[NCC] Drew, W8GFG SK 03/01/11

[Thomas Roscoe]

Hi Glen,
 Sorry to hear about your friend from Girard. Yes I remember that Goat 
Kelley had. We went screaming through the valley in it quite a few 
times... He was quite the motorhead and very proud of that beast. He 
handled it quite well. I never worried (much) when he was driving.
Frankie Obermiyer's callsign was WA8HLN. The Homely Little Nut as he 
would say. Me and Frankie were very close friends. It was on New Years 
Eve that his fatal accident happened on Route 18 at the causeway. I was 
suppose to go with him that night. I wasn't feeling very well and told 
him I wasn't going. After hearing the news, I visited with his mother 
(WA8YNN sk) and father (WA8YNO sk). His mother said it was a foggy 
night. She went outside and seen her sons image in the fog for a brief 
second and knew right then that something was wrong. It was very hard 
for all of us to deal with. From there, I went to visit Kelley (at his 
QTH across from GATX). K3SAN also showed up about the same time. Kelley 
helped both of us deal with this but was noticably saddened  himself. I 
was 19 and it was the 1st time I had ever lost a friend like this. 
Kelley was a great help to both of us.
That pic in my basement 
http://hamgallery.com/Tribute/Shenango_Valley/w8gfg.htm is a true 
classic (as well as the others on that page). We just put up a 4 element 
wire beam for 40 meters in my backyard and were running the Ohio QSO 
party. That was a great time. Its also sad to say that all 4 hams in 
that photo are now sk.
Kelley was a fun person to be with. He had a great personality and 
always had something clever or funny to say. He was very deticated to 
ham radio and helped several in the valley get their start (including 
WN3SZX, now K3LR).
We will all miss Kelley as he had history with all of us.
RIP good friend.
Tom K8CX

Glen Clark wrote:

> On Mar 2, 2011, at 11:47 AM, Tim Duffy K3LR wrote:
>
>> K8CX and I were on the phone last night for over an hour - with the 
>> awesome W8GFG memories,
>>
>> This weekend's DX contest at K3LR is dedicated to the memory of Drew, 
>> W8GFG.
>>
>
> I just want it to stop for a while.
>
> Wes (W8IZC) and I just buried a friend from Girard that we worked with in
> high school at the AM1540 in Niles.
>
> Al Resnick, K3PXR, is having serious health problems. 
>
> And now Drew has gone SK.
>
> Drew had a 1965 GTO that I almost bought from him in 1970. He and I 
> connected
> through other friends who were gear heads. Back before the Emlenton 
> Bridge was 
> finished, the stretch of I-80 east of the Route 8 exit was technically 
> "closed". But an
> enterprising group of guys looking for a long, straight piece of 
> concrete with no
> traffic had no trouble getting around the orange barricades. Because 
> it wasn't opened, 
> the State police did not patrol it. 
>
> I know...   hard to imagine a time when I-80 wasn't open yet...
>
> Sharon legends like Billy Quinn, Mickey Dipretta and others would go 
> out and make 
> a few bucks by making black marks on that fresh concrete. The total 
> crowd on any night 
> was usually 20 to 30 people. There were usually about 8 racers, 
> including Drew, and
> a dozen or more observers. It really, really was a scene straight out 
> of the movie American 
> Graffiti. 
>
> It wasn't until months later that I found out that Drew was also a 
> ham. I think Bill Clepper 
> was the link there. I went over to Bill's house to look at his new 
> Drake 2B and ran into 
> Drew there.
>
> Drew and K8CX were also the contacts where I met Frankie Obermier. I 
> wish I could 
> remember Frankie's call. (Tom? Help?) Frankie lived less than 2 miles 
> from Tom. 
> Frankie spun out on the causeway at 100+ MPH right after passing Tara 
> at 1 AM on 
> Christmas morning of 1971. Drew and I had a hard time keeping it 
> together that week 
> at Frankie's funeral. Drew and I both knew it could have just as 
> easily been us. I think 
> Drew and I both eased up a bit after that.
>
> Tom, the top two photos that you posted on your web site tribute to 
> Drew were mindblowers.
> Sitting in front of the Hallicrafters HT-37, Drew looked like such a 
> kid. I think that picture
> really captured the enthusiasm that Drew had for life and for Ham Radio.
>
> The second picture, taken in your basement, was also a trip down 
> memory lane.
>
> The last time I saw Drew was doing poppers with K3LR, W3JTV and N3RA 
> at a restaurant
> up on the west hill. I had just moved back from Atlanta. I think that 
> was about 1994.
>
> I know that Drew was always sad that they closed the Sharon GATX. The 
> good news was
> that GTAX liked him enough to offer him a job in their plant in Gary, 
> Indiana when they closed
> Sharon. SO he wasn't out of a job. But the bad news was that he didn't 
> live near his family and 
> old friends any more.  :(
>
> Where does the time go?
>
> - Glen
>