[CQ-Contest] A bit of nostalgia

[Jim Brown]

On 9/17/2025 9:04 AM, John Geiger via CQ-Contest wrote:
> Do you know when they started the instant upgrade?

I grew up in Huntington, WV, and our tests were every three months in a 
long narrow, and very echoey room in the basement of a government 
building in Charleston, the state capitol. We lined up outside, about 30 
guys got in, took the CW exam for General. Five minutes later, all but 
the guys in the first two rows walked back out. I did that twice.

I finally passed the exam in the DC Office with headphones, riding the 
C&O on my Dad's pass, who worked for C&O, stayed with family there. The 
examiner endorsed my license. That was in '56. Three years later, I 
passed the Extra in Cincinnati at the office there, also with license 
endorsed by the examiner.

73, Jim K9YC