History - Ozone Belt Amateur Radio Club

This is a transcription of an email from Steve "Doc" Bryan, K5SLW, to John Guthans, AA5UY. At the time, Steve was the only surviving founding member of our predecessor club, the Ozone Belt Amateur Radio Club. John had written to Doc in 2008 requesting info on the OBARC. Sadly, Doc became a Silent Key in late 2013.
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Hello John, AA5UY

I am very sorry to have taken so long in getting back to you. To his credit, Bill, K5YRT, has made sure that I could not forget. So here goes.....

I was licensed in 1958 as KN5SLW and passed my general in 1959. Those would have been my sophomore(58), junior and senior years at Slidell High School. At that time SHS was located on 3rd street and PA. ave where Slidell Jr. High is now. All this stuff has significance in the early history of what has originally the Ozone Belt ARC. I will try to tie it all together as best as I can.

The name "Ozone Belt" was derived from the fact that the area in the piney woods on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain was thought to be more healthful because of an extra content of ozone in the air. There was even an "Ozone Apartments" just northeast of Brock Elementary School. I remember studying their sign from the front door of the school as I waited for my school teacher mother to get off school bus duty. The OBARC was formed in 1958-59. It began as on-the-air meetings of Slidell area hams on 75 meter AM (not SSB.....that was still several years away).

Unfortunately, my log book from that time frame has been lost, so I am working from a fuzzy memory. The founding fathers that I can remember were Nick Roberts W5ANA, Lou Hargas W5FSA, Easy Ezell W5PYJ, Bill Tillet K5CVK, Jim Spencer K5???, Steve Bryan KN5SLW (I listened on 75 meters until I got my general), Bob W5EWW from Picayune,MS. Bill, K5YRT, must have joined us sometime in 1960. The first meetings were at W5ANA's house. I am pretty sure that W5ANA was our first president. I was the first secretary/treasurer. It was while we were meeting at W5ANA's that the club decided to purchase several Heathkit Sixers so we could have a local mobile ability in case of some disaster need.

In 1960 we got permission to establish a meeting location in the old Slidell High School cafeteria. We had a lockable cabinet built in what was the original SHS cafeteria kitchen. By that time there had been a new junior high building built along 4th street and north of PA. Ave, so, the old cafeteria was no longer used. It was a good meeting place. Someone donated a Heath kit DC-100 and a receiver. We put a multiband vertical on a push-up pole and windom strung between the pine trees. I climbed the trees. (My father was not too happy about me climbing the trees.)

In the spring of 1961 under the leadership of W5ANA we held a hamfest at the cafeteria. I do not remember how many hams showed up but I do recall that we were pleased with our first effort at such a thing. We even had a few XYLs and a YL ham show up.

That pretty much ended my contact with the club because in the fall of 1961 I left Slidell to go to LSU. I hope this is helpful and again, I am sorry that I don't have any QRMs and that it took me so long to get back to you. From the time I got your email to now, we sold our home in Hammond, moved to a temporarylocation in Austin, TX, bought a new house in Austin and moved into it. We are still digging our way out of all the boxes. I don't have any antennas up yet, so, I am not on the air. I am hoping to change that soon.

73, Steve (Doc), K5SLW

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