Loyal readers of this space know that I am often looking for new items to share with you. A tradition that columnists in papers around the world have struggled with since news was first pressed onto paper or other medium

A few weeks ago, a friend sent me an e-mail with information about an upcoming event he thought I would find interesting. Boy, was he right!

Within a few minutes after clicking on that link, I had made plans to attend the event, but had ordered my own DVD copy of the documentary shown above. Thomas Wolfe may have said “You can’t go home again”, but after watching this trailer, it was as if I had jumped in my own personal time machine and gone back to the 1970’s.

Want to know why? Because, literally, I had. At four seconds into the video, there I am, standing in the background on the left, wearing a green velour shirt. Watching as the television camera man in interviewing a Klingon about his experiences at Space-Con 2 in Oakland in August of 1976.

Unashamedly, I have been a fan of Star Trek since it first aired. I did not see a great number of episodes in first run, but made up for that in syndication. I was one of those viewers here in the Bay Area who helped the show beat local news programming in it’s afternoon timeslot on the UHF station on which it was being shown, KBHK Channel 44 (at one time a proud member of the United Paramount Network). I even tried my own hand at getting a Star Trek club going at my high school. There were more than a few fans interested, but other high school things would take precedence and the effort was short lived.

My DVD copy of Back to Space-con arrived the day after I ordered it online. After a day at work, I was looking forward to a few smiles watching it. What I got, was... well, it was as if someone had tagged along for a great part of my life. Not only did I appear in the footage seen in the trailer, I was in the finished product 7 or 8 times, along with good friends, including my wife.

In 1975, an item in the San Francisco Examiner caught my attention. A group of Star Trek fans was holding an all day event in a few weeks on a Saturday at a high school in San Francisco. They were calling it “The Red Hour Festival” after a rather rowdy event seen in an episode of Star Trek. If memory serves, a stamp of approval came from an aunt who knew one of the people involved. So on that Saturday, February 22nd, my brother Larry, his friend John and myself found ourselves in line outside Lincoln High School along with a lot of other people for a day of Star Trek.

And in the 16 millimeter sound movies shot that day? There I am, seen in line, wearing a green jacket and a red baseball cap with a with circle patch.

“The Red Hour Festival” was great fun. Dealers with all kinds of Star Trek and science fiction items to buy, a great carnival with Federation credits that one could trade for Star Trek prizes (a favorite game was the feeding of Vaal - another reference to a Star Trek episode), screenings of several episodes of the show on 16mm on the big screen in the school’s theater, and finally, appearances by some of the cast of the show. James Doohan, who played Scotty; George Takei, who played Sulu; Walter Koenig, who played Chekov; and Arlene Martel, who had appeared as Spock’s bride to be in the fan favorite episode, “Amok Time” - written by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon. But not only did these folks appear on stage and answer questions from the audience, they signed autographs for no extra charge. Somewhere, safely tucked away, I have several Federation credits from that day with each of their autographs. If memory serves, almost 4,000 fans were there.

Actor James Doohan, as he appeared at The Red Hour Festival in San Francisco in 1975.

Another interest of mine in those days was the 20th Century Fox, Planet of the Apes series of films. In more film coverage from The Red Hour Festival, the three of us attending together are seen having lunch. And on my left? A very well done costume and ape makeup worn by a fan, recreating the character of Cornelius (as originally portrayed on screen by Roddy McDowall).

You can see why this documentary caught my attention.

The next year, in August of 1976, Space-Con 2 was held in Oakland at the Kaiser Auditorium. This was a similar event to that of the previous year, but on a much larger scale. And this time, there would be a larger number of actors from Star Trek attending. Most notably, Deforest Kelley; who played Dr. McCoy; Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock; and William Shatner who played Captain Kirk. With more episodes show on the big screen, other sci-fi movie classics, an even larger dealers room and more, this was a big thing for Star Trek fans. Here were thousands of us, in a place that could hold us all, having a great time, sharing our interest in the show and what it promised for our futures. What was not to be excited about?

Leonard Nimoy, being interviewed by Bob Wilkins at Space-Con 2 in Oakland in August 1976.

A view of the Kaiser Auditorium in Oakland, CA from Space Con 6 in 1978.

In 1977, the next Space-Con, 3, was to be held in San Francisco at the Civic Auditorium. Over the Presidents Day weekend. Having had so much fun before, I decided to expand my experience by volunteering to help with the event. As a gopher, I got my convention badge for free in return for working for 8 hours over the three days of the con. Traveling from home in Walnut Creek in the East Bay to San Francisco on the Friday before, I took a BART train to the City. Within minutes of boarding, I was chatting with a group of Star Trek fans wearing uniforms from the show. One of them is shown in the view above. On the left in the gold captains tunic is Michael Riley. He was somewhat the leader of this crew. But not only any crew. This was the onstage crew of the Transporter. A stage illusion that recreated the shows main form of access to all of those strange new worlds. Another member of this crew was a cute young blonde, wearing a gold woman’s uniform. Her name was Michele. Some 9 years and days later, I wound up marrying her and we celebrate our 25th anniversary later this month.

One of my Space-Con 3 duties was the checking of badges as folks came and went at the front doors of the Civic Auditorium. A rather amusing series of moments was provided by author Harlan Ellison (who wrote the original version of another fan favorite episode, “City On The Edge Of Forever). Over the course of the event, Harlan came and went with a series of different women, passing those doors.

Space-Con 3 was a great mixture of Star Trek, science fiction and science fact. Convention chairman Terry Terman deserves a great deal of thanks for exposing people to the reality of space. One guest was Dr. J. Allen Hynek, who had served as a consultant to Steven Spielberg for his film, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. His panel on UFO’s was something that many people enjoyed.

But as much as “Close Encounters” would be a force at the box office that summer, attendees got a glimpse of another giant to be as they were shown a brief clip from another coming film, “Star Wars”. However, no one paid much attention to a kid in the audience who tried to convince them that he was up there on the screen in that clip. Who was he after all? Just another comic book fan, somone named Mark Hamill.

Eventually, I joined the Transporter crew along with Michael, Michele and others. In the documentary. you can spot me in my red Transporter technicians overalls as I “beam” in on stage. In the same shot, Michele is seen on the right. Over the next few years we attended a number of events for Space-Con and the smaller events that followed. Eventually, Terry Terman held 50 events all across the country. He set the bar for others who followed such as Creation conventions.

My last adventure with the Transporter was helping Michael and others set it up in the lobby of the Century Theater in Santa Clara. Time and storage had not been kind to the wooden structure and it was obvious that it’s days were numbered. But it had been fun while it lasted with many great memories. What were we setting it up one last time for? Why, the premiere of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”, of course.

Over the years since those Space-cons, Michele, Michael and I have been to many other Star Trek events. Some in costume, some not. Michael even went a step further, employed for several years at the late Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas, where he gained fame as the Emergency Retail Hologram on the reproduction of the Deep Space Nine promenade.

Tomorrow night, there is a screening of “Back To Space-Con” in San Francisco at the Balboa Theater at 7 pm. Yes, the event that started this little adventure into my past. Michael and I hope to be there. And miracle of miracles, that old Transporter technicians costume? I can still manage to fit into it. And yes, I plan to wear it for the evening. Thomas Wolfe was in error. You can go home, even if only for a short while. And thanks to filmmaker Tom Wyrsch, I have been able to do just that through this documentary. If you haven’t seen it, my review of the film appears over at Jim Hill Media. If you can’t make the screening in person, be sure to pick up a copy for your own. Who knows? You might find yourself among the crowd shown...

“Live long and prosper.”