[QCWA] Re: Licensed for 34 years

[Curt Phillips W4CP]

I think that everyone who gets their license at a
young age should have an asterik by their name if a
family member was a ham.  :-)  (I'm kidding a little
bit and probably jealous.)

No one in my family and no one that we knew were hams.
 I got interested in ham radio at 10 years old after
reading the Walter Thompkins book, "SOS At Midnight"
from the school library and from my dad getting some
CB radios to use in his business that year (they
didn't work well for business, but one of them would
tune the shortwave bands.)  I also liked that in all
the Cold War movies, etc., it seemed that ham
operators always had the info before anyone else.

But it took until I was 13 to get any help in becoming
licensed... the local Civil Defense Radio Club
advertised a licensing class in the newspaper.  I was
taught Morse Code by Ava Gardner's nephew, Bill
Grimes, SK (K4WGG, ex-KD4JQ; WA4AXH).  This WAS in
Smithfield, NC, Ava's home town.

My dad finally got licensed 16 years after I did
(W4ACL, ex-KB4BPX) and he's still using some of my
equipment.  I keep telling him that the son is
supposed to use the father's equipment, not the other
way round.  :-)

73, Curt W4CP (ex-KD4YU; WB4LHI)
Licensed since 1968
Raleigh, NC

--- "Walcott, Paul" <PWalcott at smartbus.org> wrote:

> Does anyone remember a picture that ran in the
> Novice column of CQ
> magazine, 1963 or 1964 showing a very young YL, age
> 5 or 6 who had
> recently passed the novice exam.  I don't really
> remember the details so
> I can't speak as to whether she'd have been younger
> than Neil or not.
> 
> 73's,
> Paul  WD8H
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: qcwa-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:qcwa-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
> On Behalf Of Ray Andrews
> Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 1:13 PM
> To: qcwa at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [QCWA] Re: Licensed for 34 years
> 
> A few years ago, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, joined our
> chapter (Banks of the
> Wabash #204) shortly after his 30th birthday,
> certainly one of the
> youngest, if not the youngest, member at the time. 
> Yes, he got his
> Novice when he was 5 years old.
> 
> 73, Ray, K9DUR
> 
>
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