Computer Club - How it Began

DREAMLAND COMPUTER CLUB
How It Began

Many of the newer members are not aware of how our computer club came into existence. We have checked with a few people (whose memories don't seem to be any better than ours), and have come up with the following "chain of events". If any of you old-timers can either add to this or make corrections
where we have made errors, please let a club officer know of your recollection.

We (Bob & Ramona) bought our first computer in September, 1993. As there was no "support group" around at that time and we knew no one else in this vicinity who had a computer, our learning process was by trial & error in the "School of Hard Knocks". The only help available were professionals who charged from $25 to $50 per hour and would often come up with such priceless information as "you need to re-boot your machine", or "don't worry - I can fix it in DOS". What the heck was "DOS" anyhow!!! Nothing would strike terror in my soul like the professional Tech saying "oh,oh" as the screen went black and everything disappeared.

We knew that George Tinetti was a good organizer who knew a lot of people, so each time we saw him we harassed him about starting a computer club. As I recall, he placed a sign up sheet in the club office to see if there were enough people interested to have an exploratory meeting. Mary Thiel's records show that our first meeting was in Farnsworth Hall at 8:00 am on October 24, 1995. There were not many attending, approx 10, but there appeared enough interest to schedule a second meeting and try to get more to attend. As we were unable to get a room at Read Hall at that time, Mary Thiel offered her Arizona Room for a meeting place and our second meeting was held there on Tuesday, November 14, 1995. About 25 attended this meeting. We discussed various things we would like to accomplish with a computer club, and how to go about getting organized. Dick Wing offered to Chair a Steering Committee and Hubert Gridley, Walter Eschtruth and Bob Summers also volunteered to be on the Committee.

The Steering Committee held a meeting on Friday, December 1, 1995 at Dick Wing's residence. Our first club meeting was held in Read Hall on Wednesday, December 6, 1995, at 10:30 am. Dick Wing chaired this meeting. Another Steering Committee meeting was held Tuesday, January 2, 1996 and the next club meeting was the next day, Wednesday, January 3, 1996. One of the Steering Committee meetings was held at the Hubert Gridley residence. Hubert was an enthusiastic supporter of a computer club with a strong interest in the use of computers in Genealogy. We lost Hubert during the first year due to his severe illnesses.

I believe that we had Election of Officers at the January meeting, choosing the following: President - Bob Summers; Vice President - Harold Miller (with Dottie Redmond as a summer substitute) ; Secretary - Eleanor Bjornstad; and Treasurer - Ralph Holland. During the year, Ralph resigned due to a work schedule conflict and Dick Wing took over as Treasurer for the remainder of the year.

We had approximately 50 members by then. Some organizational decisions had been made, such as amount of Dues - $12 single or $15 per couple per calendar year; our official name - Dreamland Computer Club (DCC); the meeting date - always the first Wednesday of each month; and a decision to request a "one-time" donation from each member as well as discussion on a garage sale, etc. for the purpose of raising money to buy a computer for the club.

We continued to stress the fact that the club was originated with the idea of helping newcomers and each other with learning about computers. Herb Manning joined our group and immediately became invaluable to us with his technical knowledge. Herb and Bob spent countless hours helping various members install hardware, software and just teaching them how to use what they already had. Actually at one home, they set up a computer system that had been purchased and left in the original boxes unopened for weeks - the owners afraid to open the boxes and try to put the computer together. Herb has helped all of us at one time or another and much of the clubs early success was due to his efforts.

In the fall of 1996, DCC was able to purchase their first computer. Herb Maning and Dick Wing were appointed as a committee to purchase a computer and they found a used 486 DX100. Herb spent many hours checking out all the hardware and installing Windows 95 which was purchased by the club. We also purchased a computer desk/hutch and a "TV-Video Decoder" so that we could connect the computer to the large screen TV in Read Hall making it easier for the group to see the screen. In addition, the Dreamland Wood Shop built a storage cabinet so we could leave the computer and our supplies in Read Hall. We began to have Saturday Computer Workshops in addition to the regular meetings so that everyone could bring their problems, even software, and go home with some answers. Herb was usually at the computer and shared his knowledge willingly with all.

