[SFDXA] Oldest, Longest-Licensed US Ham, Educator Charles Hellman, W2RP, SK
Bill
bmarx at bellsouth.net
Mon Feb 6 11:16:31 EST 2017
Oldest, Longest-Licensed US Ham, Educator Charles Hellman, W2RP, SK
02/03/2017
Charles “Charlie” Hellman, W2RP, of Hastings on Hudson, New York, died
on January 25. He was 106 and may have not only been the oldest
surviving radio amateur in the US but, at 92 years, also may have been
the longest licensed. By 8 days, Hellman outlived Harry Wolf, W6NKT, of
Morro Bay, California, who had been considered the oldest US ham when he
died
<http://www.arrl.org/news/harry-k-wolf-w6nkt-sk-at-107-may-have-been-world-s-oldest-active-radio-amateur>
on January 17, just a couple of weeks shy of his 108th birthday.
In 2015, the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA
<http://www.qcwa.org/>) honored Hellman with a “90 Year Continuous
Licensed Certificate Award” (No 1). At the time, the QCWA had thought
Hellman was the oldest living radio amateur, but announcement of his
QCWA honor served to flush out Wolf, who, while not licensed as long as
Hellman, was 1 year older. No formal records are kept regarding the
oldest or youngest US hams. Hellman joined QCWA in 1975 and was a member
of QCWA Chapter 181 in New York’s Hudson Valley. He had been regularly
active on the air until a few years before his death, when his backyard
tower fell victim to Hurricane Sandy.
First licensed as W2AMK in 1925 when he was 15, Hellman, who had been an
ARRL member, went on to become an educator. After working his way
through the City College of New York, he taught physics on the secondary
level. During World War II, Hellman was tapped by the Department of War
to write a textbook for training radio operators, /Elements of Radio/.
Two of Hellman's siblings also held ham tickets. His brother Robert, now
deceased, was W2JAN. His brother Benjamin, 96, is W2VB.
QCWA came upon the information regarding Hellman’s age and Amateur Radio
tenure when QCWA Webmaster Bob Roske, N0UF, was updating member files.
Roske discovered that Hellman was still living in New York and appeared
to be the oldest living QCWA member. /— Thanks to Pete Varounis, NL7XM,
and Charles Tropp, N2SO/
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