which is among the reference volumes of just about all the libraries in the country. The first printing will appear in the third supplement to the 12th edition.
There is a man in Detroit, Michigan, whose entire upstairs of his house is devoted to tarantulas -- 125 specimens out of 21 different species from around the world, not including the greater number of hatchlings. He has been featured on "At the Zoo with Sonny Eliot," a local animal program, and on the Richmond local news, among other credits. He has joined the club (thanks to word-of-mouth advertising of Geoffrey Schrock and Larry Lantz), and has offered to write a section for each newsletter in the future, including this issue. He has a lot of good information to share. Thank you, Richard Blauman! (I might add that his wife, Sara, is also a new member and takes half the burden of sacrificing the upstairs.)
Membership has now grown to 61 fantastic people in 11 states and Canada. I don't believe Larry Lantz or Geoffrey Schrock have had the chance to distribute our brochures yet, so we still have that to look forward to. Looking good!
Income for the months of May and June was $40.64. Outlay was $40.12 -- a profit of 52¢. WOW!
As you see, the "Times" is taking on a slightly different format. In order to accommodate the expending volume of material, the print in this issue had to be reduced and another sheet of paper added. Isn't it great?! It's working!
September/October 1978:
It all started with Alice Hickman at the Seattle-First National Bank in Bellingham, Washington. She told me of an ad that was in the "Bellingham Herald," asking for a person interested in writing a regular column on the outdoors. It requested that samples of writing be sent in from those applying for the position. I sent in a copy of "All About Tarantulas" and a club brochure. Three weeks later, I was informed over the phone that the job was given to someone else -- but that they wanted to do a feature article on me, tarantulas, and the Society! The article included in this issue is the result of their interview.
As fate would have it, this information was picked up by United Press International and shot throughout the country. In the following weeks I was interviewed via telephone by KIRO Radio in Seattle, CFAX in Victoria, CBC in Toronto, a radio station in San Diego, and live on a KHJ-TV hotline in Los Angeles. Countless other stations mentioned the info without an actual interview, including Paul Harvey's 12 o'clock News.
Then television came into the act. My wife and I were on the local "Weekend" show with our spider, Alice Brown, just two weeks ago. KIRO-TV in Seattle has asked if it would be possible for local A.T.S. members and their spiders to assemble at our place for a feature story, but I haven't heard from them for awhile so am beginning to wonder if their plans are holding. The biggest surprise was a call from John Miller in New York, asking me if I'd be willing to come be on the "Today" Show! I have yet to hear from him again either, so perhaps this is too good to be true.
For one who barely made C's in high school speech class and has always had some trouble with socializing, all this publicity has been a little traumatic. Nevertheless, thirty fantastic people have joined us since the "Herald" article, and more are on their way -- even though the UPI article neglected to give an address. Just today I received calls from Michigan and New Jersey.
This also proves that the public wants to hear about tarantulas. People are surprised to discover there is nothing lethal about these spiders. In interviews, the two main questions are: Why do you like them? and Aren't they dangerous? Tarantulas are public interest. And what a great opportunity this is for the Society. All I had to do was let it be known by the media that I have a pet tarantula and know something about the spiders, and they took it from there. The club gets many more members and the world gets hundreds and thousands more educated people.
You know about tarantulas? Let the public know about you.
The club now has 91 members in 15 states and 1 province. (Our 100th member will have his/her first year's dues returned.)
Income for July and August was $121.60. Outlay was $121.59. We're rich with 1¢! It's working!
November/December 1978:
We hope that club members will be encouraged by the recent articles on the subject to try their hand at breeding tarantulas. It's unfortunate that the increasing popularity of these spiders tends to decrease the tarantula population, by decreasing the opportunity to reproduce. Rather than continuing to capture them in quantities in the wild, we should begin "growing our own." It can be a profitable business as well as a pleasure, and there surely can be no better way to learn about these creatures! Let's increase the tarantula population!
