00 ello, Bill Breniman and my many SOWP f'riends. I.

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1 Back o ndex The KFS Edon a\.,. $ \. 6 '. '.... :'. '. '.r.,..,... _ Dga Meda K2TQN 202 The SPARKS Journa ,.... \ He. &...,..,,fa 'a'.. ' A ' '. G A ' BY - RAYMOND J. GREEN 395-SSGP Frd PanJng STEAMBOAT " PLYMOUTH" ( The "Deacon" Mees George Coe 00 eo, B Brenman and my many SOWP f'rends.. am gong o wre you anoher of my memory sores smar o he TRT banana boa sory you prned n [ he POC 973, ony hs one w be fve years ear- er. The year s 93. was sxeen years od, he younges of a broken quarresome famy vng up own on \"'ashngon Heghs New York Cy, now referred o as he suburban geo of Harem. A senor a Suyvesan hgh schoo and o dong very we. was a ovey warm Ocober afernoon and [ was wakng across he BrookBrdge. n my ef hand was a carefuy roed up frs cass wreess eegraph cense whch had passed an examnaon for a he Brookyn Navy Yard a Sands Sree, Brookyn, much o he cred of eachng by Frank Knocke who was a promnen wreess amaeur vng n he same fa house dd. Yea, my frends, was far from he proverba "Bare foo boy wh cheeks of an, " a ypca bg cy produc. As waked across he brdge my eyes seed on he bg Uned Fru ners and he seek back paned \"'ard Lners. "Some day, sad o mysef, ' be a wreess on one of hem. Crossng he brdge and arrvng a New York Cy's ha bark, decded o sro down o Fuon Sree o No. 24 o he Eecro mporng Company sore and pck up a copy of "Modern Eecrcs eded and pubshed by Hugo Grensback. was abou he mos upodae wreess magazne o be had hose days. n he wndow of four panes of gass was dspayed a par of Brandes gh wegh headphones prced a $3.00 a Murdock varabe condenser, severa crysa deecors and an eecoec deecor, a Capp Easham roary spark gap and a wo sde oose couper wound wh green sk wre. A cup of coffee a he Fuon fsh marke oyser bar and a donu, and weaved my way across Wes Sree, whch was heavy raffcked wh horse drawn rucks. Duckng he Wes Sree horse dr"awn roey car, he nose of horses hooves on cobbe sones was deafenng. Before me a ong per fron rose, PER 4, and n bg bod whe eers "THE FALL RVER LNE, and under hs n smaer eers : The New Engand Seamshp Co. Seppng no he offce where was drawn by he sound of Morse eegraph sounders and reays, saw a feow \v h back curey har, a green vsor, and seeve proecors on hs arms. He was sng a an od Over ypewrer wh hs ear cose o a Morse sounder n a soundng box wh a Prnce Aber obacco can jammed n o make a ceran soundng effec. He was copyng a message. When he go fnshed he came over o me and sad, "Wha can do for you, young feow?" He had rea dark brown eyes wh "a merry wnke abou hem. asked hm f coud appy for a wreess operaor' poson on he Fa Rver Lne boas. page 4 j He sad, "Oh, yes, bu you w have o see George Coe an he s down on he Mohcan pung he fnshng ouches o he wreess se on board. "Can jus wak down o he boa?" Sure, he sad, and poned he way. waked down he ong per jammed wh baes of coon, and more arrvng on rucks from he Morgan Lne shp a per 34 up Wes Sree. arrved a he cargo ramp, dd no see any gangpank so sepped aboard, a man wh a unformed cap wh "Mae" on, asked me wha waned, and sad o ak o Mr. Coe. He hough a momen and sad, "You mus mean ha wreess man', and poned o a sarway o he upper deck. Once on he op deck saw a nea four wre anenna runnng from he smoke sack o he shor fag poe on he sern of he seamer. foowed he ead n o he wreess room. Soon was sandng before an open door abeed "Wreess Room." A par of ong egs were exendng from under he operang abe. sad, "Mr. Coe?" "Yes, was he repy. woud ke o speak o you a mnue. My hear was poundng. "Jus a mnue. A few wss of hs ead and w be fnshed under here." George Coe pued hmsef ou from under he abe and sood hs fu sx fee hree nches. Yes he sad, wha s? am ookng for a wreess poson, sad. Have you go a cense? and handed hm my brand new cense. He unroed. Ab, he sad. you are a brand new operaor, eh? Yes, sr. Yeah he nk s hardy