If you think comic conventions are a modern phenomenon, think again. Long before Comic-Con became a household name, thousands of Star Trek fans were making pilgrimages to St. Louis for one of the nation’s premier fan conventions.
The State Historical Society of Missouri has preserved the papers of Linda Lakin, the woman who helped turn Star Trek into a nationally recognized event during the 1980s. The collection offers a fascinating look at fan culture, celebrity guests like Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley, and how one Missouri woman helped build a community that still exists today. Joining Show Me Today is A.J. Medlock, Regional Director of the State Historical Society of Missouri’s St. Louis Research Center.