Photo 1






Fall Harvest 1996

(An Undercover Field Report)

By Stef Matthews
(code name)

I have recently returned from Fall Harvest 1996 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I was on a deep undercover assignment with orders to report any unusual events or happenings. Instead of using my field journal for this official report to my superiors, I've decided to wing-it from memory. You also should note in your review of this report that I am not a novice at this type of undercover reporting. This was actually my fifth occasion going undercover at a Transgendered gathering; but none has matched this one in the depth of involvement.

First a little background information for any that aren't in the know about what Fall Harvest is. This is highly confidential and not to be shared with anyone outside of the scope of this project. I can't imagine the repercussions should this field report fall into the wrong hands. The state of the entire Transgendered Nation could be at stake. So all information from here on is considered "FOR TG EYES ONLY" and for God's sake don't anyone post this on the Internet!

Fall Harvest has been held every year for the last six years and is sponsored by M.A.G.G.I.E. 1 Though concrete information is difficult to come by, it has been suggested that this is the fifth largest g-gathering in the country. Every year the location of Fall Harvest changes (obviously to deter those interested in spying) but this year they held the event at the Sheraton in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Which is how I was able to trace the gathering down - two years ago I had a similar g-assignment held in the same facility. Apparently no one on the staff has figured out the kind of people that attend this type of event as everyone there was treated as though none of us were undercover. Either the hotel staff is a) being handsomely paid to ignore some of the more obvious clues, or b) wasn't even aware of the true nature of the event, or c) they really enjoyed seeing these people have a good time. Further investigation will be required.

Due to sensitive nature of this project, I could not, under any circumstances, be suspected as being a spy. Therefore it was determined that our travel plans must also be incognito. As the Bureau did not approve my Form 301.E/2 in time to purchase air transport (and as our CIC had AF1 in use) I was forced to drive from my home base in Omaha to the site. Some 5 hours away from this home base. Needless to say, this was the first time such drastic measures were required for a field mission. But, the importance of the mission was paramount. Therefore, Matai Doris and I scheduled ourselves to leave home base on Wednesday, October 30, 1996 at twelve hundred hours. This allowed us time to arrive safely, convey our spying equipment and costumes to our designated room and then plan for the following three days worth of activities.

Because of the amount of time that I was required to spend as Stef there was some serious work to be done before the road trip. The removal of body and facial hair turned out to be the most time consuming of projects. The extraordinary amount of Nair required was outrageous2. That, along with four pair of tweezers, additional foundation and safety mascara, professional cleaning and styling of cranial follicle disguises, (not to mention fourteen pair of Legg's Sheer Energy (in Beige, Suntan and Off Black)) would lead one to believe that the costs were too excessive. It was well worth the expenditure, as you will see, in this report.

We left home base on schedule and proceeded to travel East on I-80 towards the middle of Iowa. Because of all of the energy I had expended conveying our “equipment” to the vehicle (and nerves I guess), I was required to rest for the first couple of hours of the trip. The shift change occurred at approximately fourteen-thirty hours at a rest area in Western Iowa. I was feeling more confident as my trip to the Ladies Room went unnoticed by the civilians in the area.

We pulled into the hotel's parking lot at exactly seventeen hundred hours and checked into our temporary base of operations, fourth floor Sheraton Inn. Shortly thereafter we were contacted via IBCS 3 by Agent Tami. She also had arrived early and knew that we were always early for our missions and contacted the front desk for our secret headquarters location. Agent Tami was in need of libations, as were I and Matai Doris, so we agreed to met in the Pub on the first level of the Sheraton. I know this may seem to some to be an unnecessary risk to our cover, but we had to ensure that our disguises were flawless. Agent Tami, before the third Black Russian, was nervous as this was her first undercover assignment. But, we pulled things off without a hitch. Until returning to our secret base.

Black Russians

After dropping Agent Tami off on the second floor of the hotel, Matai Doris and I traveled to the fourth floor. (It should be noted at this point that I strongly recommend that Agent Tami be limited in her consumption of Black Russians as I was informed she attempted to enter the wrong room after our evening at the Pub.) Feeling the effects of the alcohol myself, and just being a little goofy after being so wound up for such a critical mission, I spied around the corner after the elevator doors opened. Seeing no one in either direction, Matai Doris and proceeded to saunter to THQ 4. As Matai Doris always takes the “"over" position and couldn't see me walking behind her, I decided to remove part of my disguise and test her reflexes. I removed the wig that I was wearing and tossed it to Matai Doris. She was caught off guard but shielded me from the probable hair spray shrapnel by catching the hair-piece before it hit the ground. At that exact moment a white male, approximately 6' tall passed us on my right. Matai Doris, lost composure (as did I) and we let ourselves into THQ. I am quite sure that this person must have been a anti-intelligence agent (he didn't look that smart) for AFO2G 5 but I believe that he must have been sufficiently inebriated that he was unable to make me. We confirmed on the IBCS that Agent Tami had not been way-laid on returning to her room. She did not observe the intruder, nor did we, for the rest of the event. I am sure that the integrity of the mission was not destroyed by this oversight on my part.

Thanks to my previous undercover missions, I had been accepted into the group known as MAGGIE. There was a secret board meeting on Thursday at noon and I had been invited to spy (I mean attend). Due to the low-cut nature of the disguises I was wearing that weekend I was unable to conceal the recording devices that I usually wear in such situations. I didn't take very detailed notes (for fear of being observed by other participants) but suffice it to say that MAGGIE's only interest seems to be in developing communications between it's members and furthering TG-causes. They are still in the throws of determining their exact roll in the whole scheme, but I observed some very nice, genuine people working towards a common goal. We have nothing to worry about from this group.

In my usual "plan-ahead" style, I had already anticipated Thursday night's scene. As it was Halloween (which seems to be some sort of holy day for these TG-people) Matai Doris and I prepared costumes appropriate to the occasion. First, there was a reception meeting by the pool and I would estimate that at least 75 of their followers were in attendance. After they polished off some 27 large pizzas (of all varieties) they proceeded to raid the pub, that we had previously cased. In an attempt to blend in, Matai Doris, Agent Tami and I decided to join them. There isn't a lot to report besides the obvious stares from patrons who weren't accustomed to seeing TG-people. But no one seemed concerned. Probably because they had the civilians outnumbered. Agent Tami was the first to succumb to the spell of Halloween and went to her room and returned a short time later disguised as a pirate-wench. Matai Doris and I, shortly thereafter, returned to THQ and donned appropriate attire (agent rule #1: Don't stick out.) Matai Doris wore a very becoming “flapper” disguise while I, being more in-tuned with these people, adopted a costume that they seem to revere. I had packed an original Star Trek ensign dress and changed to my "Ensign Quickdeath" disguise. I assume that the disguises were again successful as we received much applause upon our return. Because of the shortness of this disguise, I was again unable to wear the usual listening devices as I thought the wire might hang down too far. Hence, no audible recordings are available for review by the Bureau.

Day-O

Karoake Friday's events at Fall Harvest consisted of many informative sessions ranging from the purely cosmetic through the psychoanalytical and even into dealing with issues regarding partners of these TG-people. Friday's dinner banquet was attended by many more that the previous evenings. I couldn't believe the number of TG-people that would travel to the Midwest for this type of affair. By this stage of my investigation I was becoming “caught-up” in the excitement. Once again, the Pub was commandeered after the official events were completed. Friday was apparently some special event for TG-people as there was a special “Kar-o-key” system installed for this event. This agent, not wishing to blow her cover, was called upon to sing with one Michelle. She had selected a song commonly called “Day-O” that referred to consuming or harvesting bananas. Not sure which, but knowing that my partner Matai Doris never travels without bananas, I retrieved two of the named fruits from the cooler that was stored in THQ. Please be assured that nothing discrete happened with such items - everything was done with a modicum of taste.

Saturday seemed to bring the best (and the most) out of our commissions. Fully, there were at least 160 of them in attendance for the Saturday night banquet - most dressed in the finest clothes I have ever been witness to (note: search credit-card records to identify potential members of this cult). There was much interest in an event called Miss Fall Harvest. Not only by those in the crowd but also by the hotel staff and visiting dignitaries from a near-by wedding reception. It appeared that several members vie for the title and perform talent, evening wear and question and answer competitions to determine whom will be Miss Fall Harvest. Though all participants were noticeably talented one individual, a Miss Christine Alan, was awarded the crown. I suppose it was because she wore a most becoming gown. Seems that rhinestones have some mysterious effect on competition judges. A first occurred during this pageant, a Miss Barbara Love (coincidentally also from Omaha) tied with Miss Alan and a tie-breaking question had to be asked (however, this agent didn't observe either contestant wearing ties). Refer to FR document #96-QUEEN for further details on Miss Love. The official activities again dispersed and a much larger crowd overran the pub. Once again, this agent and Matai Doris blended in with our standard perfunctory duty by attending closing night. There is another singular observation to note on this evenings events. There also appears to be a variation of the popular cult ritual called the Macarena that TG-people seem to be especially adept at. During the many playings of this dance song there were literally dozens of TG-people crowding the dance floor and swaying and jiggling such as this agent has never seen before. Unfortunately, because of the tightness of my disguise on that evening, I was unable to adequately conceal the optical recording device that I have been trained to use. So sorry.

Our Agent Undercover Matai Doris and I departed from the Sheraton on Sunday afternoon, totally exhausted from our endeavors in Iowa. I trust that this field report will display the emotions, feelings and excitement that all felt during this event. Personally, for me, I have never been so “caught-up” in the excitement of one of my assignments before. I'm not sure if my request to infiltrate Fall Harvest 1997 will be approved or not (it's held in my home town next year, i.e. lower travel expenses), but I sincerely hope that those in power will consider my request. For more info on Fall Harvest 1997 e-mail this correspondent at Stef Matthews and mention the code word FH97 in the subject.


Foot Notes:
  1. M.A.G.G.I.E. stands for Mid America Gender Group Information Exchange and currently is comprised of seven Gender Support groups throughout the Midwest. Information about the members of this umbrella organization is a bit sketchy for now, but it has been observed that many in the board meetings tend to be taller than shorter.
  2. See expense form TE1011, line 02 for Stef Matthews dated November 8, 1996.
  3. Inter-Base Communication System (the house phone).
  4. Temporary Head Quarters.
  5. Alliance For Only 2 Genders.

Back To FH97