dry, and see Gunner Tucker's USN sgnaure on. "How much do you know abou a wreess se? have been a wreess amaeur for fve years, a ford spark co se \\h a wo sde uner. Huh, he usua sar, sad Mr. Coe. Mr. Frank Knocke augh me a know. Oh, you know Frank Knocke? Yes, sad. He s a grea frend of Harry Ear he morse operaor up on he end of he dock. Here cemened a grea and ong frendshp beween Ear, Coe and Knocke and mysef. you wan a job you say?" Yes, sr, very much. Can you sa ou ongh, say n abou four hours for New Bedford, Mass. on hs seamer? was aken aback and n a rembng voce sad, Yes, sr. OK, ' fnsh up hs ransfer of equpmen and show you how o sar and sop, send and receve. Bu frs come wh me, and he ook me up o he po house and no he Capan's quarers. Capan Snow here s your wreess operaor. Capan Snow urned around and never saw a serner face n my fe. He had snow whe har and ong muon chop sdeburns and he mos seeey bue eyes have ever seen. He eyed me up and down bu sad nohng. He nodded o Coe and ----================== M_"'HM_rM_n"H"

2 Back o ndex Dga Meda K2TQN 202 sad, "nsruc hm n wha hs dues are"and urnng o me he sad, "We ea a 5 p.m. Be n he mess room and w acquan you wh he res of he offcers," and urned away. So my frends, a wreess operaor was born ha Ocober 93. never wen back home o ve, ony o vs. Three meas a day, a dry bunk o seep n, and hry doars a monh pay, a fne job back n hose days. For he record, my wo brohers, en and weve years oder, worked a he Meropoan Lfe for ffy cens an hour, a 48 hour week. They brough home $24 a week, a whe coar job. My sser, hreen years oder, worked a Wannamakers from 8 a.m. o 6 p.m., 54 hours a week and earned $4 a week. Oh, we, a bg schooner of beer cos 5, a good cgar 5 wh free unch. So? Here suddeny found mysef free of a he grpe, rea or magnary of he ypca eenager of any perod of vng. Masse Wreess Teegraph Co. n 93 he Masse Wreess Teegraph Company beng reorganzed, emerges as he Naona Eecrc Sgna Company. s presden, H. M. Knner of Ps burgh, John V.L. Hogan, Genera Manager and Chef Engneer, George E. Coe, personne, manager of operaors, nsaaon and manenance, offces per 4. Norh Rver. Saons - 93 Three coasa saons and foureen Long sand Sound seamers equpped WCG ocaed on he roof of Bush erman dock, Brookyn, n a penhouse, wo a ace sef-supporng owers wh exendng yard arms a her op. A corner of he penhouse paroned off was he recevng and operang room wh severa ypes of crysa recevers, and one n parcuar conssng of a varomeer n he arenna prmary crcu and capacy couped o he apped secondary, unng from 200 meers up o 000 meers, and ong snge sde unng co o be swched n for MCC souh wesfee Mass., WSL Sayve, L.., or Arngon NAA Vrgna. uned very sharpy, a seres of deecors, eecroye (wpooson wre, panum wre coaed wh sver and drawn ou as hn as a human har, an nch of hs, se screwed n pace and mcromeer adjused o dp no a carbon cup wh sufurc acd, he acd eang away he sver eavng a pnpon of panum, hs wh a oca baery resued n a very sensve wreess spark deecor. Then here was a perkan deecor, ron pyres and zncon. hen scon. gaena, and asy a sens- L j ve pece 0' carborundum camped be\veen \ 0 brass srps aso operaed wh a oca baery suppy. Ths aer deecor was no que as s ensve as he ohers bu was a favore accoun of s sayng n adjusmen. A of hese deecors \ ere on a hard rubber base wh suabe swchng arrangemen. The usua anenna send receve swch and ypewrer and fng sheves made up he recevng par.ousde he paroned poron was he 2 KW synchronous fessenden 500 cyce moor generaor and gap mouned on shaf end compressed ar condensers hex. Ths a smar o he TRT shp ransmers of he me. The operaors n charge were Mr. Waace and Mr. Vosberg. Now we come o W L C New London, Conn., a 50 foo ace ower wh a sanng four wre anenna. Ths saon was nsaed wh a sandard Uned Wreess KW non synchronous 240 cyce roary spark gap, he usua green sk covered wre oose couper recever beeve known as he ype "E", wh he usua crysa deecor. Brandes