The BVARC was founded in 1953 by a small group of local hams whose goal was to stimulate interest in, and share their knowledge of Amateur Radio. This group met with a member of the Narragansett Association for Radio Amateurs (W1AQ) to discuss how to set up a charter.The discussions led to a charter, constitution, and by-laws that were adopted, and filed with the State of Rhode Island. Thus the Blackstone Valley Amateur Radio Club, Inc. was created. The original signatories of the charter were:
- Ray St. Onge W1IHW
- Lionel Parenteau W1ZEZ
- Dave Pascal W1ZFV
- Norm Thibault W1AUT
- Warren Greene W1DOR
- Bob Beaudet W1YRC
During this early period, the club met weekly on Friday evenings and conducted classes in ham radio and most of the W1D... calls were issued to graduates of the classes. Ray St. Onge, W1IHW, was appointed trustee of the BVARC, and obtained the club callsign, W1DDD, without any special request to the FCC. It was strictly a sequential issue. The club raised money in the early days by running very successful ham and bean suppers.
Lionel Parenteau, W1ZEZ, and Fathers Grenier and Boudreau secured a permanent meeting place at the Holy Family Church's parish house in Woonsocket, RI. The club occupied the entire second floor of the church's Stone House providing a radio room, library, sitting room, and a full kitchen. Club station W1DDD consisted of a home brew 500 watt clamp tube modulated eighty meter rig, home brew plate modulated kilowatt amplifier on twenty meter AM and CW, a home brew twenty meter rig, a Johnson Viking Ranger to drive the kilowatt, National HRO-60 receiver and a home brew ten meter transmitter. W1DDD worked the world with this station!
The antenna system included a "Wonder Bar", a full size twenty meter home brew beam constructed of three inch diameter irrigation tubing elements (courtesy of Sears Roebuck and W1YRC), and mounted on a utility pole, a "Happy Accident" ten meter ground plane and a Windom all band dipole. Field Day has always been an important activity of the club. Our first several Field Days were at Bob Beaudet's father's 13 acre farm on Diamond Hill Road. Other sites have included the Diamond Hill Rod and Gun Club, Mount St. Charles, the Branchaud residence on Farnum Pike (Route 5), and most recently, Buck Hill in Burrillville.
Club activity slowly declined, so Bob Beaudet, W1YRC, held Board of Governors meetings once a year to keep the charter active, waiting until new interest could be developed.
The Next Generation Begins:
In 1982, newly licensed ham Brian Jacobson, KA1FXY, met fellow pilot Ray St. Onge at North Central Airport in Lincoln, RI. One day Brian asked Ray if he knew of any local Amateur Radio clubs. This conversation led to the rejuvenation of the BVARC. Brian, Ray, Dick Berard (KA1CGL), Leo Lemieux (N1CEF), Jeanne Berard (KN1L), and Fred Klockars (WA1CNI) compiled a list of local area hams and invited them to an organizational meeting at a local American Legion Post on Main Street in Woonsocket, RI. Shortly after that meeting, the club was formally revived.
After several months, Bill Kilcline, K1YQZ, arranged for the club to begin meeting at the Woonsocket Red Cross Chapter House on Coe Street in Woonsocket since the American Legion Post was hardly an ideal setting for the club to meet and attract new members.
The club now meets monthly at the Landmark Rehabilitation Hospital, at Park Square on Rt. 146A at 7:30PM, the LAST Monday of the month, unless otherwise noted due to holiday conflicts.
