History

CEBUG began quite informally during 1982 shortly after the release of the Commodore 64 system. Five workers, at what was then called the New Departure plant located in Sandusky, Ohio, began getting together over lunch to discuss how they were using their machines. Their purpose was to share information with each other on how to accomplish tasks, so as to save time for others. As they found this to be so helpful, they agreed to meet outside of New Departure so others not working there could attend. These early meetings were very informal, with Dick Hennesey coordinating much of the group's activity. Many of those early meetings were held at the old Diamond Savings & Loan building.

During one such meeting in 1984, a decision was made by those present to organize the group in a more formal manner. Rudy Dudics became the first elected President, with meetings being held at Perkin's High School. The acronym for the organization, CEBUG, was chosen which stood for Commodore Erie Bay Users Group.

In January 1985, Forrest Airhart was elected as President. As the group grew, by-laws were drawn up and approved. A public domain lending-library of software was established using shareware. At the same time, a policy of not encouraging or condoning software piracy during meetings was established.

During 1985, the task of creating a newsletter for the organization was given to the Secretary, Irene Kraus, and Al Larkins. Members were to contribute most of the written material. Though page design software was not very sophisticated yet, the membership loved the idea of utilizing the tools available to accomplish such a task. By the 1990's, Irene Kraus became the President and - eventually - the webmaster, positions she still holds to date.

Public meeting locations changed frequently, based on the needs of those attending. Favorite locations include: the basement of St. Peter's & Paul's Church in Huron, St. Mary's High School of Sandusky's Computer Lab, Sandusky High School, and more.

As the 80's passed, interest grew in other machine types. By 1990 the group was split into 2 main special interest groups (SIG). The first dedicated to Commodore machines, and the other to PC's running DOS and eventually Windows. At present, Windows is the primary OS type used by our members. However, we have members using other systems such as Linux, too. Though the acronym for our group has not changed, it now stands for Computer Erie Bay Users Group to reflect that diversity.

CEBUG continues to change with the time. A printed newsletter, for example, is not being produced due to the high cost of reproducing it. Instead articles are now shared through our site. All members may have their own blog, plus we publish content coming from other contributing authors and sponsors. Our site continues to grow, with the larger portion of it open only to members.

The structure of CEBUG and mission was firmly established during those early years. Thanks to the hard work of countless volunteers, it continues its mission to the community even today.

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