ghwegh navy headphones, ypewrer were a housed n a sma shed on per ocaed on he Thames Rver. Mr. Back was n charge. He worked a ong me and fnay came up wh he mos peasng musca noe ha made WLC famous up and down he Aanc coas. reay was ousandng. He was he wach dog of he fee. Now we come o he hrd shore saon, WC Fa Rver, Mass. Ths nsaaon was a -m se smar o hose on he sound seamers ncudng he recever. The operaor n charge was named Nck Carer. Afer a ong ngh wach he was he one you cosed down wh--and hen urned n afer cearng he 'hook.' The "K X" Boas There was g fee of hreen or foureen sound seamers whose ca eers a began wh "K X. " The as eer of he ca used he frs eer of he seamer where possbe. The equpmn was a he same and easy nerchangeabe by Mr. Coe whch was que ofen and on shor noce. The ransmers were kw mouned on a wo, possby hree, foo square pane wh four copper cad yden jars and usua hex and ransformer on he back. Two, hree nch nsuaors suppored he spark gap whch was unusua for a speca reason: Ths gap conssed of an nsuang ube of mca on whch was mouned en aumnum dsks hree nches n dameer and one eghh nch hck, separaed by one sxeenh nch mca washers one nch n dameer. (Ths s no o be confused wh he hen exsng Teefunken quenched gap.) On he end of hs supporng mca ube was a rache and a prorudng keeper-shaf whch urned he enre a ' n.. Yke fhu-nd 6YA/We' PRSCLLA B.n# n 893 as he cos 0/ $,500,000 she was queen 0/ he Fa Rver Lne's Long sand Sound run. An nsuon, she served 44 yean Red push carpes mj oher uxures made her one 0/ he bes known and oved overngh boas on h, Sound. Page 5

3 Back o ndex Dga Meda K2TQN 202 L CAPTAN semby each- me you operaed he send receve swch one quarer nch--hs o keep burnng eveny, he purpose of hs arrangemen was queness of operaon. n operaon emed a sor of ea kee szzng sound que sofy, bu dd em consderabe ozone and power. The power pan was a sma que runnng moor gen- eraor, and an emergency weve vo dynamoor, a neay mouned n a back box wh nsuang cover. operaed by means of he usua arge snap ogge swches and even had a po gh o remnd you was on. e reason for a hs que opera- on was because mos of he wreess rooms were ocaed n ne beween he passenger cabns or saerooms, so queness was essena. The re- cever was he new capacy couped varomeer n seres wh he anenna and ground had hree das, hree nches n dameer. was a nea ookng se wh four arge brass bndng poss marked A G De. On a hard rubber base was mouned wo deecors, scon and carborundum. The var- meer was Capp Easham, condensers were a made by Murdock and he wo par of headphones \ere Brandes reguar ype 2000 ohms. Ths recever was suppemened by an exerna snge sde unng co for ong wave enghs and he Arngon me-, ck (sedom asked for). The reguar waveengh range was from 200 meers o 000 meers and worked very we. hnk hey were made down a he Bush Termna saon by Mr. Hogan and Mr. Coe and assocaes. The "Sound" Seamers Here are he sound seamers. (\Vbere wo are ogeher hey run oppose each oher.) Commonweah and Prsca New York o Newpor and Fa Rver Pymouh and Provdence New York o Provdence, R.. Mane and New Hampshre New York o New Bedford, Mass. Cy of Lowe and Cheser W Chapn New York o New London, Conn. Rchard Peck New York o Brdgepor and New Haven Concord and Lexngon (Coona Lne) New York o Provdence R.. Mohcan and Peqonnc freghers New York o a paces. The Anennas on a he seamers were rgged from he smoke sack o he afer fag saff and were of he four wre varey. Tha s my recoecon of many years ago. w ry o e of he operang procedures n he foowng paragraphs and of he day rps of hs fee--addng my commens on wreess communcaon as exsed a ha me. BLue Peer Fes A good supper a 5 p. m., across Wes Sree for evenng New York Journa, dodgng housands of commuers headed for Corand ree Ferry and New Jersey R. R. So on a cear evenng we puou from Per 4 spn around and head down he Hudson Rver around he baery. You se he pump hande on he ransmer o 750 meers sen a s que. You ca \vcg a quck repy and you send your deparure me, receved from he po house acknowedged. s hard here o eve wh a modern rado man. magne as remember. No oud speakers, no ampfers no regeraon squea, no phones or voces, sng on 600 meers you hear Seagae. (Beeve Dave arnoff a key hen. ) Tha's Coney and workng he seamer OE of he Od Domnon ne DF wh Jack Duffey a key, and no\ and hen "NAH " (Brookyn Navy Yard) booms n wh a "Ge 'off and say off. " He was he boss around C n hose days. Your seamer rounds he Baery and gdes up he Eas Rver under he ' ( Brookyn Brdge. You make he curous observaon ha he spark sgna from a shp off he Jersey coas woud bud way up, hen drop ou for a few seconds and suddeny reurn and fade down agan. Up he rver under he Manhaan Brdge, Backwes sand and he bg ran brdge and He Gae and on o Execuon Lgh. Agan you ca WCG and repor passng as receved from he po. f you are he as seamer, WCG ok's wh a GN and coses down un 5 a. m. n he mornng o gree he eas bound fee. The srp of rave from Per 4 o Execuon Lgh was consdered hghy accden prone. Once ou n Long sand Sound, you woud ake a e sro down he beaufu carpeed and ghed corrdors, grand sarcase, and pubc rooms fed wh fney dressed men and women. Or you woud s n your wreess room wh he headphones haf on (one ear) and hear some swee hng say o her boy frend, "Wha s ha?" and he repy, "Oh, ha s ha new fandanged wreess suff you hear so much abou hese days!" A hs acvy was aso gong on down a he eas end of he sound. WC Fa Rver, was coecng he deparure mes from he New Bedford, Provdence and even New London. He aso cosed down afer he as seamer passed Pon Judh o gree you n ' he mornng. Thus he fu fee s underway abou seven arge seamers boh ways or foureen n a. Around mdngh we a woud be n he vcny: of New London, Conn., and WLC musca noe woud check and record our me passng hm from poson repors furnshed by he pos. On a cear ngh you coud see he ghs of Long sand 'and Conn. and a he seamer abaze wh gh--ruy a beaufu sgh. Ths was a roune acvy sx nghs a week (no sangs on Sunday). Prompy a 8 p. m. you uned 800 meers and coped 0 H X sendng press, whch as he New,Xork Herd saon, owned by Gordon Benne ocaed on he Saen sand Ferry Budng, Baery Park, N. Y.C. (Fne pracce wh a penc a 25 W. P.M.) A hs roune was on a far weaher ngh and was subjec o varous dsrupons caused by weaher condons or ce, pea soup fog, poor vsby whch whpped hngs no a frenzy a mes and pu everybody on nerve's edge, as here was very e ebow room and o ose your vson and rey on whses bes, fashes of gh, and wreess o ap your way aong was reay somehng. remember he eary mornngs when a seven seamers were srung ou from Execuon Lgh o way down he Ea s Rver nchng aong n praccay zero vsby. A hs sounds suffy and od fashoned bu back hen was reay excng f no nerve-wrackng! There sure was a o of raffc on Long sand Sound and very few accdens over he 00 years of marne operaon. A s que now gone wh he wnd and fog, as hey say, four ane super hghway from NYC o Boson and dese rucks rue he day, he New York Harford RR (bankrup n 935) and he seng of he ovey Commonweah, Provdence Pymouh and Prsca n 938 for scrap pu an end o he era. Once agan Long sand Sound s for peasure boas. The "Lngo" was "Shps" The ngo on he Fa Rver Lne was seamer no shp. was rgh or ef, no Pbr and sarboard. Up and down no --a'6'ove-and eow, fron and back, abou he ony deep sea hng around was he green and red runnng ghs. There were no pors bu wndows wh sashes and curans on rods. The padde whees coud be operaed separaey, from each oher, wh one sow forward and he oher sow af or asern, hese seamers coud urn n a pnwhee fashon, o wach a seamer back ou of per 4 pose a second hen urn on s cener beam was reay somehng, compared wh a he no e and fus s and ugs puffng o ge he bg Cunarders and French ne shps ou of dock and on Paae 6

