On Monday, April 23, 2012, our Club will achieve the full age of 66 years. Truly a landmark.

The founding meeting took place on a Tuesday evening, April 23, 1946 at 160 Scarboro Crescent in the Kingston Road and Midland Avenue area of Scarborough and our Club has been in continuous operation since then.

Thinking backwards from now in 2012 to 1966 a time of 46 years ( and at that time our 20th Anniversary ), I retrieved from the Archives, a copy of the SARC newsletter called: "VE3WE Calling" at that time, for the combined months of April and May of 1966 for an historical picture of SARC as it was then. Here are some of the highlights:

  • The front cover contained a hand-drawing of a map of the coming Field Day site drawn by VE3FET showing Copperfield Park that was a great radio location on the brink of the Scarborough Bluffs and overlooking Lake Ontario. Bit cool and damp in the morning but what a view from 100 feet above the lake.
  • A column called "Leave it to the Engineers" on page 4 where member's questions were answered.
  • "XYL & YL News", page 5.
  • Letters to the Editor.
  • A short list of some repeater stations including VE3RPT ! on page 6. Repeaters were new then ! Can you imagine ?
  • Minutes of some general meetings on page 7 & 8 tell what was happening in SARC in 1966.
  • Article about: "Field Day --- A Kaleidoscope by Dick Guy, VE3TT" Tells about FD HI. and offers a list of things to bring along too. Worth the read today for next FD. Dick was a top CW man and contester. He moved to B.C. and became VE7TT.
  • For Sale and Wanted.
  • A list of members of SARC complete with cross-references to call signs on pages 13-15. How many of those members do you remember ??
  • And more.

"VE3WE CALLING" was printed on a Gestetner duplicating machine and used legal size paper, printed both sides. That meant creating a master for each page using a typewriter set so that the typewriter ribbon did not engage and the type face penetrated the master making up a "negative". This was then placed on the machine with ink and each page was printed. Then the pages had to be collated, stapled, labeled and postage affixed and delivered to the Post Office. This issue involved making 16 legal sized sheets and a lot of work by many volunteers of the club. Audrey, VA3YD can tell of many Saturdays spent at Eva and Barney's ( VE3EVA & VE3MB ) home getting the paper out. Much coffee and good times for sure.

My own memory tells me that we went through two Gestetner machines before we went to a club-owned photocopy machine I know that Bill Catlender, VE3PA / VE3ILE typed many of the masters. Thanks Bill and Audrey and to many other "willing hands" who produced the paper.

I do hope that you will enjoy reading the newsletter as much as I did while preparing this column.

HAPPY 66th BIRTHDAY, SARC. And many more of them.

73 de Gord, VE3CNA

1966 – Long Delayed Echoes – VE3WE Calling
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