1979 YLRL Convention
1979 YLRL International Convention
June 29th ~ July 4th Philadelphia, PA
4Øth Anniversary
Members of the Young Ladies’ Radio League (YLRL) had good cause for celebration when they met in Philadelphia 29 June through 1 July. Not only did they help fete Americas 203rd birthday during Philadelphia’s Freedom Week, they were also celebrating YLRL’s 40th birthday during the 8th International YLRL Convention.
In honor of the occasion, Pennsylvania Governor Richard Thornburgh and Philadelphia Mayor Anthony Rizzo proclaimed 24-30 June to be “Young Ladies’ Amateur Radio League Week.” Two months earlier. Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA. had honored YLRL’s services by reading an announcement of the convention into the Congressional Record.
Ethel Smith, K4LMB, founder of YLRL, briefly recounted the story of YLRL’s origin. In 1939 she read an advertisement designed to attract the notice of YLs. Bordered in black lace, the ad noted that the contributions women had made to the service of Amateur Radio were going un recognized, largely because no one even knew “how many of you YL key-twitchers there are.” Ethel replied to this ad with an open let ter to YLs, which was published in the Ju ly 1939 issue of QST. It read, in part: “Perhaps we should band ourselves together in a YLRL or something to that effect and make these women-ignoring edi tors sit up and take notice.” Twelve other YLs agreed and responded to Ethel’s let ter. By September of that year a constitution had been drafted and was approved the following month. The YLRL was born. It has since grown from its fledgling stage to an organization with over 1,400 members, representing more than 40 countries. Ethel’s address to the convention included two familiar phrases that aptly sum up YLRL’s progress: “You’ve come a long way, baby… but you ain’t seen nothing yet!” The 13 original charter members were recognized during a luncheon and information on their current activities was provided.
Thursday, June 28, YLs began arriving at the Holiday Inn, in Philadelphia, from all over the country. To add to the excitement, was the presence of DX YLs from England, Germany, Luxembourg, Swaziland, and Alaska. The official station, W3YL, operated almost continuously from Thursday until Sunday, with YLs and OMs making contacts on all bands. The station call was that of Sandy Rutiser, with Drake Twins furnished by 3an-WB23CE and an ICOM-22 furnished by MollieK3FYS. A nifty QSL card, designed by Rose Ellen-N2RE, has been sent (or hand delivered) to those contacting the station.
Registration began Friday and YLs congregated in the Hospitality Room and the radio shack for eyelash QSOs, to renew friend ships, and exchange swaps.
Saturday festivities began bright and early with a breakfast for officers and committee members hosted by YLRL President, PhyllisW2GLB. This provided an opportunity for officers to become better acquainted, exchange ideas, and approve revisions made by the CB&P Committee, who had worked long and hard on Friday afternoon. At the YLRL Forum, chaired by Phyllis-W2GLB, 25 clubs were represented, and the following DX YLs were introduced: G4BML, LX1TL, DK9ZL, 0A1AEQ, 3F1WMY, 3D7AG, and WN7ABK. Officers for 1979 were also introduced. Following is a thumbnail sketch of committee reports: EILA-WA8EBS reported that we now have our IRS reclassification as an educational, scientific, and charitable organization; this means a tremendous savings in postage. ETHEL-K4LMB reported that the Scholarship Fund is currently at $380, with $300 pledged. The Fund is administered by the Foundation for Amateur Radio, but contributions should be sent directly to the Disbursing Treasurer and are tax deductible.
A panel of YLs, consisting of WA2QYZ, W5RZ3, WA8EBS, W3BIW, and CfBML related their experiences in various phases of ham radio; all were both entertaining and enlightening. Phyllis-W2GLB reported that there are still a few copies of the Directory left. The YLs present voted to print another super-type directory next year and Blanche-KIIZT was appointed as chairman for the preliminary work of gathering material,etc. MARTHA-W6QYL proposed assembling a world-wide directory of YL operators and requested the support of all clubs and YLs in searching out the names and calls of all YLs throughout the world.
YLRL LUNCHEON – With Sylvia-W3SLF acting as Mistress of Ceremonies, the YLs (and a few OMs) were served a delicious luncheon, followed by drawings for prizes. In the typical YLRL tradition, lovely prizes were donated by members and clubs, so each YL regis tered received at least one prize and many received two. The table centerpieces, a brainchild of Bert-W3TNP, were gorgeous floral ar rangements depicting our girl on the globe and were given as prizes at the close of the convention.
YL/OM BANQUET – Always a festive occasion, this event prompted many of the YLs to don evening attire, which was truly beautiful. Councilman Melvin 3. Greenberg, of the City of Philadelphia, pre sented Phyllis-W2GLB, YLRL President, with a citation from the City of Philadelphia, proclaiming YLRL Week in Philadelphia. He was thoughful enough to bring along extra copies so that every person present received one. Entertainment was provided by the Sweet Ade lines, whose choice of choral selections and harmony brought a touch of nostalgia to the audience. Louise Ramsey Moreau-W3WRE, as main speaker of the evening, held the audience in the palm of her hand as she delighted us with tales of prominent women in amateur radio throughout the years. And then there were prizes, prizes, and more prizes, which generated all kinds of excitement.
SUNDAY A.M. BREAKFAST – Following the invocation by Rose EllenN2RE, Beth Taylor spoke of her experiences in obtaining a license the the difficulties she encountered along the way, both in get ting the license and operating her equipment with a handicap. Our celebrity speaker, BEVERLY WILLIAMS, Anchorwoman for KYW-TV, in Philadelphia, encouraged us as viewers to make our preferences in TV programming known to the station managers and also gave us a glimpse of the humor which occurs behind the scenes in the TV News room. Liz-W3CDQ followed with sketches of YLs she has met through ham radio, and Claire-W6T0N demonstrated her bell collection, ex plaining the origin and history of each bell. This is a truly beautiful collection. At noon, Christine-WB2YBA reluctantly closed the convention, the YLs attending reluctantly packed their bags, and even more reluctantly bid fond adieus before departing for home, taking with them memories of a glorious weekend (and a few cases of laryngitis) which will be a topic of conversation for a long time to come.