4 Back o ndex a he'!r way. The Maes were concerned mosy wh baes of coon, and nungran care. A square was made for he many mmgrans arrvng from Europe and on her way o he New Engand coon ms. Ths a has changed and he ms have moved o he souh where hey grow he coon. Dga Meda K2TQN 202 Yes, he sound seamers were a cozy back door enry for many eary wreess operaors. Each shp car- red hree pos--one of whom was an apprence. They ook he seamers down he sound from gh house o buoy, no navgaon as a sea he quarer- maser was caed wheesman. The food was exce- en a a mes. Many of he crew were n her ae 60's or mdde 70's--saors from he a cpper shp days of he Ausraan gran rade. Capan Aber Snow was a famous record seer n hs day, many of he young men were he sons of hese od saors of a prevous geeraon. s surprsng how e of he deep sea ak was heard--he ony vsbe ras were he fancy rope and wne work hey dd. Afer a he ony rough sea we ever had was a shor srp as you rounded Pon Juda. Here n a down eas sorm you fe a e roube beween Bock sand Narraganse Bay, he New Bedford boas hard gong some mes. Anoher hng o remember--we dd our sang from dusk o dawn yo were a dock sde durng he day and Sundays. used o sunshne on per 4 eegraph offce for Harry Ear conras-!qg o moonshnng of oday. No many years pass- ea-before hs Horao Ager go deep ea fever-- wha a surprse and shock bu ha's anoher sory. "Fash Back" As remember n he year of 92 a bg wreess meeng was he r a Bern. Swzerand. A he arge counres were represened. There hey hrashed ou frequency conro. ca eer assgnmens, o he varou counre,hus: F France -ay G-Grea Bran, c.. a \ kno\ oday. The word Rado emerg d and b 93 h examnng of operaors c n enng of aon assgnmen of ca eer, ec., mov d from he vy Deparmen o he Deparmen of Corrun rce \,,.h offces 'n he Cus om Hou e a Baer r Park NYC. Major Krumm was n charge, nrry Sarenwaer. and ohers. Mr Cadmus a Bamore, hoser a New Dreans 'and' aer : 'ransfe. n o var ' c e. of he Wes Coas and Grea Lakes. aer of Bos on. My cense was aken a he 'Navy Yard. bu he second had he names \v am C. Redfed. ec. of Commerce, E. T. Chamberan, Commssoner of Navgaon and e amn'ng offcer wa Harry adenwaer. They were vad for wo year ony and f you faed o show a sea endorsemen for x monhs perod of he wo years you had o be reexamned. The days of Cerfcae of k were over. Terms such as C-W were unheard of was A A2 A3 em sons. The audon had no been nvened aer when De ' ores pu he grd n beween he famen and pae of he 'emng Vave. There were no oud speakers. n fac he capan and ohers soon e you kno\ ha ou were off wach when you dd no have he head phon on our ears by he snde remakr "\ho' on wach"--e pecay he hard ooks from he capan. Th erm Rado Shack no ye heard-- wa "wree offce or room. am no ye was Amaeur \. ree "Spark no ye-- was r. arcon' or ju arcon. The God Spark had no hown up e. had Wreess n he god wreah of m un orm cap some wore Marcon bu no Rad 'o Off'cer ye. One of he nce hng abou ho e days wa ha you were brand new. There were no od mers sandng around neerng a your operaon and abes. A smpe as seem now. hen nobody knew anyhng abou. Capan now used o sop n fron of my wr e room door no a my good evenng pause hen mvy sro down he corrdor h hands foded behnd h back and shakng hs head. The "Posh" 55 Commonweah The mornng afer my frs rowd rp o Ne\ Bed-! ford abou eeven a. m. here was a knock on my wreess room door. Heo Ray ay Lous Bear, a 'sandy-hared hunchbacked feo\ wh a marveou sense of: humor and w. We you made bu your sendng sure sounded wobby ho e frs re- pors. Oh we J ' a ov r nm He come ' on over and e me gve you he our of he prde of he Fa Rver Lne seamers. 