EP&M the Pick of California's Carl Peck
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- Written by: Rick Nichols
Howard NØAZ, Carl Peck of San Luis Obispo, California, KN6SZT and his brother John Peck
The opportunity to visit Ensor Park and Museum while he was in the greater Kansas City area to see two of his brothers brought Carl Peck of San Luis Obispo, California, KN6SZT, to the eight-acre site earlier this month for what proved to be a most memorable experience.
KC MESH Antenna Back in Place
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- Written by: Rick Nichols
With the aid of a very special piece of equipment made available for the project by the City of Olathe, a replacement antenna for a KC Mesh Network was installed atop the three-legged 80-foot tower at Ensor Park and Museum the morning of Wednesday, September 4.
The task of properly positioning the new antenna and securing it in place fell to City of Olathe employee Toby Blue, who is pictured here as he tackles the job at hand on a lovely late summer day. Toby used a CMC 83HD+ Arbor Pro provided by the city to slowly but surely get to the top of the tower.
As three members of the Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club, Marty Peters, KEØPEZ, Howard Cripe, NØAZ, and Rick Nichols, watched Toby skillfully work from a bucket at the end of a boom, another ham, Bill Gery, KA2FNK, occupied a chair in the Ensor home's Radio Room and patiently listened for that "sweet sound," if you will, that told him that connectivity had been achieved. And in due time it was.
Marty Gives Ina Her Due
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- Written by: Rick Nichols
Ina Ensor, not to be confused with Ida Ensor, the mother of amateur radio pioneers Marshall (W9BSP) and Loretta (W9UA) Ensor, was married to Marshall, and apparently happily so, for nearly 40 full years. But what at least some hams probably don't know about her is that she, too, was a licensed operator.
The one-time holder of easy-to-remember call sign W9TRY, Ina May (Dana) Ensor (1892-1983) was the subject of an hour-plus presentation club Secretary-Treasurer Marty Peters, KEØPEZ, did the afternoon of July 13 for the benefit of the Ladies Reading Circle of Olathe. He was introduced to members of the group by Kathy Crumrine, the wife of club member Ralph Crumrine, N0KC.
Marty used a laptop computer onto which text and photographs had been loaded to enlighten Kathy and other members of the LRCO in better acquainting them with Ina. According to him, Ina was born in Illinois and spent her earliest years there before the Dana family moved to Johnson County, Kansas sometime between 1905 and 1910.
Marty told his listeners that Ina, like Marshall, was a schoolteacher for many years, but he couldn't say with any certainty how the two of them actually met. He did report, however, that they "tied the knot," as they say, in June of 1930 at the Dana farm, which was located a mile to the north of what would become Gardner Lake, and that a camping trip through some of the western states immediately followed.
After stepping away from the classroom in the late 1940s, Marty related, Ina began working at the Olathe Public Library, a Carnegie library, and continued to do so into the mid-1960s. By the way, the LRCO, which dates back to 1883, is responsible for the founding of the library, according to the group's Facebook page.
A highlight of Marty's presentation were the four handwritten letters he shared in part with his audience, chatty letters penned by Ina that were sent to Loretta from Seattle, Washington in 1945. Marshall, then in his mid-40s, was serving in the Navy at that time and putting his considerable radio skills to good use during World War II.
In addition to Ralph Crumrine, two other club members, my mother, Peg Nichols, KDØVQO, and myself, were among Marty's listeners. And so was Bob Breyfogle, the husband of Carolyn Breyfogle, the hostess for the July meeting of the LRCO.