TARA (W9REG) -- My Hometown HAM Club

I was born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana.  For the uninformed, Lafayette is the County Seat of Tippecanoe County and the birthplace of Purdue University across the Wabash River in West Lafayette.  (John Purdue made his fortune in Lafayette but chose land across the river for his school.  That's why it's safe to say it was actually Lafayette that was the birthplace of the university.)  Anyway, the people I grew up with were all serious Type A people.  Nobody did anything half way.  It was all out or nothing.

Naturally, I became quite curious as to what sort of HAM Club would exist in my hometown.  Sure enough, Lafayette and Tippecanoe County have had a HAM club for 60 years.  Above is a photo of some of the members back in 1953.  Pretty notalgic photo.  That's back when I would have been in first grade at St. Laurence School on 19th Street.  I was lucky to be able to build a primitive crystal radio back then, let alone mess with stuff like you see above.  The club here is called the Tippecanoe Amateur Radio Association (TARA) and they run a first class club.  You can click here to visit their website.

I'm just going to miss their April meeting by one day.  Darn!  I've been here in Lafayette for a few days helping my 87-year-old Mom with various chores.  Today's my only day with some free time before I leave for Arizona tomorrow.  I am hoping to make contact with at least one TARA member, if only to say "HI & 73."  Next time I come back to help Mom, I will be certain to plan my trip around TARA's monthly meeting schedule.

NOTE:  I "borrowed" the photo from that TARA website's history page.  Believe it or not, they have their club minutes online dating clear back to 1951!!!!  Be sure to check out the History link on their page--there's some great photos there and lots of nostalgia.  Thanks, TARA, for use of the photo.

Cheers & 73, jp