Kalamazoo, Michigan: October 6–8, 1989
Speakers: Phil Ayers, Ed Galligan, Jan Kaufman, Victoria McClure, Elliott Milstein, Richard Scrimger

For 1989 the question was: where to hold the fifth convention? The story goes that Bill Blood scoured the membership list, saw a reasonable number of members in and around Kalamazoo, and persuaded them to organize the binge. The logistics involved in getting to Kalamazoo probably accounts for the dip in attendance, which went down to 49. But it was still a notable convention for three reasons.

(1) The Great Scrimgeour Contest (see Plum Lines, November 1989, page 5) was the first of many challenging convention quizzes to come.
(2) Bread rolls were tossed for the first time (see sidebar).
(3) A lapel pin was produced for Kalamazoo attendees, starting one of our most long-lived traditions as pins have been produced for all subsequent conventions except New York 1991.

Today veterans of multiple conventions can be seen sporting their pins with pride. (Note: In addition to this convention, there was also a pilgrimage to England in 1989, an adjunct to convention festivities.)

See the full report of this convention in Plum Lines, Volume 10, No. 4 (November 1989)