This article was originally published in Between the Lines in 2005. However, the rest of the story is still yet to be told. If you can help us eliminate some of the question marks found here or in this article, please send your information to newsletter@stc-swo.org. Thanks!)
STC-SWO is about 55 years old. History has a way of disappearing when it’s not documented, and a good deal of information about the chapter’s founding and early development seems to be unavailable or non-existent. If you know or have access to additional sources of information, please let me know. Unless this becomes a collaborative narrative, it will be woefully incomplete.
Based on interviews with Tom Milligan and archived information from Tom, Mindy Hoffbauer and the late Dart Peterson, here’s what I’ve been able to ferret out so far about the chapter’s earliest days.
The year was 1957. On the national scene:
- The Soviet Union launched a three-stage rocket carrying a basketball-sized, 183-lb piece of hardware they called Sputnik into low-Earth orbit.
- Bobby Fischer (does anybody remember him?) became a chess champion at the age of 13.
- Dr. Seuss published a strange little book called The Cat in the Hat.
- And two organizations dedicated to improving the practice of technical communication merged to form a group called the Society of Technical Writers and Editors (STWE).
Go Ohio
Ohio must have been a hotbed of techcomm in the mid-1950s; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton all formed local STWE chapters. According to Dart Peterson, the Dayton “chapter came together among the employees of three tech writing companies in Dayton: Crane and Zimmerman, Dayton Tech Art, and L. E. O’Neil. Some people in Cincinnati were also getting together, as were some in Columbus and some from WPAFB. The gatherings were informal, usually at lunch time in a convenient restaurant.”
One of the Dayton chapter’s “notable achievements,” according to Dart, was the First (and only) All-Ohio Conference on Technical Communications. The Conference, sponsored by the Dayton-Miami Valley Chapter of STWE and cosponsored by the Central Ohio STWE, Cincinnati STWE, and the University of Dayton, was held on September 11-12, 1959. The conference was a great success, with almost 100 registrants (fewer than 20 women!) and about a dozen prominent speakers.
Then and Now
A look at the program shows some of the ways that techcomm conferences have changed since 1959:
| FRIDAY: | Semantics of Technical Writing The Logic of Language Linguistic Concord as Applied to Technical Writing What Management Expects of the Technical Writer The Case for In-House Technical Writing The Case for Contracting Technical Writing |
| SATURDAY | The Laboratory View of Technical Communications Technical Manuals as Seen by the Contractor Preparing Them Technical Writing in the Air Materiel Command |
Concerns about use of language, management expectations, and the perennial staff vs contractor issues have apparently changed little over the years. But there is no mention of the computer-based tools that 21st century tech writers have grown to love–and hate. No multiple-output discussions, no usability panels. And, of course, the all (even the banquet)-inclusive registration fee in 1959 was $15.
What’s In a Name?
- ? In 1960, the national STWE merged with the Technical Publishing Society to become the Society of Technical Writers and Publishers.
- ? In 1971, the organization’s name was changed to the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and so it remains.
Coming Together
Sometime between 1960 and 1969, the Dayton-Miami Valley chapter and the Cincinnati chapters merged to become Southwestern Ohio.
What Do You Know?
Readers, if you have (or know someone who has) additional information about the chapter’s earliest days, please let us know. For example:
- Who was the first president of the Dayton chapter? Of the Cincinnati chapter?
- Exactly when did the merger occur?
- Are copies of newsletters, Admin Council meeting minutes, program schedules, etc. available for the 50s and 60s?
Next in the Series (hopefully): STC-SWO: The Teen Years (1970-1980)