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Wed Nov 21 10:45:08 EST 2012
Newington CT =A0November 21, 2012<br>
To all radio amateurs</p>
<p>SB SPCL ARL ARLX016<br>
ARLX016 Former "How's DX?" Conductor Rod Newkirk, W9BRD (SK)<=
/p>
<p>Rod Newkirk, W9BRD/VA3ZBB, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada -- who penned<br>
the QST column "How's DX?" from 1947-1978 -- passed away on M=
onday,<br>
November 19 after a long illness. Newkirk was credited with coining<br>
the term "Elmer," as well as for his humorous take on DX in his<b=
r>
column, especially with limericks in his DX Hoggery and Poetry<br>
Depreciation Society and the accompanying cartoons of Jeeves by Phil<br>
"Gil" Gildersleeve, W1CJD (SK).</p>
<p>In March 1991, QST Associate Editor Jim Cain, K1TN, profiled Newkirk<br>
in "How's Rod?" in the pages of QST. "Newkirk wrote '=
;How's DX?'<br>
through the Korean War, through the Fabulous '50s, the Vietnam war,<br>
incentive licensing and the W9WNV DXpedition controversy," Cain<br>
wrote. "While six American presidents moved in and out of the White<br=
>
House, 'How's DX?' documented the rise of SSB in Amateur Radio =
and<br>
DXing, saw the birth of DX lists and nets and the growing number of<br>
2 meter spotting groups."</p>
<p>The term "Elmer" -- meaning someone who provides personal guid=
ance<br>
and assistance to would-be hams -- first appeared in QST in<br>
Newkirk's March 1971 "How's DX?" column, where he wrote t=
hat "too<br>
frequently one hears a sad story in this little nutshell: 'Oh, I<br>
almost got a ticket, too, but Elmer, W9XYZ, moved away and I kind of<br>
lost interest.' Sure, the guy could have burned through on his own,<br>
maybe, but he, like others, wound up an almost-ham. No more Elmer.<br>
We need those Elmers. All the Elmers, including the ham who took the<br>
most time and trouble to give you a push toward your license, are<br>
the birds who keep this great game young and fresh." Newkirk was<br>
probably not trying to coin a term at the time, but the name stuck,<br>
becoming a general term for the mentors Newkirk called "the unsung<br>
fathers of ham radio."</p>
<p>Beginning in May 1951 (and appearing each May after that), Newkirk<br>
wrote about the annual meeting of the DX Hoggery and Poetry<br>
Depreciation Society. The DXHPDS featured such notables as Noyes E.<br>
Tester, Loda Watts, Harry Uppensign, Lotta Chassis and Hal R. Lauder<br>
-- as well as limericks that skewered deserving lids:</p>
<p>Splashy-voiced Boomboom MacSwine<br>
When told that his gain's out of line,<br>
Is prompt to reply,<br>
If '8' is too high<br>
Then why is it numbered to '9'? (May 1970)</p>
<p>First licensed in 1937 as W9BRD at 14, Newkirk was involved with<br>
radio all his life. After graduating from high school, he became a<br>
civilian radio operator in Washington, DC with station WAR; when<br>
World War II broke out, he joined the US Army as a member of the<br>
Army Signal Corps where he served in Florida, Papua-New Guinea and<br>
the Philippines. He remembered these times in his first QST article,<br>
"Christmas, 1944," which recounted a "heart-warming yarn inv=
olving<br>
the combination of the Amateur and the Christmas Spirit in far-off<br>
Hollandia."</p>
<p>After a stint as a radio operator with the Illinois State Police,<br>
Newkirk moved to Connecticut in 1947 where he worked at ARRL<br>
Headquarters as a W1AW Station Operator with a new call sign, W1VMW.<br>
It was while Newkirk was in Newington that then-ARRL Communications<br>
Manager Ed Handy, W1BDI, asked Newkirk to take over the "How's DX?=
"<br>
from Byron Goodman, W1JPE. A few years later, Newkirk returned to<br>
his home state of Illinois to go to college. While in Illinois, he<br>
regained his W9BRD call sign and resumed his job with the Illinois<br>
State Police. He continued to write "How's DX?" from Illinois=
.<br>
Newkirk's last "How's DX?" column was published in Februa=
ry 1978.<br>
Newkirk retired from the State Police in 1986. In 1984, he was<br>
inducted into the CQ DX Hall of Fame as its 23rd member, and in<br>
2002, he was the 87th inductee into the CQ Hall of Fame.</p>
<p>Newkirk was a former member of the ARRL and a member of the Radio<br>
Amateurs of Canada, the Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club, FISTS, the<br>
Morse Telegraph Club and the Quarter Century Wireless Association<br>
and QCWA Chapter 70. In May 2007, he was presented with the QCWA "70<b=
r>
Years Licensed" Golden Certificate and lapel pin, and in May 2010,<br>
with the QCWA Century Certificate.</p>
<p>In 1997, Newkirk married Betty, VE3ZBB, and moved to Canada, where<br>
he got the matching Canadian call sign VA3ZBB. A private family<br>
funeral will be held. Friends are invited to join the Newkirk Family<br>
at the Garden Chapel of Tubman Funeral Homes on Thursday November 22<br>
from 2-4 PM for a celebration of Newkirk's life.<br>
NNNN<br>
/EX<br>
</p>
--bcaec550b544097bef04cf045fdf--
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