The "Tarantula Times" is growing, thanks to you. Keep 'em coming; let's turn this into a magazine! Our membership continues to grow at a good, steady rate, even though our UPI publicity has just about run its course. More and more members are helping out with publicity; and most of our newcomers are being introduced to the Society by other members. It's working!
We now have 114 members in 18 states and British Columbia, and five more folks waiting to join at Christmas. Income during September and October was $130.00. Outlay was $73.82 -- a profit of $56.18! In the next issue there will be a 1978 "budget pie," so you'll be able to see just how the funds were used.
A contest for our younger members is coming.
January/February 1979:
Just when our publicity seemed to be fading out, a new explosion took place. The Zodiac News Service took over where UPI left off. We were featured in the "New York Times." Bill Helmer of "Playboy" magazine spoke with me on the phone for quite some time, and is doing what he can to get the club mentioned in the "Potpourri" section. This would include our address, club dues, etc., and would reach an enormous number of readers. I also talked in depth with a writer for Time/Life, who is making an effort to feature us in "People" magazine. It's not a sure thing, but nevertheless you'll find me flipping, wide-eyed, through this magazine every Tuesday morning at the local market. "Diversion" magazine in New York has had, or should soon be having, an article on the ATS. I haven't had the opportunity ever to see this magazine; if any members know about it, please let me know.
And so our publicity continues. Considering the fact that the amount of money we've spent on publicity totals only $4.46, one can't help but think that maybe we just might have something here.
We now have 130 members (counting the 25 students in the Blaine Second Grade as just one membership) in 20 states and 2 provinces. And we're steadily growing. It was a very good first year. On the next page are two "pies" showing our income and outlay for 1978. If there are any questions or suggestions, please contact me.
March/April 1979:
I don't know where to begin. In these past two months our membership has almost doubled! We receive several more each day! What happened?
Well, we finally were featured in "People" magazine. You can find us on page 78 of the February 5th issue.
And, we were in "Diversion" magazine -- page 8G of the January issue. This magazine is sent free of charge to virtually all the physicians in the country, and, as a result, I'm happy to say we have several doctors in the club.
The largest explosion of new members occurred in Michigan. Some beautiful individual wrote to the "Detroit Free Press," asking how to get a hold of the Tarantula Times. The answer was printed, along with our address and club dues. We now have almost 50 members in the Detroit area!
We made the front page headline in Western Washington University's newspaper, "The Western Front."
I finally got to see us listed in the October Supplement of the "Encyclopedia of Associations," which includes our purposes: "to provide the opportunity for professionals and laymen to share their knowledge of the tarantula spider; to encourage the study of the tarantula as it gains popularity as a pet; to eliminate misunderstanding concerning the tarantula." It really looks good in there between the American Society of Artists and the American Tolkien Society!
Currently, Weldon D. Woodson, a professional writer who has sold more than 4600 articles to 304 different publications, is working on an article about us for one of his markets.
The most frightening publicity we've had was brought about by our new member, Stefan Bucek, who happens to be on the crew at British Columbia Television (BCTV). This wicked individual manipulated your poor, humble editor into facing 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 scrutinizing people for 300 nerve-racking seconds on the live "Noon News."
Among our fascination new members are Stella Tatro of the California Academy of Sciences who is seeing to it that the Academy's Entomology Library contains every issue of the Tarantula Times; John B. Winters, a Beverly Hills veterinarian who has actually treated tarantulas and has even anesthetized some successfully; and Gladys Conklin, author of the children's book, "Tarantula: The Giant Spider" (you can find this book listed in this issue's ADS). There are so many other fantastic members, but it would take many entire newsletters to introduce them. I sure hope you enjoy the club as much as we enjoy having you with us!
One of our projects which will come to pass in the very near future is a new product: ATS bumper stickers. They will boast the slogan, "Tarantulas are Beautiful!" and will include the Society's name, address and logo. They'll be listed in the ADS when they're available.
