[Boatanchors] AWA Museum - East Bloomfield, N.Y.

[FRED - W4FJF/ka2hlw at netzero.net]

Scott and Group,
   I worked with the late Bruce Kelley (W2ICE) and the members to renovate the Museum in the late 70's and early 80's. As we worked, Bruce would stop by and tell some of the stories associated with the equipment, and the memorabilia associated with it. The whole experience was fascinating, and primarily responsible for the path in life that I took. 
   We literally gutted the building after the members carefully removed the exhibits, and stored them away. Horsehair plaster and lathe, old concrete, bricks and cloth covered wiring were hauled off to the dump. Then we framed in several rooms upstairs and downstairs, replaced the old bullet glassed windows with new ones, re-insulated and rewired the place, then sheet rocked the interior walls. The floors were sanded down, as they had curled up in some places, a new stairway was built, and all were sealed with gym-seal (sorta like spar varnish, but lots thicker). Some of the old windows were reconditioned, and reinstalled to retain the antique look the building had when it was the Bloomfield Academy (the town's school). Then after the floor had cured, we installed shelving, and replaced the display cases for the different exhibits. Then the AWA members began to bring back in the old bits and pieces of radio history. Receivers, transmitters, and all the associated gear, broadcast mics, and old TV cameras, lovingly cared for, were arranged, and rearranged. Back then, there was only one spark gap transmitter, and if Bruce was in the mood he would fire that sparking monster up. The air would fill with the odor of hot oil, hot electrics, and ozone. The FM radio that we played downstairs would be completely wiped out by the ac note that the transmitter gave off. I guess that spark gap transmitters really defined the word "wideband".
   Bruce came over to my house in Fishers, N.Y. one day to visit with me and my Dad. Dad was having a problem with the doghouse power supply for his HRO-5TA1. After a trip to the old barn the museum used to store the parts and sets donated by many people, we had the parts to fix the old beauty. Bruce walked us both through what he was doing as he repaired the power supply. That was the day I was determined to become a ham operator. It took two months to find an Elmer (Burt Johns WA2IYA), but six months later, and one trip to the FCC Buffalo Field Office, I was a General class. Without the help and inspiration of Bruce, and Burt, and a funny tall man (James Taylor, head of the Field Office at that time), I probably wouldn't be a ham today. I owe a lot to the AWA Museum, and three men who cared to help a teenager get his ticket. They are all SK's now, but I miss them, as they were my best friends. I called them the Three Wise Men, as they cared to help a kid win his dream. I owe my Dad (KA2HRC, SK in 1994) a lot, too. His radio started it all, and even though he never got past Novice class, for an old Navy Radio operator he could send CW with an excellent hand, and never set pencil to paper except to log the contact, he enjoyed every minute.
   I still have the HRO, complete with the original speaker, power supply, coil set boxes, all the coil sets, and the owner's manual. Everytime I listen to it, I remember the Museum, my Dad, and the Three Wise Men. I owe them all a debt of gratitude.
                     TNX FM FRED - W4FJF, 73.