ASHLAND, MA PEBMIT NO.7 - Quarter Century Wireless Association

always fired up and operated perfectly. This was a little amazing,
considering that the shack floor was at ground level and
often accumulated an inch or so of water during heavy rains.
lwas able to contrnue this procedure for the winters of 1988-
89, 1989-90, '1990-91 and 1991-92.|n November of 1992,1
had quintuple open-heart bypass surgery and our departure
for Florida was delayed until February of 1993. During the
summer of '92, Pauline had moved out of her house on
Windsor St. and took up residence in a much Iargel more luxurious
house on Sudbury St., which Paul had purchased just
for her. Allthe radio gear !had left in Ed's old shack had been
stored pending my arrival in the fall to dispose of it in any way
I saw fit.
The principal piece of equipment I wanted to keep was the big
B & W amplifiet but it wouldn't fit into my little Coachmen
trailer. lfinally gave it to a local ham. Paulvolunteered to dispose
of the rest of the stuff, which was mostly junk without
any market value. I preserved some of the early 3NF logbooks
for sentimental and historical reasons.
All fame is fleeting. Ed served as ARRL section communications
manager in Northern New Jersey and in New Mexico, as chairman
of the Eastern Area Staff of NTS, as an officer in several
radio clubs. His was an outstanding and unusual amateur
radio career. ln the many stories I have told about my amateur
radio experiences over a period of over 70 years he has played
a prominent role. He should not be forgotten, but this is the
destiny of all of us who have not achieved the pinnacle of
fame, only nibbled at its edges.
The last two winters of retirement in Florida were not nearly
so pleasant as the first 14, due mainly to Louise's increasing
dementia brought about by severe memory loss. We tried to
treat her at home but in the spring o{ 1996 she was put into
Avery Heights nursing home and has remained there ever
since. She is under medication that keeps her calm and manageable
but she has no memory of the past, little comprehension
of the present and no concept of the future. I visit her at
least twice a week, other family members also quite frequently,
but I think she would never know the difference if we didn't
show up. She is receiving the best possible care under the
circumstances, and I have to be content with that; but I keep
close watch on her condition and query the staff of the home
closely at times.
Meanwhile, my preoccupation with amateur radio continued
apace. I have never regarded it as a " hobby, " and object to its
being termed as such by others; but to most of its hundreds of
thousands of participants that's exactly what it is. The technology,
even the terminology, has gone far beyond me. I am as
obsolescent as most of the equipment I use. So-called ' digital"
communication rs a deep mystery to me and lseem to
have no wish to understand or use it.
Here it is June, 2001. I am in my 23rd year of retirement, my
87th year of life. I live alone in the same house I have lived in
since 1941. Our son Dennis died in 1984, al age 36. Our son
Fred lives in North Brookfield, MA, a tenured professor at
Worcester Polytechnic lnstitute, head of the civil engineering
department. We have 6 grandchildren. all except the youngest
Quader Century Wireless Assoclation
fully grown, and she is almost so at age 18. lseldom see any
of them, they all have their own lives to live, and this is as it
should and must be. I visit the headquarters of ARRL occasionally,
only a half-mile away where I was employed for 40 years
and still occasionally attend its functions as an honorary vice
president. I am a long-time member of the Quarter Century
Wireless Association and attend the quarterly luncheons of the
local chapter, of which I am a charter member. i often check in
on the Newington Amateur Radro League's weekly information
net on 2 meters but seldom attend their meetings. I keep
a regular weekly TCC schedule with KTGXZ to forward Pacific
Area traffic out of the Eastern Area Net. On Fridays I report
into EAN to receive traffic for the First Region, then function
as net control station (NCS) of the late 1 RN session to distribute
such traffic. Occasionally on Sunday I report into the local
QCWA net on 75 meters.
That's about the extent of my amateur radio activity these
days. I no longer participate in contests, DXing, no longer get
on the air simply to "chew the rag. " Amateur radio is not and
never has been a simple pastime for me, I have always felt the
compulsion to do something useful; if not for the general public,
at least for somebody or something. To get on the air for
idle amusement has never been my "thing."
The story is almost over. lf you count lhe3-1/2 years I was
active on the air before I was licensed, but don't count the
four war years from 1942 through 1945,1 have been an
active, on-the-air amateur radio operator for 72 years. lf you
count the war years, during which to me amateur radio was
far from a dead issue, the figure becomes 76 years. My first
license was dated Feb.5, I930 and has been continuous since
then, ranging from temporary amateur in 1930, amateur in
1931 , Class B amateur in 1932, Class A amateur in 1938 and
Extra Class in 1966. First call letters were W3AMR, which I
held until 1973, W8EDF from 1933 to 1936, but this call was
never on the air by me; Wl NJM from 1941 to the present;
D4ALS in Germany for four months in 1946.I also operated
extensively from 3NF, W3NF, WSYA and WlAW. A record?
Doubtful, but in terms of continuous involvement, probably
close to it. I have no complaints. lt has been a great 76 years.
Who knows how much longer it will last? (Sept. 4,2001)
General Manager's comments: This completes the main
portion of George's Random Recollections. ln November 2004,
his wife, Louise (Stebbins) passed away. George has moved
out of his home and at 96 years (!) lives in a senior facility. He
still attends meetings of the QCWA Nutmeg Chapter when
health and weather permit.
The pages, that have been serialized in the Journal, were completed
by George in 2001 . ln lanuary 2002, George started on
a series of appendixes, which fill in or supplement the main
text. Those will be started in the fall issue of the Journal.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this material; this seridization
was started by my predecessor Jim Wabh.
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