Page 2___—“May 1979 No. 252 weW YORK SHEE opus worms 
THE A.M.U.- 
by: William Old, Jr., Presidents. 1978=79 
; ‘ +s an organization devoted to the 
The American Malacological Union is cee from the scientific con- 
study of mollusks. Its membership is 
ieee as well as from interested collectors and que ae Some 50 
U.S. shell clubs are affiliated with the A.M.U. According to Mrs. 
Margaret Teske 4 the organization began as an idea of Mr. Nor- 
ean Tarnon., apres and fndividualistic Norwegian pee Sas who 
operated a small natural history museum in Thomaston, Maine. In 
1929 or 1930" he dispatched letters to every perso’ of his acquaint- 
ance who was interested in mollusks. A total of 169 people sent in 
dues of 25 cents (!) and were enrolled as charter members. 
In April 1931, the organizational meeting was held at the Academy 
of Relies selstace of Philadelphia. Thus it can be called the 4 
"birthplace" of the A.M.U. Twenty-nine people attended the original 
meeting. Since then meetings have been held annually (skipping 
1942-1945) by invitation from an institution or club. 
Not surprisingly, Florida leads the list having hosted six conven- 
tions. New York is in second place with five. Four meetings have 
been in Pennsylvania and California, and three times in Canada, Dis- 
trict of Columbia, and Massachusetts. A.M.U. has convened twice in 
Michigan, and 1978 marked the second meeting in North Carolina. 
This year, 1979, will be the third meeting to be held in Texas. 
In 1939 the A.M.U. convened in Havana, Cuba, and nine States -- 
Maine, Illinois, Kansas, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Louisiana, Wis- 
consin, Delaware, and Ohio -- have hosted one convention each. 
From 1948 to 1967 a Pacific Division of the A.M.U. held meetings in 
California. A new organization, the Western Society of Malacolo- 
gists, was formed in 1968. In 1975 a joint W.S.M. - A.M.U. conven- 
tion was held in San Diego. And from August 5 to 11th, 1979, a 
joint meeting will be held in Corpus Christi. See you in Texas! 
The following notes on the conventions are from Florence Kuczynski: 
The program for these gatherings includes symposia and contributed 
papers, exhibits, field trips, a banquet, and general good fellow- 
ship and professional interactions. An amateur, after her first 
AMU meeting, wrote: "This was my first AMU meeting, and I was half 
prepared for an awesome (and maybe a trifle dull) four days. To ay 
delight, I immediately became aware of one of the unique qualities 
in the AMU, which not only admits the amateur to its fold, but gen- 
uinely welcomes him." (Hawaiian Shell News 22 (8):9, August 1975.) 
Abstracts of contributed papers and symposia are published in the 
AMU Bulletin, which is sent without extra charge to all members, 
includes, also, a current listing of members and their special in- 
terests. In addition, members receive newsletters which detail 
activities of shell clubs as well as items of general interest. 
From: TIDE LINES, St. Petersburg Shell Club, Inc. 
32nd Annual Shell Show, Feb. 15-18, 1979 

DID YOU KNOW - ; that in Manhattan the E 
ge. e East 90th ireboat- 
house and pier is being converted into a ee ecccurie teege for 
