Past Director Harry W Lewis - W7JWJ Seattle, WA QCWA # 5305

First licensed in 1941 in Washington state. Life memebr of ARRL and QCWA. In 1993 servered as Chairman of Chapter 4 and elected to a seond term in 1996. Currently serving as ARRL Section Manager Western Washington. His XYL is Mary, W7QGP, past ARRL Director and currently Sec/Tres QCWA Chapter 4.

Harry's engineering career was in radio and TV broadcasting plus 6 years as an electroninc vocational instructor. He taught Amateur radio classes evenings for 48 years with over 4000 graduates. He won 36 Morse Code contests, four in excess of 75 WPM.

From the April 2001 Edition of the K7LED Relay, Mike and Key ARC
Introducing the Club's Radio Officer
Submitted by Radio Officer Harry Lewis, W7JWJ
I was born in British Columbia and raised in Northern Idaho. While a Junior in High School, I saw a copy of the American Morse code in a physics book. Since I thought it would be great for sending secret messages in study hall, I memorized it and built a homemade sounder and key.

I had a part-time school job running a projector for movies during school assemblies. One day, three of us were assigned the task so my buddy suggested we split and visit his ham station at his home across the street as only one projectionist was needed. We climbed through a hatch in the school roof, slid three stories down a drain pipe and made a 160 meter contact during which the rig caught fire. Something about using number 24 wire for filament leads. The knock on the door was the school principal telling us that we were coming in on the school sound system. I was hooked.

The following summer I was training for a State swimming meet, contracted polio, and was paralyzed from the neck down for the next two months. Finally, as motion returned to my arms, I would drag myself around our farm house like a walrus out of water. One day I managed to pull myself up onto a chair and there on the table was my home-brew sounder. The moment of truth had arrived. I realized that, even confined to a wheelchair, I could be a Morse Telegrapher and so I practiced until I could easily copy 55 to 60 wpm. The paralysis gradually left, at least from the neck down, and my first job was as a Morse Telegrapher in San Francisco. That was 60 years ago.

Time flies when you're havin' fun. 73

March 23, 2013