LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - JANUARY 19, 2014
You Need To Buy Three Clues
by Lynne Belluscio
Actually you need three clues -
- one is to remember to become a
member of the Historical Society.
If you aren’t a member, now’s the
time to take the leap and help us
keep the school programs going,
help us keep LeRoy House open,
and keep the Jell-OGallery open.
In many ways, LeRoy is unique
because it has so much history.
The r e ’ s t he Unde r g r ound
Railroad, the Barn Quilt Trail, the
Historic LeRoy House, the story
of Jell-O, the pioneer in women’s
education - Ingham University,
not to forget Keeney’s stringless
bean. Members of the Historical
Society receive a quarterly
newsletter with historic articles,
as well as free admission to the
museums. Members also receive
a museum shop discount and a
couple of free passes that they can
give to friends and family.
The next clue that you need is
the date of the next bus trip - -April
14 through the 17. Leaving on
Monday, with accommodations
in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Tuesday and Wednesday the
group will have the opportunity
to go to Mount Vernon, tour
Arlington Cemetery, have a
guided tour of the Capitol,
including a visit with Henry
Clay, and a guided tour of the
restoration work being done on
the Capitol dome.
A fun packed two days. Details
are being worked out in the next
few days. Since local schools will
be on Easter recess, I am trying to
include a reduced “student” rate
for those people who might want to
take children or grandchildren on
the trip. If you are interested, e-mail
me at
or call me at 768-7433.
The third clue, is the date of
the annual Dinner Auction –
Saturday, March 1st. In fact you’ll
need several clues, because Miss
Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs.
Peacock and Colonel Mustard
are arriving for dinner and one
of them has committed murder!!!
There will be a cash bar from 5
pm until 6 pm followed by dinner,
which features “Scrabble Soup,”
“Cribbage Salad” and “Game”
(actually porterhouse steak and
salmon).
The dinner auction theme is
based on the new exhibit that
will open in May - - “Let’s
Play.” Right now I’m writing
information about parlor games
for the next newsletter. This
includes the history behind
TiddleyWinks, Sorry, Monopoly,
Un c l e Wi g g l e y , Ch i n e s e
Checkers, and of course Clue.
A Englishman by the name of
Anthony Pratt, designed Clue in
1944 and applied for a patent.
The game was originally called
“Murder” and was invented as
a new game to play during the
War during lengthy stays in air
raid shelters in underground
bunkers. Pratt and his wife sold
“Murder” to Waddingtons in
Leeds, England and the name was
changed to “Cluedo.” (The name
was coined as a combination of
clue and “ludo” which is the latin
word for “I play.”) The patent for
Cluedo was granted in 1947, and
it went into production in 1949
at the same time Parker Brothers
in North America published it as
“Clue.”
Through the years there have
been some changes. The original
English game included the
weapons: axe, bomb, syringe,
poison, shillelagh and fireplace
poker. Today the weapons
include: the rope, the candlestick,
the lead pipe, the wrench, the
knife and the revolver. (Is it
politically correct today to play
Clue, I wonder? There’s a lot of
murder programs on TV, but do
we let our kids play Clue? Just a
random thought ...).
In North America there were
eight unique editions published:
1949; 1955/60;1960/63; 1972;
986; 1992; 1996 and 2002. This
last summer, David MacKenzie
brought in some things from
his mother’s house, including a
never-used Clue game. I’m not
too sure of the edition, but it
has all the pieces and cards. The
rope is plastic, so that gave me
a “clue.”
Somewhere at home, I might
be able to find our copy of Clue.
I think the rope is a real piece of
rope and I’m thinking it might be
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES
Jan. 1, 20 ___ - Dec. 31, 20 ___
❒
Family.................................30.00
❒
Individual or Sen. Cit.........20.00
❒
Sustaining...........................50.00
❒
Supporting........................100.00
❒
Life (Individual)...............350.00
❒
Enclosed is an additional
contribution of:
NAME
ADDRESS
Please make checks payable to the
“LeRoy Historical Society”
Mail to:
LeRoy Historical Society
23 East Main Street, PO Box 176
Le Roy, NY 14482-0176
the 1955- 1960 edition. I noticed
that in 1991, there was “Clue:
The Great Museum Caper.” I’ll
have to try and find that on e-bay.
Might be appropriate for the
collection. I know that Lego has
a set for a museum heist.
Well, there are your three clues:
Membership; Bus Trip; and the
Dinner Auction.