We now have 247 members in 27 states and 2 provinces. Income for January and February was $454.90. Outlay was $272.66 . . . getting rich.
May/June 1979:
The enclosed ATS Membership Directory is the most awesome example of our club progress. For those of you who happen to have our first directory from one year ago, compare the two sometime for the full impact. I must confess that I'm delighted to announce that, from now on, the directory will be updated annually rather than semiannually -- delighted because the reason for this is that the membership is so large as to make the directory a real project. And since the shortest amount of time one can be an ATS member is one year, an annual directory is sufficient. Now, let's see, how thick is the Bellingham telephone book?
Below is the Action Line article that appeared in the "Detroit Free Press," the article responsible for bringing in well over 50 members from the Detroit area. And who is the person responsible? Who is "C.R., Ann Arbor"? None other than ATS member Carl L. Rice. Well, Carl, we recently discovered that this Action Line article is now circulating in newspapers around the U.S. -- last hit: San Jose, California. It's surprising what one person can do with one letter! Hopefully this will inspire others to follow up on their ideas.
On March 6, 1979 we hit the front page of "The Seattle Times." Below "Boycott of Iran oil threatened" and next to "Vietnam agrees to talks if China forces withdraw" was "What's big, hairy and lovable?" This article was fresh material rather than from wire services, and even gave mention to Rick West's humorous/tragic honeymoon in the Southwest U.S. Unfortunately, when this article was picked up by Associated Press, Rick's honeymoon became mine. Oh well.
We received word from The Playboy Building that the club, including dues and address, will be mentioned in the "Potpourri" section of "Playboy" this August. Thank you, Bill Helmer! Considering the information given and the magazine's circulation, the response should be overwhelming.
On May 20th will be the first Northwest ATS Potluck in the history of the world! We're beginning to get together! Please check the Directory for members in your area. The Tarantula Times has plenty of room to announce your upcoming events, as well as pictorials and articles of past events. I'm excited about this Potluck! Those planning to come might wish to check the Directory for possible rides, or to offer rides. Individual invitations have been sent to the 51 local members.
We now have 376 members in 34 states and 3 provinces. Income for March and April was $621.08; outlay was $271.03 -- a difference of $350.05. Finally we have funds to expand with. ATS bumper stickers will be available by next issue, a drawing contest for our younger members is coming up, we've acquired a bulk mail permit which will help us financially, and we're printing up special envelopes for the newsletters. It's working!
July/August 1979:
Thanks to member Bill Helmer, we finally are mentioned in "Playboy" magazine! You can find us on page 221 of the August issue. The information includes the club dues and address, and considering the magazine's vast circulation we've got our backs to the wall as we await the response. Welcome, new members!
Greg Martin of College Station, Texas, had a good idea. He had the following letter put in his school paper, "The Battalion":
PET A SPIDER TODAY
Editor:
Have you ever wondered why anyone would have a tarantula for a pet, let alone handle it and then call it beautiful? By joining the American Tarantula Society you'll soon realize why a tarantula can be such a unique and interesting pet and not the dangerous, if not deadly, spider most believe it to be.
If anyone would like to know more about the ATS (or even tarantulas) and how to join it, give me a call at 693-4771.
- Greg Martin, '81.
Thank you, Greg. It worked!
The mystery member who had an excellent ATS ad put into the program for Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" -- a musical held last March in Albuquerque -- was none other than Dr. Frederic Ball of Los Lunas, New Mexico, who starred in the lead role! Thank you, Dr. Ball!
Hopefully the success of our first Northwest ATS Potluck will inspire other members to get together. For those of you just joining, our last ATS Directory accompanied issue #8, which may be purchased for 40¢ postpaid. With this directory you can contact members in your area. The Northwest Potluck was so enjoyable that we hope to make it a regular event.
We now have 415 members in 35 states, 4 Canadian provinces, and Holland. Welcome to our first European members -- Henk, Bea, and Roland Tingen!
