“My general ticket arrived by mail 6 Jan ’73 and I checked into the NCSSB net the following day. Pete, W4HUL (silent key) was net control at that time. The net was a bit more formal then and I guess Pete was the most serious about net protocol of all the net controls at that time ( Axine,WA4UWK (silent key), & Willy, WB4MXX (silent key) to name a few),. The net was part of the “National Traffic system” before the ARRL made us subordinate net to another net… we balked and backed out… another story, though.

The net has been a regular thing with me since my father, and others, Shirley, W4IND (silent key) pointed me in that direction in order that we could easily meet if we missed our schedule. I was in Southern Pines, NC and Pop lived in Norfolk where I grew up. After moving back to Virginia Beach, I continued w/ the NCSSB because of the interesting bunch and the fact that the net that did not take forever every night and did not feature long hemorrhoid reports. I started calling the net in the mid ‘90’s and haven’t been thrown out yet…

And, then there were the yearly get togethers—a time of hijinks and unrelenting roastings. I will never forget the plaque with a gold painted cow paddy presented to Lou, K4ILF (silent key). Also there was the mechanized Lobster… and the liquid antenna…to name a few more fun items.”

73 Roger