As the unofficial official historian of the RACC (Rogue Area Computer Club) and the oldest surviving member of the club, I set down my recollections as best I can remember. I got my first computer, an Apple with 48K of memory at a cost of $2500, a 16K memory expansion for $125 dollars, a spreadsheet whose name I don’t recall for another $100 and finally an Epson dot matrix 9 pin printer at about $525. RCE (Ralston Clearwaters) was the major computer outlet in Grants Pass. As a neophyte I now had a computer on which I could do some word processing and could play dungeons and dragons. I got so frustrated with this that I finally typed an F word into the computer and the response was rapid,”your place or mine?” Harold Miller, if I recall correctly, did work at RCE and when I asked for guidance he suggested that I come to the computer club which he had started, called RACE (probably not the best name) which stood for Rogue Apple Computer Enthusiasts. My guess is that this was about 1985. Originally the meetings were held at North Valley High School. Harold was our question and answer man as well as tutor. The meetings were informal. When the school became worried about liabilities and required deposits, the meetings were transferred to the original site on Milwaukee Ave. Harold was now working for Met One, a manufacturer of particle counters for clean rooms. Gradually there was a shift in computers usage, some with Apple, Apple 2E and even LISA with the first mouse, and finally the MacIntosh. Then upstart IBM got smart and saw the light. The future was in individual computers. It was time for a name change. RACC was founded (Rogue Area Computer Club) with meetings at the then Rogue Valley Bank. Harold gradually dropped his appearances and most of the q&a was done by Robert Viewig. Under Bob’s and a succession of other officers the club survived. It almost dissolved as the result of one president who somehow didn’t know how to properly run the organization and gain the proper support he wanted. To the rescue, people like Dennis and Dianne Recla and a few others such as Barbara Rossman, Don Rossman, George Spencer, Bob Viewig and others whom I cannot name led to the clubs revival. Now bring in the such names as Betty and Ralph (Vern) Kelly, a relaxed informal sociable group and a knowledge base of people like Chuck Beasley, Bill Porter, Ron Stephan and others too numerous to name, we are again on the road to prosperity. A few side notes. Harold Miller served as chairman of a committee at Rogue Community College where the origins of internet in Josphine County occurred. I believe it was a state mandate (?) to explore how to get a local internet started. It did start out as the Josephine County Internet Council (JCIC) to be let out for bid. When the offer to purchase did not materialize, Harold Miller took it on as his project and developed Magick net. The acronym stood for Medford, Ashland, Grants Pass, Illinois Valley, Cave Junction and Klamath falls. CDS net was the next entrant into the field and look at what has happened since. When we get our financial report it appears to remain stable, not much up and down movement. In the early days of the club it was feasible to hold a computer fair. I don’t recall the name but we were able to set it up at the fairgrounds, sell tables to merchandizers and club members who wanted to get rid of some of their excesses and even charge a nominal entrance fee. The bulk of the money in our bank accounts still relates to these events.

The R.A.C.C. Club meets the Second and Fourth Thursdays of each month (except August) Check the home page for the next meeting and location.Our meetings start with a Chit Chat session from 6:00PM to 6:30PM, with the meeting starting at 6:30PM sharp.

The second meeting each month, we invite a guest speaker to come and speak on various areas of technology that the members have shown interest in or have questions that the group would like more information.

The meetings include question and answer sessions, demonstrations and local speakers. The R.A.C.C. Newsletter is printed once every month. Annual club dues are $15.00 per person or @22.50 per couple.

The goal of R.A.C.C. is to shorten the learning curve that is associated with becoming a proficient computer user. Please stop by this site often as we use this media to bring you more information about not only the happenings of this group but Technology events in the Rogue Valley and the rest of the world.

Come join us, meet new friends and have a lot of fun.

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