Shown at left is Scout Jack Reese of Troop 40, Middleton, Wisconsin, brushing up on his Morse code 70 years ago. He wasn’t yet licensed, so the transmitter is “dead,” according to an article about amateur radio in the September 1951 issue of Boys’ Life. Ham radio was a fairly common subject of articles in the magazine, and this was the first article on the subject since the FCC had authorized the Novice class license. According to the magazine, getting a license was hard, but the process had just become easier with the new class of license, and the average age of licensees was starting to drop.

Troop 40 was taking to amateur radio with a passion, with 13 scouts working toward earning their licenses, under the guidance of three scouters who were hams, including Jack Pomeroy, W9OME, who served as trustee of the station operating from Middleton High School. The troop already had transmitters for 2, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 meters, and was preparing for emergency work.

The magazine noted that in coming months, it would carry plans for both a transmitter and receiver suitable for new Novices.