WESTFIELD, July 11—In order to prove to his wife that the amount of time he spent in his laboratory was not entirely wasted and was, among other things, of considerable value in entertaining and instructing his three children, Henry J. Kostkos, of 253 Scotch Plains Avenue, formed the habit of telling them stories of future science based upon his experiments. One of these yarns, a novelette entitled "The Meteor-Men of Plaa," appears as the feature story in the current issue of Amazing Stories magazine.
Mr. Kostkos' stories rival the scientific prophecies of Jules Verne, Conan-Doyle, and H. G. Wells. When told to his daughters, their eyes opened wide with interest as he related how inhabitants of the Earth would some day travel in huge space ships to distant planets and there encounter strange creatures who used wonder devices beyond the range of imagination.
To illustrate his yarns he built models of rocket ships and miniature sets showing grotesque monsters, and performed electrical experiments in his laboratory that often startled his children into credulity.
Engineering, science and writing are not new to Mr. Kostkos, who is a professional engineer. He has heretofore specialized in technical articles and papers. He is employed at Western Electric Company, Kearny Works, where he is in charge of special reports and publications in the equipment engineering department.
[The above article was printed in the Elizabeth Daily Journal last month.]
THE SCIENCE FICTION ALPHABET
by Allen Glasser
A's for Amazing, the first of its kind;
It keeps going strong while the rest drop behind.
B is for Burroughs, the great Edgar Rice;
No mag gets his yarns if they don't meet his price.
C is for Cummings, whose stuff is okay,
Though some of his plots have grown rather gray.