Income for May and June was $305.20; outlay was $617.97. Say, does anybody have $312.77 to spare? Oh well, don't worry about it; we're still well out of the hole, with the new bumper stickers, new envelopes, and a nice fat #8 issue and directory to boot. It's working!
September/October 1979:
Your editor has managed to survive his third television appearance (at least the ulcers haven't acted up yet). It was all Dave Sebastian's fault. He's a newsman for KING-TV in Seattle and happened to grow up in the Southwest where he became somewhat interested in tarantulas. When he read about the club in "Playboy," he immediately got in touch with us; and, on both August 8th and 9th, a nicely edited editor with his two large tarantulas appeared on the KING-TV News. An enjoyable one-and-a-half hour visit was squeezed into an enjoyable two-minute presentation that gave both tarantulas and the club a good name. It came across very well: Dave introduced the event while calmly holding Alice (a large Mexican Brown) on his arm. What the viewers didn't see was that Dave was actually terrified of holding this giant spider, and was quite courageous to agree to it. Unfortunately, the viewers also missed out on the fun you editor had when he produced a rubber toy tarantula that somehow jumped on poor Dave, causing him to collapse temporarily onto the picnic table.
At least two members have written to the television show, "Real People," to see if they would be interested in introducing the Society and its pets to their audience. This is a fun show, and should give us light-hearted, but accurate, publicity. Perhaps more members would be willing to write to "Real People." I'm sorry I neglected to remember their address, but they give it out every Wednesday evening on NBC.
We now have 495 members in 39 states, 4 Canadian provinces, and Holland. Income for July and August was $398.57; outlay was $311.18. It's working!
November/December 1979:
We now have a volunteer staff! In public relations, we have Virginia Sessor for the S.E. U.S., John Browning for the N.E. U.S., Ricky Edelstein for Canada. We have three cartoonists -- Paul Lund, Craig Keyzer and Dennis Ryan, who will alternate their humor and artwork, and John Browning will supply cartoon ideas as needed. Welcome, volunteers!
We're out of brochures, and a new brochure is on the drawing board. It will be impressive -- duotone, much more information, and gracing the front will be the editor's Mexican Brown, Alice, affectionately held by former Miss Washington Universe, Ivy Reed, now a professional model and new ATS member. This brochure will be available within a month.
Three authors have written to us within the past month, requesting information for new books they are currently writing, and all three plan to give reference to the Society. Books to be watching for are "My Friend Hairy" by Jim Dannaldson; a book on spiders for ages 12 and up by Dorothy H. Patent, to be published next fall by Holiday House; and one by Alexander L Crosby for young people on tarantulas, to be published by Walker & Co.
We now have the government working for us, of all things. Several weeks ago, we received information from the Library of Congress regarding their National Referral Center. We now have been swallowed into a government computer in Washington D.C., and if anyone writes to the Library of Congress regarding information on tarantulas, they'll be slipchurnwhizzledingabeepbeeped a referral to the American Tarantula Society.
We now have 537 members in 42 states, 4 Canadian provinces, Holland, England, and Germany. Income for September and October was $239.25. Outlay was $308.36. Please see the article in this issue on our new dues.
