FOR THE RECORD Cryonics in New York: Years with Alcor, 1986-1994 (Part Seven of an Ongoing Series) By R. Michael Perry, Ph.D.
Introduction Readers may remember that, in 2013, we ran a series of articles on the early history of cryonics in New York (six articles in all).1 Our coverage mainly focused on the crucially important decade that started in 1964 with the publication of Robert Ettinger’s book, The Prospect of Immortality, that largely started the cryonics movement. Affairs with the New York cryonics group entered a “twilight” phase following their last freezing, which occurred in April 1974. Many of the important, early players had either dropped out or gone elsewhere. One who stayed, though, was Curtis Henderson. An attorney by profession, Curtis had been the principal organizer of the Cryonics Society of New York and his presence in the area, extending to 1998,2 provided continuity and encouragement to others. So, in fact the New York group continued to exist, and (though Curtis himself was cryopreserved in 20093) still persists today. The earlier series on cryonics did cover events after 1974; however, there was much that was unreported which can be reconstructed from newsletters and the other usual sources. Here, in “part seven,” we summarize the activities of the New York group during an interesting time period, extending from 1986 to 1994, when mainly they had become an Alcor group. It starts (after some preliminaries) with the efforts of Mike Darwin, then president of Alcor, to organize a group in New York, and ends with the cryopreservation of “Mrs. Stone” in 1994, where volunteers of the now organized Alcor New York played an important role. Covered is a most interesting report by Brenda Peters on the successful (for its time) struggle to organize a group with the capability to handle a local case, an issue very pertinent today. Passing the Torch: Curtis Henderson over to Mike Darwin4 Mike Darwin tells us that he first met Curtis Henderson in 1971 when Curtis was on his way to Los Angeles, and from there, to the National Cryonics Conference, held that year in San Francisco. Mike was then about 16, living in Indianapolis. His impression of Curtis was “that he was a cross between Machiavelli and Mephistopheles,” an opinion he would change. Just before meeting him, Mike had called “and asked many probing questions about how [Curtis] was storing patients for
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the Cryonics Society of New York.” Curtis’s response was well, come and see for yourself, and Mike paid a visit that summer. The years passed. Mike and Steve Bridge in Indianapolis founded the (ambitiously named) Institute for Advanced Biological Studies in 1977 to further the practice of cryonics. Five years later IABS would merge with Alcor in southern California and Mike would go there and become its president.5 Backtracking a little, in a 1981 article Mike would describe Curtis Henderson as something rare and precious, far from my sinister first impressions. Above all Curt is an honest, reliable, and unfailing friend. … Perhaps the most valuable and important thing about Curt is his honesty and his advice. I have found both to be of the highest quality. … Curtis Henderson has taught me much of what I know about cryonics and has saved me an incredible amount of grief with good advice and stern admonitions. He has also taught me that sometimes you have to stand up like a man and say what you think regardless of what the timid tell you. He taught me that you must always stand by a friend, for if you can’t do that, then even immortality isn’t worth a damn. For that last lesson I am eternally grateful. NY Training Session and Seminar: 19866 With Mike in control of Alcor and Curtis still prominent in the remaining New York group, major contacts were relatively frequent. The first reported was a weekend affair at the beginning of March 1986. Mike’s summary of this event starts with another, preliminary trip to enlist a colleague. It continues with the main events, including, finally, “starvation relief” for the hard-working, hungry participants at the close. As an afterword, another important issue is raised: preserving cryonics history; specifically, the records of the former, now inactive, New York organization. On Tuesday, February 25th, I flew to Gaithersberg, Maryland to meet with ALCOR Coordinator Bob Abernathy and provide some on-site instruction on use of the ALCOR rescue kit which was deployed with Bob several months ago. On Thursday the 27th, Bob and I drove up to Sayville, Long Island to meet
Cryonics / 1st Quarter 2020
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