0 w crossed he per o he S. S. COh'()NWEALTH. Go h. wha a! (! Page 7 "f ha,', ",har you're o!ord of we'd be!,er hurty and pon ' em," h a epp d from he canop 'ed pu h red carp ed companonwa -- ver hng wa ab aze wh ' ghs. Lou a' d. The a or. of NYC gong o hro\ a b'g Tamman Ha po'ca d'nn r oday. The fr h'ng ha caugh my a non wa he weepn and b aufu mahogan arcas ha \"ep up o he corrdor of ae rooms and her many aoon. Lous go ou a po card wh a pcure of he hp on one de and on he oher n fne pr'n a de cr'pon and ared readng as \ en aong. ad he appeared on he ound around 90 and co \O mon doars and she wa 456 fee ong. Her grand aoon was Venean Gohc. wa oo young o know hen ha her dn' ng room \ a n Lou XV. (Seem heard abou hm n my h ory book.) The cafe was n 6h cenury aan bu he grande room of a wa ' her man dn'ng room under hee bg dome s and a ga on he ou de. As a poor boy ure wa unned and even o hs day can' e you how beaufu ' a \ a. A dance ha and gr n pan h s, e everhere sof rugs arg roomy char and beaufu amps and ghng eff c and we cam o he wrees OFFCE mnd you was a haf door arran emen--he op haf swung n aong he \ a he ower haf became a or of wrng desk. The combnaon offce saeroom mea ured abou egh b en. On he far end was a mahogany bunk arrangemen w'h four drawer and a cohes ocker. When h bunk was made up had wo veve curans ha ed back on rods dspayng a ma ' p ar s pow and a cream coored banke. Tak abou comfor! Sure be r han anyh ' ng ever had a home. Aong he sd of he \ a wa he op rang abe wh he g ar on '. Lou' bou ran ou read'ng ha po card ory and ad he had o refer o becau e he dd no know he names of a ho e beaufu rooms. was o make a few rps on he. S. CO NWEALTH as reef when Lou had a ck spe. s surprsng how roune hngs go o be. Round'ng he Baery hence under he 'as Rver brdges hrough He Gae o Execuon Lgh and on ou no he sound. Many ngh when h weaher wa cear woud go down o he cargo d ck \ here he bae of coon \vere 0 arranged n a cear quare o make a bed on. There woud be f'f o a hundred 'mm ran fre h from Es sand and ' urope. Paher k ' ed weavers and eaher \orkr mo from he Posh Corrdor bound for her ne\v counr and job n he Ne\v Engand coon m and h Bo on hoe facore. Each had hs nam and number of h fam'y ed o hs ape and where he \ a head d. The \ omen and chdren gahered og her. Th \ ere comforabe bedded do\\7j wh h r own beddng. wa warm and peny of ood food erved, cook d and made b h msev We \ ere a ry knd o hem. Th re \ er os of bread, mk and chee e' good o face ' maybe orne of hem ar ave and \ ' remember. n poke 'ng h. Parae o h p akng ube from he po house h r ran a par of announcaor be \ 're han rang a ca be. n addon o he ea kee wh' e on he peakn ube. oon conrved o ha b connecn m r cever phone po o one end coud 0 up o he p ' o hou e and connec m r phon and and wach. gna w re ju a e down bu on 600 meer a n he dark back of he p o ho and ened o man T ore and he po ' ngo on cear ngh a ceran hour becau e on a fog n h ou a co e o rour e., have ad befor, when ou removed our head phone 'ou mgh a we be a hore or n our bunk aseep. The enr rang of h \ r no normay mor han f ' f r o one hundr d used o en o he ran amc ' n acon e and eagae and he coa w e and he fee a Te\\' Por. a on a cr ecor.

5 Back o ndex M - kfs- EDTCf 4.. Dga Meda K2TQN 202 M SPAR<.S SS. GOVERNOR DNGLEY - KRV./ " /, / /.....-( " FURNSHED BY OUR LATE MEMBER, CAPT. EDWARD N. DNGLEY, JR USNR/RET SGP A Memorabe Occason f One week end Mr. Coe sen me down o he Bush Ter- mna penhouse saon wh nsrucons o sop a he resauran up on 36h and 4h Avenue and pck up wo good szed baskes of food. woud have o make wo round-rps, fve ong bocks and eeven fghs of sars, arrvng wh he second! oad, Mr. Coe, Waace, and Vosberg were prepar- ng uncheon, seng mprovsed abes. was o be he waer and handy errand boy. They a were much oder han. Soon he guess arrved and am gong o wre down her names for posery. They were a poneers of wreess--eery W. Sone, Fessenden, Ncka Tesa Professor Pupn, Professor Godsmh, Admra Buard, Greeneaf Pckard, Perce, J.V.L. Hogan, Knner, Aexanderson, and ohers. No defores or Armsrong as remember. Afer he greengs and wecomng, hey seed down o serous akng and seng up some knd of organzaon. have ofen wondered f was he begnnng of he famous nsue of Eecrca Engneers or.r.e. Anyone reca? Preude o Hsory Two Canadan boas. Then here was he S. S. NORTH (Porand o NYC ou sde