Officers elected for 1997, our second year, were: President - Bob Summers; Vice President - Helen Rosenwald; Secretary - Eleanor Bjornstad; and Treasurer - Donna Hanson. Bruce Swanson became Program Chairman, Harold Miller - Membership, Anne Piccione - Raffle, and Ramona Summers - Publicity. Early in 1997 your club became active in EVAC (East Valley Association of Computer Club) which it continues today. They have a large membership and are a good source for program suggestions, recommendations on computer techs, etc.

Other accomplishments early in 1997 were the purchase of our own PA System so that everyone at the meetings could hear both the person in charge and the person at the computer. This was a big help at meetings and especially at the workshops.Later, Howard Hanson built a nice, compact box for the entire PA System so it was much easier to transport from Room 9 to Read Hall for meetings. The DCC web site went on-line in January, 1997. It has been growing ever since. In the fall of 1997 we also began wearing name tags (with large print) so that we could tell who was speaking to us. Our membership was growing so that it was difficult to remember all the names.

Bruce provided us with excellent programs during 1997 including our first visit from Microsoft in March. We also decided to work toward the purchase of a projector to use with our computer so that we could use a large screen making it easier for our larger number of members to view and also with a more distinct image than the big screen TV. In November we sponsored a Spaghetti Dinner at Farnsworth Hall and raised over $1000.00 toward our projector due to the hard work of many members, under the guidance of Helen Rosenwald & George Tinetti and with Bea Tomczuk & her crew in charge of the cooking..

Officers elected for 1998 were: President - Helen Rosenwald; Vice President - Bruce Swanson; Secretary - Catherine Anderson; and Treasurer - Donna Hanson. Bob Summers remained on the board as Past President. During this year the Dreamland Villa Community Club decided to give the Computer Club exclusive use of Room 9. This was a great step forward for our club as the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) established the previous year no longer had to meet at the home of the SIG facilitators. We had our computer, our projector and a room all our own! Yea!!!

Fund raisers during 1998 included a garage sale in March, chaired by George Shoemaker and a "Tube Steak" luncheon in July, chaired by George Tinetti. We had planned another Spaghetti Dinner in the fall but were unable to get a volunteer to chair this event.

The use of Room 9 became a reality during the summer when many of the members were gone. The remaining membership decided we needed a new computer for our new room. A PENTIUM II 266 with a 15" monitor and Windows 98 was purchased. Later in the year a Visioneer Scanner was added to our set-up. Bob & Ramona donated two "secretary type" chairs and a second computer desk/hutch combination. George Shoemaker remodeled one of the computer desks, putting it on rollers so it could easily be moved to Read Hall for our DCC General Meetings. Helen Rosenwald donated an older 386 computer & desk, still running Windows 3.1, so we now had three different operating systems available to demonstrate for anyone needing help. Steve Adkins later donated an additional computer desk. At the November meeting, the membership voted to sign up with Net Genie for Internet Service, so we were finally on-line without having to use a members ISP to sign on. Another accomplishment under Helen Rosenwald's leadership was the writing of by-laws for the club.

Officers for 1999 were: President - Larry Chockie, Donna Hanson - Co President; Vice President - Bob Summers; Co-Secretaries - Gerry Primus and Dee McBain; and Treasurer - Ray Zabel. Two members were added to the board as "Directors at Large" - George Shoemaker and Loran Thompson. Helen Rosenwald remained on the board as Past President. Our membership was over 100 at this point and growing at every meeting.

In March the DCC Web Site expanded to add a page for the DVCC Art Room. Information about the classes available in the Art Room is now on-line. In addition, pictures of winning art at their annual Art Show & Sale in February are posted on the Internet. This was exciting for them, as family members far away could now view their art. Another page was added for the Ceramics Chaos Group. Their prize winning creations are now also on-line. Later a page was added for the Dreamland Villa Community Club at the request of the board.

Donna Hanson decided that "all work and no play" was no fun, so she organized our first "Pot Luck" for May 20, 1999. This was a chance for us to get to know each other better and maybe talk about something besides Computers! We had about 45 in attendance and everyone had a great time. We have had more Pot Luck's since then, and they are always enjoyed.

Due to our expanding membership and occasional generous donations from some of our members, we had no major fund raisers in 1999. George Shoemaker continued to take charge of a 50/50 Raffle at each meeting as he had also done in previous years. This year George has taken on the job of data-recorder and is doing a great job with that as well.

This pretty well brings you up to date as the current officers are listed on the Newsletter page and you all know what is happening in 2000, because you are part of it. We hope you have enjoyed this summary of your club's history.