More About Jack Speer

Some new blog posts point out more things worth remembering about Jack Speer.

Gary Farber reminds us

If you’ve ever written a blog comment you owe this man.

Well said, Gary. In 1938, Jack invented the practice of making short responses —  mailing comments — in his zine to the other zines distributed through the Fantasy Amateur Press Association (FAPA). Other fans reciprocated his comments, and it’s gone on ever since. From his snowflake to today’s avalanche.

Speer worked in law and politics during his career:

In the mundane world, John Bristol Speer was a retired lawyer who resided in Albuquerque since 1962; previously, he was a Democrat state representative from the Bend, Washington area during 1959-1961.

Speer was also a former judge. It might be said that in his day he dispensed “law West of the Pecos.”

2 thoughts on “More About Jack Speer

  1. Not “Bend”: Bend is in Oregon. Presumably North Bend. According to the Washington state legislature web site, Jack represented a district in King County, where North Bend is. Someone with more fanzines of that period than I will have to confirm where Jack was living at the time.

  2. And now that the family obit has been published in the Albuquerque paper without any reference to Jack having been a judge, I’m in the dark about that too.

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