My father-in-law, Al Leuker, was a radio man through and through. He built his ham radio station in the 1930s and during World War II he served as a shipboard radio operator in the Navy. After Kathy and I got married, I soon realized that when we went to visit her parents I would be hearing Morse code emanating from the basement in the morning. Al remained active on W9KZZ until he passed away at the age of 93.
The photos below show Al in the 1930s building his antenna at 2618 N. Main Street in Racine, Wisconsin. I’m not sure where the photo was taken of Al standing next to what I presume is a radio transmitter. If anyone knows, I’d love to hear about it.
The photo below was taken in 2004. Al was demonstrating how he operates from his basement radio station. We recorded him having a Morse code “conversation” with his friend George Ensign in Arizona. You can listen to these recordings by visiting the
Ham Radio Conversations page.
Up until 1983, the FCC required Ham Radio operators to keep a log of their activities. In the photo above you can see some of Al’s log books on the shelf above his radios. The image below is from the logbook he was using in December 1941. It notes that congress passed a law that ham radio operations had to cease as a result of the declaration of war on Japan.
Ham radio operators often confirmed their contacts with other operators by mailing out QSL cards. The two cards below are some that Al sent out from W9KZZ.
Al collected hundreds of QSL cards from all over the world. I recently looked through them and found cards from 23 countries, 36 states, and Washington, DC. Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states when Al received his cards from those locations. He also had cards from the Canal Zone in Panama and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, which were US Possessions at that time. Control of the the Canal Zone has since been returned to Panama but, as we all know, Guantanamo Bay remains in our hands.
If you’d like to see some of Al’s QSL cards from around the US and the World, please visit the QSL Card Gallery.