January/February 1980:
This is the last issue of Volume I. In looking over the index you'll find that we've covered a lot of ground during the past two years. Thanks to Ted & Lorraine Brunette, Dale Lund, Susan Yanover, Bill Jackson, Rick Blauman, J. Russel Gabel, Arthur Bordes, the Blaine 2nd Grade, Gary Buhr, Ann Moreton, Lilith Lund, Tim Crist, Jason Brown, Matt Walker, Alvin & Miriam Morris, David Lubin, Elizabeth, Villines, Steve Bonczek, Leif Lund, William & Eloise Baerg, Rick West, Bill Helmer, Gladys Conklin, Lew Holzman, Mark Lund, Terry Baecker, Greg Martin, Stella Tatro, Jay Lannum, Joyce Donahue, Joanna Wright, Suzanne Drummond, Paul Lund, Ellerie Wolfer, Patricia Valestin, Dann Juse, Robert Stoll, Virginia Sessor, E. Jack Walton, Pat Weaver, John Williams, Shawn Patterson, Pat Patterson, Alice Gray, R.L. Abbott, Scott Brannock, Richard Seng, Sherry Speyer, Shirley Horsell, Carl Rice, Donald Gates, Mike & Nancy Gelders, Don Anderson, Tim Madison, Ricky Edelstein, Aaron Lindgren, Paul Bara, J. Brent Wilson, Charles Seiderman, Hendrik, Boukje and Roland Tingen, Bart Bruno, Peter Lisk, Virginia Wadsworth, Irene Breitung, Jerry Toler, Shawn Baecker, Kevin Spinner, Mark Wadsworth, Kathleen Browning, Tonya Ladd, Karen Spinner, Ryan Ekstrom, Alliance of Alien Prisoners, Frankie Burroughs, Robert Young, Michael Schiller, Mrs. Carter Fisher, John Browning, Charles Root, Brian Ganzen, Nathan Bahris, Ivy Reed, Nyles Bauer, Dennis Ryan, Vicki Johnson, Thomas East, Claire Browning, R.W. Colvin, Paul Sittenfeld, John Medanich Sr., Kris White, Vicki Hiser, Broeck Steadman, Marlys Ekstrom, Fred Cooper, Gail Everett, and Norman Warden, as well as those beautiful people behind the scenes, we've built a publication that we can be proud of -- and yet it's only the foundation for Volume II. It is working!
We now have 547 members in 42 states and the District of Columbia, 4 Canadian provinces, England, Holland and West Germany.
Samples of our new brochure will be mailed out with Volume II, Number 1.
March/April 1980:
We are proud to present our new ATS brochure! Many thanks to all the people who helped bring it into being. We hope you like it.
Dr. Frederic Ball of Los Lunas, New Mexico, did it again! Last February 1st, 2nd and 3rd, the Music Department of the First United Methodist Church in Albuquerque presented Gilbert and Sullivan's opera, "The Gondoliers." Not only did Dr. Ball play the part of Don Alhambra Del Bolero, the Grand Inquisitor; he also placed a beautiful ATS ad in a prominent part of the opera's program. This ad has brought results. Thank you, Dr. Ball!
We have a number of talented speakers in the club, and among them is Bart Bruno of Stratford, Connecticut. On January 17th, Bart delivered a 45-minute talk on tarantulas to an enthusiastic animal science class at the Guilford High School. He has been invited to return in May.
New ATS member Keith Estes was featured in the February 1st issue of Everett Community College's newspaper, "The Clipper." The article is entitled, "In Love with Tarantulas." Keith is the grandson of a lady who works with my sister and who told my mother when my mother came to visit my sister that her (Keith's grandmother's) son (or is it son-in-law?) works with my brother who works with the mother of the girl who is pictured on our new brochure. Believe it or not, Keith and I have never met.
We now have 500 members in 39 states and the District of Columbia, 4 Canadian provinces, England, Holland and West Germany. Our membership has dropped, due to a lull in publicity and late renewals. It will improve.
Income for January and February was $348.35. Outlay was $313.61. It's still working!
May/June 1980:
See ATS Membership Directory!
Income for March and April was $530.25; outlay was $796.48 (brochures included.)
July/August 1980:
Last March we began running a Volunteer Help Wanted ad for the position of ATS editor. No one has responded to this ad.
The job description is as follows: Manages the handling of club correspondence, the making of club badges, the preparation and mailing of membership kits, the budgeting of finances, the maintenance of club files, public relations, the mailing of renewal notices; edits the bimonthly "Tarantula Times," types the text, does the layout and paste-up for the printer, manages the collating, stapling, folding, envelope stuffing, circulation, and bulk mailing. In short, assumes responsibility for the American Tarantula Society. Requires about fifteen hours per week. Must have a love for tarantulas and a love for people. Must have good English and grammar skills, an appreciation for neatness and quality, good typing ability; must be accurate and devoted; and must be willing to put forth the time and effort to maintain a successful organization.
