Month: December 2023

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from Chuck Gerttula W7CRG

          This is hopefully the last effort for this month’s Blog.  I’ve started and tossed numerous efforts and thought I had a finished product when I fact checked something and the result caused me to toss the “finished product”.

          The coming of Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of the year.  Growing up in Taft (now part of Lincoln City) I remember greetings and Christmas scenes painted  on store windows.  Bernie’s Sports and Fishing Tackle store had a big speaker hanging outside his door playing Christmas carols.  Even today when I hear “Silver Bells” I think of Bernie’s.  Even with LP records having ten to twelve songs on them it was a constant chore for Bernie or his wife to change records.

          Another more current reminder that “Tis the Season” is the appearance on TV of Ralphie in “A Christmas Story” hoping to find a Red Ryder lever action BB rifle under the tree.  His story, along with all the family drama of a post WWII mid west snowy quirky holiday is so entertaining.  The story is a favorite of many and most certainly one of mine.  It was written by a fellow amateur radio operator Jean Shepherd who coincidentally was also a radio personality on station WOR doing a nightly show without phone calls and guests, just the host’s monologue.

          There are remastered recordings of his show on the internet if you google him.  The show I enjoyed was describing getting his amateur license in 1935 at the Chicago FCC office when he was 14 years old.  It starts with two minutes of music which made me wonder if I had the right tape but that was  the style back in the 1950’s and ’60’s.  If you think it is difficult to obtain an amateur license in 2023 you will be amazed what it took to get one in 1935!

          In many ways I look at our hobby in the same way I viewed my family.  We, as a hobby, tend to stick together.  We have our differences and some have talents others don’t but for the most part we like and appreciate each other much like many families.  There are those of us who jump in to help when one needs assistance.  There are those of us who provide comfort and understanding when a member experiences disappointments such as failing the test to upgrade their license, or a tragedy within their life.  There are those who anger us as my brother did me so many times, but we persevere and most often forgive and forget.

           Within any community there are the generous and the not so generous.  Hams often are generous with their time, experience , expertise, equipment, help, information and many other things.  I know hams who consistently give equipment away and expect nothing in return but the satisfaction of a ham on the air.  I also know hams who are happy to get equipment to those in need but view the action more like a businessman.  But the thing many hams are generous with is their time; time to work with emergency operations, time to help get an antenna up and connected, time to teach a class, time to teach an operator to use a specific piece of equipment.

          Time is something we cannot get more of.  Time is one of the most valuable resources.  It is one of our most often donated and valued things.  If and when you have the time to help our hobby ….  here’s to you!  Thank you! 

We don’t always acknowledge our appreciation but it’s there.

Chuck Gerttula  W7CRG