These were he days before four ane super hghways and dese rucks and here were severa fourshng coaswse seamshp nes. The STEPHANO sunk by German U-53 submarne off he Newfoundand coas. LAND and S.S. NORTHSTAR. run). The "Bunkerh" and "Massachuses" (Buzzards Bay Boson o NYC). The Od Domnon ne wh he S. S. MONROE and sser shp. The merchan mners ne ou of Provdence and such shps as he S.S. DORCHESTER, NARRAGANSETTE, ec. The Cyde Lne, he Maory Lne, he Morgan Lne wh a bg fee coaswsng. The Red "0" Lne wh he Caracus and Marcabo. The Ward Lne wh s fee, hen he nercoasa Lne, he Luckenback Lne and he Amercan Hawaan. These were a jobs for eary wreess men. saed on many of hese shps. There were wo fas shps bu by Jm H of Grea Norhern Raroad fame ha were o run from Porand Me., o NYC bu were sen o he Engsh Channe o ranspor roops n WW. They ended up on he Caforna SFO La run, he Yae and Harvard. Jack Duffey, George Coe and Voga were he men conaced for assgnmens. Page 8 Epogue of a "Vanshng Amercan" f ever here was a COSer, safer, more comforabe seamshp ne han he "0d Fa Rver Lne, 've never heard of. was he brh an arng pon of many of he SWP Spark-Gap Poneers on he Eas Coas. Mos of he hngs you menon n your "Srange Word of Sparks" arce (SPARKS-), were no me up wh un as a fedgng ef he nes of Long sand Sound from he padde whee sound o he screw propeer vbraons. Don' fnd oo much fau wh my memores. Afer a Per 4 s gone, across sree sands he wo rade-cener skyscrapers. hear a srong coffer dam s o be bu from Wheha Sree a he way up o 79h Sree, connecng a hose ong pers exendng ou no he Hudson. F a n and a beaufu park aong he wes sde of Manhaan for s eemng mons. And he od Brookyn Brdge s respenden wh s new coas of aumnum pan. have ved ong enough o see wordwde fees of shps bu, used, scrapped and sunk. And he beaufu Transaanc ner UNTED STATES decayng a her dock a Hampon Roads, Vrgna, and -he as beaufu ner he FRANCE rerng from he servce. A pos card from my XYL, "Geny ook off Kennedy Arpor a 7 p.m. n a 747 Jumbo je wh 308 passengers and crew and jus as geny e down a Ory Fed, Pars, a mdngh, a mos enjoyabe rp. Offcer., Yes, here s a 'Communcaon's Guess 's me o bd my SWP frends 73. Greengs and Ha o he "Communcaons Offcers" of he Boeng 747's Jumbo Je. Horao Ager, you have grown od. THE VANSHNG AMERCAN MARCON WRELESS TELEGRAPH OPERATOR RAY GREEN

6 Back o ndex Dga Meda K2TQN ' SPARKS..9fNA REAR A-URAL ELLERY W. STOf'.E, VCE-CHARfoAN OF THE BOARD,.T.T. CO. A FACTUAL STORY BASED ON RECORDS,.... BY -' FRED ROSEBURY Maybe he ddn' pan hs fuure: Admra Eery W. Sone hnks hs career was argey due o a "seres of freak happenngs," as he says, ye 00kE very much as hough he workng rue of hs fe had somehng o do wh : "DO MORE THAN ANYONE HAS A RGHT TO EXPECT OF YOU: F YOU ONLY DO WHAT S EXPECTED, YOU ARE ONLY AVERAGE." f 5.5. QUEEN LAUNCHES CAREER Eery sared as a ham n 908 or 909 when he 'was a hgh-schoo suden. n 90, when he was sxeen, he uned n one day o he 600-meer ban and o hs surprse he heard a dsress ca (CQD or SOS) from a coasng vesse, he SS Queen, bound for Eureka. As here was no response from any- where, afer a few mnues, he wen o he phone and caed he San Fran- csco marme saon "PH" (now KPH) and hen he U.S. Coas Guard. Laer he phoned he Oakand TRBUNE o fnd ou wha happened, f anyhng. He / earned ha he shp had been rescued by he Coas Guard and a hands were safe. The edor waned o know who was cang when Eery od hm was he who had nofed "PH" and he Coas Guard, he edor asked hm o sop n on hs way o schoo nex mornng o be nervewed and o have hs pcure aken. The Eary Days Hs frs ransmer was a /2-kw spark whch he bu hs home a 37 Lee Sree, Oakand, jus norh of Lake Merr. The hgh-voage ransformer, wound by hmse f--he "pg" as he caed, had s secondary nsuaed w h meed paraffn. The condenser was bu up ou of Began pae gass wh nfo shees cemened o he gass wh whe of egg. For he recever, hs frs deecor was carbon and neede, from whch he! wen by sages