Seventy years ago this month, the January 1948 issue of Boys’ Life magazine let its readers know that after a wartime absence, amateur radio was back, and that the DX Hounds were back. The article began with the story of how an Ohio ham, former Navy radio operator Paul L. Hughes, saved 300 in New Mexico. One night, Hughes heard a call on 10 meters from a motorist stranded in a snowstorm with 300 other motorists in New Mexico. Hughes found a ham in Albuquerque who phoned the New Mexico State Police, who had a rescue party on the way 26 minutes after the call for help.

For scouts interested in getting started, the article recommended three books, How to Become a Radio Amateur and the License Manual from the ARRL, as well as, of course, the Radio Merit Badge pamphlet. Each was available for 25 cents from the respective publisher.