by Carl J. Wenning, TCAA Historian
Fourth Edition
Download the complete history
1960 - The Founding of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers
The Years of Activity, 1961-1965
The Hidden Years, 1965-1972
Years of Transition
Years of Public Service, 1979-1984
Years of Reflection, 1985-1989
The End of an Era, 1990-1994
Changing Gears, 1995-1998
Constructing Sugar Grove Observatory, 1998-2001
Telescope Troubles, 2002-2003
Education/Public Outreach and Service: 2005-2006
Epilogue
So ends the first 50 years – a half century – of the existence of the Twin City Amateur
Astronomers. Anyone who has ever been an active member of this club can be proud of the fact.
The club has expanded the awareness of members and non-members by its many years of public
service. The club has certainly influenced some of its younger members to pursue further
education by expanding their horizons past the small world in which they live. The club has also
provided its members with friendships that will last a lifetime. Each member of this club can
recall the past with pride, can live in the present to its fullest in harmony with other members, and
can look forward to a future full of promise.
The purposes for which the TCAA was formed were to: promote in every way among its
members and the general public an interest in, and knowledge of, astronomy and its allied
sciences; advance amateur astronomy and observational techniques; render assistance to other
individuals or organizations working in the same or related fields; and do everything necessary
and proper to further such on a formal or informal basis. Given the club’s 50-year record, there is
no question that the members – past and present – have filled that mandate with distinction. The
future, like the past of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers, is bright.