o varous ypes of eecroyc devces, hen carborundum. Some of hese requred a oca baery. Ths was foowed by scon, ga-/ ena, and a as a De Fores "Audon," a gassy "sof" ube, nvened ony a few years earer, a ube ha woud go bue f he B-baery was more han 45 vos. He found a emperamena gassbower, specazng n he repar of x-ray ubes, who repumped hs Audon down oo hard.,! The honorarum of "HO ORARY MEMBERSHP" ( 2 ) has been conferred upon Rear Admra Eery W. Sone by he Socey of Wreess Poneers, nc., for he remarkabe achevemens he has brough o he word hrough a feme of preemnen eadershp n many feds, ncudng mary, cv governmen, and busness. He has auhored books, especay one on he funda- menas of wreess ha was ousandng n s fed and used as ex n eary year by hose ner esed n communcaons. He served wh dsnc- on n a mos dffcu poson as Chef of he Aed Commsson for ay afer Word War and has receved \he hghes awards of many aons. Admra Sone was sponsored by Eben K, Cady, Pas Presden of he Socey. he o precsey hey were abe o ge maxmum sensvy. They aso found hey coud "soup up" s furher wh a U-shaped magne from a dscarded car magneo. n exacy he rgh poson hs magne defeced he eecron sream beween he famen, grd and pae, o oban an absoue and crca maxmum of effcency, so necessary for OX recepon whou ampfers. Today, we are so accusomed o he use of superheerodyne and musage ampfer crcus ha s hard o conceve of geng aong whou hem, and s reay amazng wha sor of ong-dsance communcaon Eery Sone and hs feow hams were abe o acheve n he eary days. When Eery was seveneen he desgned a roary quenched gap whch Haer Cunnngham on Lower Marke Sree n San Francsco made up for hm. He found ha he coud ge a Pousen-arc effec by drppng acoho on he seaed-n spark gap! Saon censes for hams were of course no requred n hose days, and no for any shore saons eher, excep hose ke "CH" or "PH" whch worked shps. The waveengh of hs rg was probaby n he neghborhood of 700 meers (no one used kc. hen excep a few peope n he Navy and he Bureau of Sandards). H s ca "LK" he says, "had a nce rhyhm, and s has." n 93, Eery was admed o he Bay Counes Wreess Teegraph Assocaon of Caforna. The secreary, L.M. Cemen, gave hm he heory and code ess a Cemen ' s ham saon - ess whch were far more dffcu han he Fra Grade Operaor's exam Eery hmsef gave aer o asprng shp operaors. Bu he passed wh fyng coors gave hm he prvege of havng an "s" ca : ha s, hs ca became "SLK" whch had an enhanced rhy,hm. The Frs Job The US Shp Ac wen no effec n 90 and ery go a Lmed Commerca saon cense for hs ham ouf, and a Commerca Operaor's cense for hmsef, December 3, 92. R.B. Wooveron became he Rado nspecor n he San francsco area, as dd W.O. Terre n New York. The Rado Dvson, hen under he U.S. Deparmen of Commerce, was amos mmedaey nundaed wh a arge number of appcaons for operaor and saon censes because of he Ac, for shp, marme shore saons and hams. Fndng hmsef unabe o hande hs food of paperwork, Wooveron go permsson o hre an asssan for hry days. Ths was n eary 92. Eery, hen a suden a he Unversy of Caforna, obaned eave from hs casses and was aken on as 8 pad empoyee, conducng operaor exams for shp bes. Wooveron, as Rado nspecor, sgned he ckes of he successfu canddaes. Eery receved $80 fo ha monh, hs frs pad job! ' Snce here was no ampfcaon beyond he deecor sage, a hermonc! ube had s greaes sensvy jus shor of hs bue onzaon pon. Eery and a ham frend, Pame r Hewe, who ved on a farm a Hoser, Caforna, found ha when he ube was warm became more sensve. They fgured he hea was drvng occuded gases ou of he ube eemens Coone Maro nfane, R.. A. F. and Eery Sone n he New York marne and he gass was, hus reducng he degree of hgh vacuum. They mouned conro room of Mackay Rado and Teegraph Company n Juy, 933, whe he Audon head downward n a gass beaker of o under whch hey had a monorng he fgh communcaons of he Babo seapane expedon ha spr amp wh an adjusabe fame. By conrong he emperaure of monh.. 0===================