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ABOUT THE WITCH... THE ORIGINAL WOFFORD WITCH - 1975 to 1989 The original Wofford Witch was a DEC PDP-11/40 computer, running the RSTS/E timesharing operating system, and was in operation from 1975 until 1986 in the academic computer center at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. From 1986 to 1989, the Wofford Witch was a PDP-11/34 system. The academic computer center was created and managed by Dr. Dan W. Olds, who was Chairman of the Physics Department at the time the Witch came to Wofford. The Witch was purchased with a grant from a local Spartanburg company, Hoechst Fibers. WITCH is an acronym based on the phrase "Wofford's Instructional Timesharing Computer from Hoechst". The original configuration cost over $50,000 in the summer of 1975. View the original Witch purchase order and shipping papers from 1975 The original Witch had core memory, LA36 DecWriters, VT50 DecScopes, ASR-33 Teletypes, an HP7200A Plotter, and RK05 disk drives. Here is a summary of the original Witch specifications, extracted from the 1975 purchase order: PDP 11/40 SYSTEM with two VT50 DECscopes, an LA36 console, and another LA36 for the computer room.
I have been in correspondence with former DEC employee John McNamara, the original designer of the DH11 multiplexer, which was used in the original Wofford Witch system. He sent me a very interesting email with his recollections of the design and development of the DH11 back in the early 1970s. He gave me permission to reproduce his story here on my web site. Read John McNamara's recollections of the development of the DH11 multiplexer More from John McNamara about the first DH11 install and DH11 diagnostics Here's a picture from 1978 of the original Wofford Witch system, with (L-R) Ashley, Dr. Olds, Kevin, and Michael  And here's one from 2002 at The Beacon in Spartanburg, after Dr. Olds retired. This was when we got together after the "Virtual Witch" was reincarnated. (Back) Ashley Carder, Michael Senterfeit. (Front) Dr. Dan Olds, Kevin Hawkins  During the 1975-1980 years, several students became somewhat obsessed with the Witch and spent many hours learning the workings of the PDP-11 RSTS/E and Basic Plus environments. Although Wofford College did not offer a Computer Science degree at the time, the many hours spent on the Wofford Witch laid the groundwork for computer careers for most of the students in this group. Yes, we owe much of where we are in life today to Dr. Olds and the Wofford Witch. Members of the original group of Wofford Witch enthusiasts were: Kevin Hawkins, class of 78 Jeff Smeltzer, class of 78 Worth Burns, class of 80 Ashley Carder, class of 80 Michael Senterfeit, class of 80 Mark Volmer, class of 81 When a water pipe burst in January 1986, the 11/40 was damaged and the Witch was rebuilt using parts from a PDP-11/34. Read the story of the flood that destroyed the 11/40, as told by Dr. Olds. On August 26, 1989 the Witch was moved into the hallway and replaced by a more modern VAX. |