With the birth of 1931 came the birth of the WSARC(sic). It was in the last days of 1930 that several hams in the city decided to get together and see if a ham club could be organized in this city for the purpose of having a division convention sometime during the year. There being only a few amateurs present at this first meeting it was decided to call another meeting the first part of January and invite all hams in the city interested in forming a club to attend.
The result of this meeting was the organization of the Winston-Salem Amateur Radio Club with Al Hege 4ABT as President, H.S. Carter 4OG VP, C.R. Brewer 4RA sec/treas. Committees were appointed to draw up a constitution and bylaws, and to see about the possibility of holding a convention,(also to find a meeting place). The dues at first were .25 per month and the meeting place, etc. was the operating room of the local broadcast station WSJS. The meeting place was soon moved to a room at the YMCA which was used until we moved in our own building.
Most of 1931 was taken up with convention plans and assignments. After corresponding with headquarters the convention later was set for the last part of September. We needed money to back the convention and the club had no ready cash so most of the members pledged a fixed amount to back the convention with the understanding if the convention went over they would return the money back; if not it was gone to profit and loss mostly lost. The convention went over big and no one lost. The programs during this time consisted of talks on radio by members and visiting each other's shacks.
After the convention the club had no object in particular to work to until someone suggested that if we have a radio club it would be nice to have our own meeting place and equipment. A very nice dream if it could be made real. This suggestion was followed by much talk and plan drawing.
In the early part of 1932 we were offered a lot in the southwest part of the city for a very small sum. At once we fanned out and inspected said lot. It met our requirements so the club become owner of one lot. After much argument a plan for a house was decided upon. Then came the question of who could we get to build it and how could we finance it. After seeing many contractors we found one who was willing to take a chance.
As we were obligated to pay a certain amount each month it was necessary for some arrangements to be made. This time the membership was divided into teams, each team agreeing to pay so much each month until the clubhouse was paid for. One member on each team agrees to pay the leftout share if a member of the team is unable to pay his part.
The house was finished in the first part of August, 1932 and we moved in. This was very nice but it was far from complete so the next thing in order was to equip it. Not being able to build the kind of transmitter we wanted, one of the members suggested that he place his station at the club until we could build our own. This was very nice and so two 65' towers were next on the building program. It being summertime these were built of wood by the members in the evenings after supper. At last we had a club house and transmitter even if it was not quite all our own.
Programs during this time were practically nil as we had no time for them due to the fact that everyone was busy helping get the "something" built. The dues at this time were raised to 0.50 per month and in October we had a booth at the county fair which put us before the public more than ever.
It was in the first part of 1933 that argument and dissatisfaction started. It was true that part of the members were putting in more money to the club than others and all were spending it. Unfair? Yes. Up to this time we were operating as a partnership, so as to fix things so that every one would share in the proportion to the account they put in the club was incorporated as a non-profit organization issuing membership certificates for each $10 invested. At this time the bylaws were changed and the financial affairs of the club were placed in the hands of a board of directors. The dues at this time were raised to .50 per month. By this move we removed about 75% of the arguments from the meetings. This left more time for programs and social affairs.
During this year a club transmitter was started and built. Also a motor generator was bought and reworked to give us a 3 kW 110 vac outfit capable of operating our club independent of local power supply.
Early in 1934 we were given a chance to demonstrate our ability and worth to the community. This was caused by the most severe sleet storm ever to these parts. This storm cut off all communication to and from the city and left us the only ones able to furnish outside contacts.
Return to History's Opening Page