The Philip B. Petersen Collection Broadcast June 26, 1989

     This is a story about Harold Derusha, W2DFV, as told by his prodigy Bob Varone, WA4ETN.
     I have great parents but they could never see what amateur radio could do for me and they decided that I would go to college.
     My first exposure to radio was at the age of ten when I put my first crystal set together.  Years later, that spark was rekindled one afternoon while playing baseball.  A ball was hit over a hedge into a yard.  My friend Bill (now K2NJ) and I went around the hedge to get the ball and were confronted by an elderly man holding out the ball.  "Did you lose this?" he asked.  We could see by his smile that he wouldn't scold us.
     Bill and I noticed two unusual looking antennas, so we asked him what they were.  "Those are my amateur radio antennas," he replied.  "Come on in the house and I'll show you my radio shack."  From that moment, there were two 14-year-old boys who would never be the same again.
     The radio shack was in the basement, where we were greeted by his wife, Tess.  Like Harold, she had a big smile.  She got us cookies and milk while Harold showed us his equipment.  He had a transmitter and receiver and a sign proudly displaying his call "W2DFV".
     Harold turned on the equipment and sent out a call using his "homebrew" brass Morse code key (homebrew in radio means homemade).  The receiver came to life with Morse code signals and Harold said he had just made contact with a station in Germany.  Well, after that, Bill and I knew we wanted to become radio amateurs and would do whatever it took to make it happen.  Harold said we had to pass a code and theory exam by the FCC in order to get on the air.  Harold, a retired tool and die maker, was 65 years old when Bill and I met him.  Along with his electronic knowledge, he could make anything out of metal and wood, a valuable skill to early radio amateurs.  I liked to listen to Harold tell stories of the old days when spark gap transmitters were the state of the art.
     As I learned from Harold, a close bond developed, with Harold and his wife becoming like a second set of parents.  I called them Mom and Pop Derusha and was treated like a son.  Harold was always patient and supportive and told me that school should always come first.  With the help and support of this wonderful man, Bill and I got our Novice licenses and assembled our stations.  Our transmitters were built of parts from discarded TV sets.  However, I bought my receiver with money I saved from my paper route.  I made many radio contacts using my homebrew transmitter and I will never forget my years in amateur radio.  Bill and I improved our skills and passed the top grade Extra Class license.  By the way, I did go to college and Bill and I both work in the field of communications.
     As the years went by, Harold and I always maintained our special relationship by radio even though we were separated by many miles.  Harold's key is silent now.  He passed away in 1983.  I will never know what direction my life would have taken if I had never met Harold and been introduced to amateur radio, but I do know that I am a better person today for having known him.

June 26, 1989

** Broadcasts recordings preserved and presented here by Mr. Robert Buss and Mr. Bernie Ricciardi, Phil's friends and fellow Marconi Chapter 138 QCWA members **

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