[SEDXC] Athens Story

Tue Nov 20 16:42:40 EST 2007

Next you'll same that there never was a Milton County. HI HI...

--- "Sandy Donahue,W4RU" <w4ru at yahoo.com> wrote:

> One mistatement in the article, George was never a Director of the
> ARRL. I knew him and W4RH appointed him the honorary title of Asst
> Director.  73 Sandy, W4RU
> --- Jay Pryor <jpryor at uga.edu> wrote:
> 
> > Here's a cut-and-paste story that appeared in the Athens newspaper,
> 
> > FYI.  Some of you may have crossed paths with W4EEE, George Norton.
> > 
> > 73,  Jay/K4OGG
> > 
> > 
> > #################
> > 
> > A part of ham radio's history moving to Oconee
> > 
> > 
> > A Five Points landmark that for decades connected an amateur radio 
> > operator with the world will find new purpose in Oconee County.
> > 
> > Workers disassembled the old, metal windmill tower that rose about
> 65
> > 
> > feet above the back lot of a house on Milledge Terrace and moved it
> 
> > to Watkinsville, where the new owner may use it as a transmission 
> > tower for a low-power radio station.
> > 
> > The tower was put up in 1951 by the late George Norton, a ham radio
> 
> > operator who attached his radio antennas to the top, said Myra 
> > Martin, Norton's niece and the executor of his estate.
> > 
> > In 1940, Norton selected the Milledge Terrace site for his home 
> > because it sat on some of the highest ground in Athens, about 785 
> > feet in elevation, which he wanted for his ham radio work, Martin
> > said.
> > 
> > Norton died in 1996, and his wife, Helen, passed away last year,
> and 
> > Martin begin liquidating the couple's estate.
> > 
> > Martin reluctantly decided the tower had to go to help expedite the
> 
> > sale of the Nortons' home.
> > 
> > She agreed to give the tower to Phillips on the condition he pay to
> > remove it.
> > 
> > "I hated to see it come down just because it's kind of like an old 
> > well-worn shoe," Martin said.
> > 
> > The tower came from a Griffin farmer who had used it to support a 
> > windmill that pumped water to his cattle and crops. Norton bought
> the
> > 
> > tower, disassembled it and moved it to his Five Points property to 
> > enhance his radio antenna.
> > 
> > Norton, born in Athens in 1905, became fascinated with radio 
> > communication as a boy when he wound a copper coil around an
> oatmeal 
> > box and sent Morse code signals, said his nephew, Dan Norton Jr.,
> who
> > 
> > is Martin's brother.
> > 
> > "He was a ham radio operator almost all his life, until the day he 
> > could no longer climb stairs to the radio shack - his radio office
> - 
> > in his house," said Dan Norton, who is an amateur radio operator,
> > too.
> > 
> > Selling her uncle's house also means Martin will have to address 
> > Norton's "shack," which is filled with memorabilia and awards for
> his
> > 
> > amateur radio work.
> > 
> > "His amateur radio call letters were W4EEE, and he was known around
> 
> > the world," said Martin. "His shack is lined solid with awards he
> > received."
> > 
> > Norton used his ham radio equipment to contact radio operators at 
> > more than 300 sites around the world, an accomplishment that gained
> 
> > him noted standing in the DXCC club, or the Distance Century Club. 
> > The club included any radio operators who made contact with other 
> > amateurs in more than 100 different countries.
> > 
> > To prove that contact was made, Norton had to obtain a written and 
> > signed letter from each of the amateurs he spoke with across the 
> > globe, Dan Norton said.
> > 
> > "For a time he was the leading member of the DXCC in the world,"
> > Norton said.
> > 
> > During World War II, when the FCC banned transmissions by ham 
> > operators, George Norton reportedly used his equipment to listen
> for 
> > news of the war overseas and convey information to his neighbors.
> > 
> > "We heard second- and thirdhand that neighbors were getting 
> > information (from Norton) that wasn't available through traditional
> 
> > channels during World War II," said Dan Norton.
> > 
> > George Norton's work with amateur radio reached beyond
> communicating 
> > with other operators.
> > 
> > He was a director of the American Radio Relay League and helped 
> > improve radio signals by using satellites to boost transmission. 
> > During the 1940s and '50s he installed a mobile radio in his car
> and 
> > used it to help build a network of amateur radio enthusiasts around
> > Georgia.
> > 
> > Martin isn't sure how Norton learned about the windmill, but she
> did 
> > have a letter the Griffin farmer wrote to him about how to take the
> 
> > structure down and avoid damaging the farmer's well.
> > 
> > Watkinsville electrician Quinton Phillips first noticed the old
> tower
> > 
> > when he was doing some electrical work at a nearby condominium off 
> > South Lumpkin Street. Inquiries about the tower led him to Martin.
> > 
> > Phillips spent Thursday morning clambering up the tower, taking it 
> > apart in sections while a crane lowered each to the ground.
> > 
> > Later, he and several helpers further dismantled the tower and
> hauled
> > 
> > it to Watkinsville, where Phillips plans to refurbish it for use
> with
> > 
> > a possible low-power community radio station.
> > 
> > "I want to clean it up and repair it and get it ready for the next
> 50
> > 
> > years of being a landmark," Phillips said.
> > 
> > The federal government opened up a licensing window for low-power 
> > stations in October, but the frequency Phillips wanted wasn't
> > available.
> > 
> > He said he'll wait for Congress to make more low-power frequencies 
> > available before starting his own station.
> > 
> > Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 112007
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
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> > SEDXC at contesting.com
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> > 
> 
> 
> 
>      
>
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