Broken wand: Dennis Schick

It is with great sadness that I share with you the news that long time friend of, and contributor to the blog, Dennis Schick, passed away early last December. 

Dennis, as many of you already know, managed the Broken Wand section for the IBM's Linking Ring magazine.  He and I were in touch frequently keeping each other up to date.  You may also know that Dennis was the driving force behind the Linking Ring's recurring feature "Benevlonce of Magic" which featured giving initiatives and included Canadian projects such as: Magicana's Sharing Wonder, Jeff Christensen's Celebrate the Child Foundation, John Kaplan's Fundraising Magic, Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp, and the Mosquitoes Suck tour.

He always had a kind word and a good wish.

Dennis was the first person to interview me about Canada's Magic.  The interview was published just over a year ago in the Linking Ring.  I continue to be honoured and grateful to have had this opportunity.

Thank you Dennis, for your friendship, kindness, support, and encouragement.

Our sincere condolences to Dennis' wife Jan, and their family and friends.

From Arkansas Online:

We are sad to share with you that C. Dennis Schick passed away at home Monday December 7. Dennis was a husband, father, grandfather, and friend to all.

He is preceded in death by his father and mother Dean and Ardyce Schick. He is survived by his wife Jan of 61 years; by his three children Leslie Gorrell (Doug), Greg Schick (Christa), and Tim Schick; his four grandchildren Alex, Lisa, Katie, and Emily Schick; his brother Darry Schick (Alice) and sister Kay Weaver (Ron); and many extended family members.

Dennis and Jan moved to Arkansas in 1979 where he served as the Executive Director of the Arkansas Press Association, a state trade association of newspapers. In that capacity, he supervised the operations of three companies: the APA, Arkansas Press Services, and the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation

Read more.

Canada's Magic in The Linking Ring

I'm honoured to be interviewed by Dennis Schick in The Linking Ring magazine this month!  (Such a terrific way to start the year.)





Thank you for all of your hard work Dennis! 



Welcome IBM members.  Have a look around and enjoy your stay!

In Memory of Henry Muller

Recently we were notified by Dennis Schick, the editor of the Broken Wand in the International Brotherhood of Magician's magazine, The Linking Ring, of the passing of Henry Muller. Dennis is graciously allowing me to pass this on to you.

~~~

Henry Muller

MULLER, Henry -  Born July 12, 1930 in Hlohovec, Czechoslovakia, died at 1:45 pm on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Bella (Zucker) Muller, by his four children, Jerry (Sharon), Alice (Ben Zion), David (Joyce) and Michael (Adrienne), by his grandchildren, Elisha (Laura), Sara (Alan), Joseph (Keren), Tali (Jesse), Liat, Matan, Jacob (Aviva), Rachel, Rebecca, Isaac and Abraham, and by his great-grandchildren Nadia, Julia, Maya, Hannah, Daniel, Benjamin and Lily. Mr. Muller was the founder of Muller's Meats, Houdini Magical Hall of Fame, Cavalier Motel and the Niagara Industrial Mall, a respected businessman and entrepreneur and a lover of Niagara Falls, Canada. Funeral Thursday, March 2 at 1:00 pm at the Adas Israel Synagogue in Hamilton, Ontario followed by interment at Lundy's Lane Cemetery in Niagara Falls, Ontario

Henry Muller, cofounder of the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame, a public museum and tourist attraction operated in Niagara Falls, Canada, from 1968 to 1995, died on Feb. 28 in Hamilton, Ontario. He was 86 years old.

Muller, with Dr. Harold A. Stein, opened the Hall of Fame in May 1968 at 5019 Centre Street. The attraction housed many significant items from Houdini’s personal collection, including some of his childhood props, posters, a multitude of handcuffs and leg irons, a wooden packing crate he used for underwater escapes, and the famed Water Torture Cell.

Four years after opening, the Hall of Fame moved a half block southeast to 4983 Clifton Hill, into the old Victoria Park Railway Station, where it remained until it burned down 23 years later, on April 30, 1995. While some of the collection, including the Water Torture Cell, was destroyed in the fire, a lot of the paraphernalia survived and exists in many private collections.

Heartfelt condolences to Henry’s wife, Bella, and the rest of the family.

[Guest post] The "Magicians Support Fund" by IBM

The following is from Dennis Schick, the editor of the Broken Wand in the International Brotherhood of Magician's magazine, The Linking Ring:

 Hello fellow magicians:

    There likely will be magicians in the very-active world of magic in Houston, Texas and throughout the Gulf Coast, who will need all the help they can get in coming weeks and months. Since the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and the resulting floods was still taking place as the September issue of The Linking Ring was going to press, I had the idea of asking I.B.M. members — and other magicians — to give to the Magicians Support Fund, anticipating those needs. I was able to get a request for funds in that issue.

    The Magicians Support Fund was started almost exactly twelve years ago, in response to another natural disaster — Hurricane Katrina, in 2005. The late Phil Wilmarth, then editor of The Linking Ring; Past I.B.M. International President Michael Stratman (2002-03); and then-IBM President Roger Miller, got the idea of an independent fund to help fellow magicians in need.

    Indeed, the fund did help a number of magicians who suffered in various ways from Katrina, and has continued to help other magicians since then. The fund is not an official activity of the I.B.M., and magicians do not need to be an I.B.M. member to benefit from it. “This is a magicians-helping-magicians fund,” said Stratman, who continues as chairman of the committee.

    At this time the Fund is not tax-deductible (although it may become so if someone volunteers to take it over and do the paperwork). Requests for help can come directly from a magician, or can come from someone who knows of a need. The committee will consider every request.

    “Right now we need donations to build up the fund,” says Stratman. “We can’t give it away if we don’t have it. Magicians are a generous lot, and now is the time to show it.” Please send check donations — and requests for help — to:

Mike Stratman
Magicians Support Fund
126 Coyatee Circle, Louden, TN 37774.

    Contact Stratman at mikestrat4 @ aol . com for more information.