Back when I was 14 years old, I was riding my bike down a street in my new neighborhood, and spotted a big BEAM antenna - I knocked on the door and asked "Is the HAM of the house home?" It turned out to be Carl Bruns - KØGOZ (SK), and smiling, he led me down into the cool basement of his house on Lowell St. in Overland Park, to behold his HAM SHACK! Whooooah! It was the first one I'd really seen, and all I can remember was the HT-32B transmitter and a Poly Com 6&2 transceiver, but I know he had so much more.
At any rate, Carl's wife brought down some cookies and milk, and Carl managed to call a CQ and get somebody for me to talk to - I was hooked. I got more involved with radio, and even ended up having that speciality in the US Navy as a "Radioman" (they call 'em "Information Technologists" now). Each time I'd come home on leave, I'd always take the time to go say hi to Carl. We remained friends for a very long time (even got an ARRL Public Service Award together, for working a tornado that hit RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, back in 1966), and when he sold his original house and moved into a new one, it turned out to be DIRECTLY BEHIND my folks' house (71st. & Hardy); that was before he became a Silent Key.
Well, I've been aware that my Stepdad (Jim Carl - WØKI) owned a Palomar 500 SWR/Power meter, as it stayed down in the basement on his metal shelves, along with an EICO audio generator and some other stuff - Jim can't get down there anymore, nor walk more than a few steps - his shack is upstairs. One day, about a year ago, Jim told me that THAT VERY meter had come from the estate of my old first "Elmer", Carl Bruns... and this last visit, he GAVE IT TO ME (I reimbursed him with a giant bag of M&M's - his favorite).
So now, I have a very personal piece of ham radio history. The VERY meter that my FIRST ELMER used, back when I got to talk on a microphone for the first time, back in 1958. I cleaned it all up, and am currently polishing the plastic meter face to it's original sheen. What a tribute to an ordinary guy, who took the time to smile at a scrawny kid on his doorstep, one hot August day, 51 years ago....
73 and Sleep Well, CarlNovember 6, 2009