Dale Lund hereby gives notice that he will continue as editor until the mailing of the January/February 1981 issue of "Tarantula Times." If by this time a new editor is not found, the American Tarantula Society will then be dissolved and the remainder of members' dues will be refunded.
Dale will have spent three years in helping the ATS to come into being, and now we shall see if the club is hardy enough to survive him.
ATS editor is a time-consuming job, but a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding job to anyone who has the time. We will help the new editor in every way possible to assume his/her new position. Interested members please contact Dale.
Contributors, now is the time to put forth the greatest effort at making the newsletter what you want it to be, and promoting the American Tarantula Society. Let's do the best we can to make it continue being the success that it is!
September/October 1980:
Well, we made it! The club works! Even when the work load becomes too big, ATS members have proven themselves bigger. Before the first of the year, the ATS office will be at New Milford, New Jersey. John Browning will be director. I will remain as editor until a replacement can be found.
Two new P.R. people have joined our Volunteer Staff: Edward Lenhart of Harrington Park, New Jersey, and Capt. Anders L. Dahlman of Lund, Sweden. Welcome and thank you, Edward and Anders!
The idea has been suggested by several members now that we eventually divide into club chapters. The local chapters could handle the recruitment of members, distribution of membership kits, local publicity and public relations, etc. The national office, or main office, could publish and distribute the newsletter "Tarantula Times, the annual directory, and brochures, as well as other general material which would be cheaper in greater bulk, and handle national or international publicity and public relations. This division of labor would not only take the load off of the very few national staff, but would prepare the way for more individual creativity and more local interaction and events. Please let us hear your views on this idea.
We've had some good publicity lately, including a free advertisement in the "Marketplace" section of the "Wilson Library Bulletin." The list of libraries that do not subscribe to this publication would be quite short. We were recently mentioned in an Indianapolis newspaper, bringing us many new members; and we are now showing up in European publications.
Thank you!
November/December 1980:
Things are a bit hectic at the moment as we began moving our office to New Jersey, but if all continues to go as well, the next issue of "Tarantula Times" will be mailed out from our new location. And beginning January 1st, John Browning will be our new ATS Director.
While Captain Anders Dahlman is doing an excellent job of ATS public relations in Scandinavia, a new P.R. man has popped up in England -- Anthony J. Mobbs! Both are writers with a lot of ambition and experience, and Europe has promise of being a new frontier for us.
I was at the dentist the other day, trying to conquer my phobia as best I could with gas and stereo music, and my ATS badge happened to catch the eye of the restoration assistant. She fired a shotgun full of questions at me, and asked me if I would bring my tarantula the next time I come. This is what club progress is all about. There are people in every walk of life out there who want the opportunity to meet the animal behind the myths, and all we have to perform is the introduction. The tarantula speaks for itself.
Thank you for your help and encouragement.
January/February 1981:
It's not a bad deal at all to retire after only three years and be able to look back on your job with nothing but gratification. So ends the career of Dale Lund.
Dale founded the American Tarantula Society at the beginning of 1978. Shortly thereafter, the media appeared from every direction and whirled the club skyward, raining international interest down on the young ATS office, and with it, a vast amount of work.
"It was hard when the publicity hit," said Lund, "and I was a perfectionist. I didn't want any help. Eventually I had to relax, and the help came. I never regretted it. All my life I had been a non-conformist and a hermit. Besides trying to conquer my fear of bugs, I got my first pet tarantula because such a thing was so unpopular. It was the perfect symbol of non-conformity. Now, in looking back, I related quite a bit to the tarantula's behavior. Like the spider, I never intended to live with anyone either. As soon as I could afford it, I bought some acreage out in the woods and built an 8-by-12-foot cabin on it. Since so many hours of each day had to be spent at work, I looked for a powerful dog to guard my property. I found one, but his owner came along with him -- a girl different than anyone I had ever met. I've been happily married to her ever since.
