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 Previous: ARRL Field Day, Affiliated Club Competition Changes Announced |  Next: In Brief |
 Barry Merrill, W5GN and Judith Spencer Merrill, KA5PQD. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 30, 2002--A generous donation from an Amateur Radio couple from Dallas will support the ARRL's efforts to preserve ham radio's history. ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart announced the contribution from Barry and Judith Spencer Merrill, W5GN and KA5PQD, this week. The Merrills are ARRL life members.
"ARRL is proud to acknowledge the Merrills'
exceptional generosity in support of the Preservation of Artifacts Fund,"
Hobart said. "Their donation is dedicated to the conservation of the valuable
books, papers and artifacts that define the history of Amateur Radio."
 Pacific Division Director Jim Maxwell, W6CF, and his wife, Trudy, KC6NAX, at work in their makeshift historical document "triage center" on the third floor of ARRL Headquarters. |
The Merrills' desire to contribute was prompted in part by recent exploratory efforts--primarily by ARRL Pacific Division Director Jim Maxwell, W6CF, and his wife, Trudy, KC6NAX--to assess and inventory papers, pamphlets, correspondence and photographs now stored in an attic room at ARRL Headquarters. "Like most hams' attics, the one at ARRL Headquarters is full of good stuff," the Merrills said, "but the recent discovery of very early correspondence and documents by the founders and early leaders of Amateur Radio comprise a unique history that will be lost forever without archival preservation." The Merrills expressed the hope that the documentary materials one day might be made accessible to the public, at least in digital form.
The ARRL Historical Committee, chaired by New England Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, says the Maxwells' efforts helped increase sensitivity to the historical importance and value of some of the items on display or in daily use at Headquarters. For their part, the Maxwells say the uncatalogued material in the attic was the tip of the iceberg of a possible historical treasure trove. The Maxwells spent several days in the so-called "penthouse" area of the Headquarters building, and they managed to catalog about 20% of an estimated 125 to 150 file drawers packed with materials having historical potential.
 Jim Maxwell, W6CF, checks out a piece of ARRL correspondence from the 1930s. |
Director Maxwell said that in the course of the archival "triage" process--as he called it--he and his wife would glean an occasional interesting factoid. "KB Warner took shorthand," Maxwell said, citing one example he learned from reviewing the documents of the former ARRL secretary and general manager, who was W1EH. "He kept many of his notes in shorthand."
In his report to the Historical Committee, Director Maxwell emphasized the importance of moving the documents and photographs into a more friendly environment as well as to replace some of the old file cabinets and add new ones. The Historical Committee wants to be able to inventory and store as many of the documents and photographs as possible over the next few months.
ARRL Headquarters used to have a museum, but when the League renovated the lobby, it was necessary to dismantle the collection, and most items were carefully inventoried and placed into storage. Some significant artifacts remain on display elsewhere at Headquarters, however. These include Hiram Percy Maxim's "Old Betsy" rotary spark transmitter in the W1AW lobby, as well as the original log of Paul Godley, 2ZE, from the 1921 transatlantic tests, written in his tent in Scotland; a certificate for the "Royal Order of Trans-Atlantic Brasspounders"; and a stenographic account of the First International Congress of the International Amateur Radio Union held in Paris in April 1925.
 Hiram Percy Maxim's "Old Betsy" spark gap transmitter (left), in the W1AW foyer, is surrounded by other historical photos and equipment. An early W1AW transmitter is at the right. |
Other members of the Historical Committee include Al Cohen, W1FXQ, and ARRL Treasurer Jim McCobb,W1LLU. The panel has part-time staff support from ARRL Legislative and Public Affairs Manager Steve Mansfield, N1MZA, who will be looking into the possibility of securing additional assistance to complete the Herculean cataloguing task.
Hobart invited other League members to join the Merrills in helping to conserve Amateur Radio's documentary history. "The conservation project supported so generously by Barry and Judy Merrill will take months, if not years," she said. "If you would like to join them in building the historical record of ARRL, we would be pleased to hear from you."
Contact Chief Development Officer Mary
Hobart, mhobart@arrl.org; 860-594-0397,
or send contributions to the Preservation of Artifacts Fund, c/o Chief
Development Officer Mary M. Hobart, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington CT 06111.
| Previous: ARRL Field Day, Affiliated Club Competition Changes Announced | Next: In Brief |
