Revisiting the Renaissance Man
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- Written by: Rick Nichols
If you participated in Field Day 2019 at Ensor Park and Museum on Saturday, June 22, you helped amateur radio pioneer Marshall Ensor of W9BSP fame celebrate his 120th birthday, albeit in his absence unfortunately and likely, on your part, unknowingly.
Born June 22, 1899 in Johnson County, Ensor demonstrated an above-average ability as a woodworker at an early age and won a first place prize in 1915 for the kitchen cabinet he constructed for a national contest sponsored by the Simond Saw Company. He also displayed a real interest in wireless telegraphy, or radio, as a teenager and in 1916 built a spark gap transmitter that enabled him to communicate with others through Morse code at a distance of up to 20 miles.
After his graduation from Olathe High School (now Olathe North High School) in 1917, Ensor was hired to be an assistant under Manual Arts instructor James Bradshaw during the 1917-1918 school year. The following term, 1918-1919, the teaching position was his, as Bradshaw had moved on.