"But it wasn't until the American Tarantula Society happened that I began really to open up to people. Ironically, the tarantula, which had been the symbol of my dissent, turned out to be the very animal that brought about my appreciation for people."
And so many people came to help carry the work load. So many contributed to the newsletter that it never suffered for lack of material. So many spent long hours in research, asking for nothing in return. Letters of encouragement and appreciation constantly came in. When the work load became so unbearable that Dale no longer had time to spend with his family, along came Dave Crane to make the badges and Karen and Larry Stecker to collate, staple, stuff, seal, and sort.
But after three years, Dale began to tire and realized that to make the club continue to grow, he would have to let it loose. Enter John Browning.
Sixteen-year-old John G. Browning, president of Tarantula Enterprises (which rents out tarantulas for publicity purposes), agreed to become the club's new Director beginning January 1, 1981. John is a tireless worker with an unlimited store of ideas. He's a good speaker and is familiar with the media. One reporter described him as coming across like a middle-aged salesman. This is a good description, for in a telephone conversation he sold Lund on the idea of continuing as ATS Editor (since John can't type).
So, beginning with this issue, Dale Lund is putting it together and John Browning is seeing that it gets to you. But because Dale still wanted to retire, John was to continue looking for a replacement editor. Enter Kay Weisberg and Andrew Meade.
While resigning himself to the fact that he would be the Editor for life, Dale went to work one day and just as he walked into the office received a phone call from the Smithsonian Institute. Kay Weisberg of the Institute's Insect Zoo volunteered to be the new Editor, along with her fiancé, Andrew Meade. Although they will be doing this on their own time and separate from the Institute, the information gathered at the Smithsonian will be readily accessible. Currently Kay is helping to rear a family of tarantulas from the eggs, keeping a journal of their growth and activities. Many of our members already know Kay Weisberg; and with the help of Andrew Meade, a journalist, the ATS Editorship will be in good hands.
So, this is Dale Lund's last issue of the Tarantula Times. The March/April issue will be brought to you by the fresh new team of Browning, Weisberg and Meade.
Beginning immediately, here are the new addresses: For contributing material for the newsletter, or for anything regarding its contents, it's:
Kay Weisberg and Andrew Meade
Editors - Tarantula Times
1631 Kenwood Avenue
Alexandria, Virginia 22302
(202) 357-1989 - work
(703) 931-8133 - home
For joining the ATS, for renewing your membership, for ordering back issues and club products, etc., it's:
John G. Browning
American Tarantula Society
564 Boulevard
New Milford, New Jersey 07646
(201) 262-4531
So the Lund Family is happy. It's been a great first three years of the American Tarantula Society, enough to make any tarantula fancier happy. But the happiest part of it all is that it's going to continue to get better and better. And as the club grows and improves and continues to learn and teach more and more about the beautiful tarantula spider, what about Dale Lund? He'll be freelance writing, of course, like he was born to do. In the words of one of his favorite people, "You watch, you wait, you'll see."
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Afterward
After all the ATS materials were sent to John Browning in several boxes, nothing was done. Nothing happened. Dale eventually managed to get the Brownings to send the boxes back, along with months of unopened mail, with many checks enclosed. Dale answered all the correspondence, returned the checks, refunded the money of anyone asking for refunds, and after sincere attempts by two others failed to succeed for long, the original American Tarantula Society was defunct.
A decade later, in 1991, a new American Tarantula Society was begun by enthusiasts who seemingly never heard of the original ATS. This new version focused on the multitude of tarantula species and was quite different. It, too, is apparently defunct.
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For the complete contents of the Butter Rum Cartoon, click here.
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