Topband: VE1ZZ Jack Leahy

[Paul Kiesel]

Hi Jeff,

I'm a 50 MHz aficionado and recently decided to try 160 meters. 
A while back, there was a writeup about Jack in one of the 
magazines. The article included some photos of Jack's station, 
one of which was of his giant 6-meter quagi - the one he used 
to work Turkey on that band. I liked the way Jack hooked things 
up!  I was impressed and I called him up on the landline. I 
wanted to find out more about him and what he did to be as 
successful as he was. We had a long enjoyable conversation. 
I hoped someday to be able to travel all the way to Nova Scotia 
to see Jack's station. Maybe I still will be able to do that. 

Jack called and worked me on 160 in January of 2013 - and I 
got his QSL card. In addition to the usual QSO data, Jack also 
hand wrote:

160m WAZ - 40
160m DXCC+ 333
#1 in Canada #2 in World

What an accomplishment!

Old age is unfriendly to us all, but I hope Jack hangs in there for a lot longer.

73,
Paul, K7CW / VE7IB
--------------------------------------------
On Fri, 11/10/17, k1zm--- via Topband <topband at contesting.com> wrote:

 Subject: Topband: VE1ZZ Jack Leahy
 To: topband at contesting.com
 Date: Friday, November 10, 2017, 1:57 AM
 
 Hi All
 
 
 A few friends have asked about VE1ZZ
 since he has not been on Topband much lately.
 
 
 I gave him a call yesterday on the
 phone and he said he is nearing his 82nd birthday but has
 been slowed down by age and other things.
 
 
 He said he has COPD and cannot get
 around very well these days - antenna work in his woods is
 no longer possible.
 
 
 His main AMP is down as is a backup amp
 and he hopes to get on a little now and then if he can fix
 one or both.
 
 
 Hi great wife - OPAL - fell down the
 cellar stairs not long ago and is slowly recovering at home
 after a long hospital stay.
 
 
 I was saddened to hear these things but
 expected something was amiss over there.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jack has long been the BEACON here in
 Canada on the lowbands and his absence has been
 missed.  He lives about 120 miles to the SE of me here
 in CANADA.
 
 
 He was largely responsible for my
 emigrating to Canada in 2000 and creating VY2ZM here on
 Prince Edward Island.  Jack once told me "Jeff, Cape
 Cod is a pretty good location..... but IT IS NOT AS GOOD AS
 HERE!!  You should come up here and see for yourself."
 ..And boy was he ever right!
 
 
 BTW - I noted Opal his wife.
 
 We ALL might wish for a wife like
 Opal.
 
 
 When I first met her in 2002, we talked
 about HAM RADIO and Dx'ing and about how much Jack has been
 a fixture on the lowbands since the mid 1950's.
 
 What she said I will never forget - as
 it was memorable:
 
 
 She said:
 
 
 "JEFF - WHEN I MARRIED JACK, I KNEW HOW
 MUCH HE LOVED DX'ING AND HAM RADIO AND I REALIZED THAT THE
 ***BIGGEST*** MISTAKE I COULD EVER MAKE WOULD BE TO HAVE
 TRIED TO GET BETWEEN HIM AND HIS LOVE FOR RADIO!!
   IT IS A BIG PART OF OUR
 LIVES!!!"
 
 
 
 Anyway, I thought I might pass on what
 I knew - sure hope to hear Jack on now and then again soon.
 
 
 73 JEFF  VY2ZM
 
 
 _________________
 Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband