During my first term as President in 1994, one of my early concerns was to gather information regarding the origin and history of SARC. Some officers of that administration and many of the club members also showed concern for the preservation of details of the club's past. Almost nothing existed in the way of historical documentation at the club in Boothe Park. Numerous bits and pieces of data were volunteered by members and guests. These recollections and remembrances, however, led to the other aspect of historical research: documentation. All of the verbal information given to us was sorted and sifted for accuracy and worth. Much of the information was noted and set aside until such time as it might be confirmed, as fact, with documented proof, or discarded as rumor, inaccurate memory, or just bad information. It became quite obvious, in short time, that this was going to be a rather involved project.

During the June, 1994 business meeting, I asked for a volunteer to serve as Historian, who might be interested in a more-than-casual research project concerning the club's history. Doug Waterhouse, KB1SS and Jim Cebik, KA1TFX volunteered as a team to "put something together." Over the next eight months, they interviewed dozens of Hams and civilians concerning the early days of WERS (War Emergency Radio Service), Civil Defense and the club's first meeting place on Main Street, Stratford (variously referred to as Town Hall, the Welfare Building and the Red Cross Building). Many principle Hams of the period have since become Silent Keys making the job of connecting and verifying the data most difficult. A trip to ARRL Headquarters in Newington for the purpose of perusing their archives provided additional information.

In January of 1995, Ted Kazuba, W1ZQT advised me of an archival research service provided by the Call Book publishers. Ted contacted the Radio Amateur Call Book people and supplied them with an approximate call sign issue date based upon some documents in the club's possession and educated estimates from the actual Call Book relative to other consecutively issued "close" calls. Although the Call Book research does not indicate an issue date, it does narrow down the time period to within two or three months based on the fact that the Call Book was issued four times a year. Additionally, the ARRL records confirm the approximation of the (very probable) issue month to either May or June of 1946.

In March, 1995, at the beginning of the incumbent administration's second term, Doug handed me a draft of the history for the "early years," as they have come to be known. These five or six years following the war took us to the beginning of the "Fifties." Even though these several years represent only a fraction of our half-century of history, I consider them to be the most important, if not the most interesting. Ironically, this first part of our history, roughly coincides with the move from Stratford center to the Boothe Park location we now enjoy. Obviously, without our formative years, without those civic minded individuals who thought enough about Amateur radio, emergency communications and civil preparedness, to form and organize SARC/W1ORS, there would not be a Golden Anniversary to celebrate in 1996!

I wish to thank those researchers mentioned in this historical report and all those individuals interviewed who have searched back in their memories in order to volunteer information and otherwise contribute to this effort. December, 1995 Robert W. Betts, N1KPR Shelton, Connecticut Former President, SARC/W1ORS