The Great Fire

In June of 1986 the forum library in Hendrix, the only room at the time, was partically destroyed by the Great Fire. The shelves, from A-M were all toasted. When the ashes were being sifted through, a few books were found to have only been slightly burnt. Yet one was left untouched, ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury.

The cause of the fire was suspected to be a cigarette left on a couch. This is why you don't smoke in the Forum.

The 10th anniversary was celebrated by a BBQ:

A good time was had by all a the "Great Fire" BBQ held in honor of the 10th anniversary of the fire which destroyed the SFF in 1986. I arrived late, having difficulty getting directions and I got stuck in a traffic jam on the Throgsneck Bridge. When I finally got there, the BBQ was in full swing with Forumites and friends cavorting in the pool (Forumites with an inground pool no less!). The searing of raw beef commenced soon after over a volcanic fire.

There was much food, drink, and music. Two Romance novels were committed to the flames (revenge of sorts for all the _good_ books which were destroyed in the fire). Alas, Bill, Victor, myself, and later Robbo were the on "pre-Fire" Forumites present to witness the occasion. Conversation continued long into the night, whilst Doom was played in the living room. All thanks to our hosts Jeff, Bill and Victor!

-Kevin "Doc" Conod, 1996-06-17

Notes

Respecting the origin of the Space Barouche, the Library had been «painted midnight blue and detailed to look like the map from "Time Bandits"». This was lost in the Great Fire.

Ralph's Rock (aka GPA Rock) was originally abandoned in the Second Forum after the fire.

This happened in the Summer, between the Presidential reigns of Kevin Sterner and Sandy Stein.

Many cataloging parties began following the Great Fire as enormous donations of books followed from the publicity generated in the wake of the fire.

The original Fugly Lamp melted in the Great Fire.

Prior to this, the Forum had the largest collection of Braille SF in New York State. Also some of Braille Porn.

Quotes

Quotes about

• "We lost everything, except, oddly enough, Fahrenheit 451. That's the only thing that survived." - 1 of 2
• "The usual way we celebrated in the years following the fire was to have a barbequeue and burn a worthless book (e.g., a romance novel, a horoscope book from 1978, something by Peirs Anthony) in commemoration." - Stefan Jones, 1996-05-05