[SEDXC] Athens Story

Tue Nov 20 16:50:14 EST 2007

Well, now that you mention it, I heard that FDR granted it honorary County 
status during the war years....it was sort of like a battlefield commission 
or something.

Jeff
KD4RBG

On Tuesday 20 November 2007 16:42, you wrote:
> 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
> > > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/sedxc
>
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