On April 29th, 2009, eighteen members of the Greek Interpreters met at Hershey's Steak and Seafood restaurant in East Lansing for our Spring meeting. The story on which the evening's quiz and discussion focussed was "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder". the meeting opened with the customary Canonical Toasts to Mrs. Hudson, Mycroft Holmes, the second Mrs. Watson and The Woman. Members then enjoyed an excellent dinner of prime rib or grilled chicken, accompanied by spirited conversation. A resolution of the quiz was carried out by Bill Reusch (the chemist).
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The discussion following the quiz touched on several aspects of the story. Foremost was the validity of fingerprints for identification at the time of the story. In 1892, Sir Francis Galton published a detailed statistical model of fingerprint analysis, and later that year an Argentine police officer, Juan Vucetich, successfully used them in convicting a murder suspect. Prior to that time, the Bertillon method of anthropometry was the chief method used for identification. The naivity of the young solicitor, John McFarlane, in drawing up the will came in for much speculation. It was also noted that an earlier case, mentioned in the opening to the story, the papers of ex-President Murillo, was related to another case in the canon, the Adventure of Wisteria Lodge.
The Greek Interpreters look forward to the return of Melas (Donald Yates) for our fall meeting.
The meeting concluded with the reading of Vincent Starrett's "221B" poem, followed by our singing of The Anthem.
