My Friend Ernie, K9LO

L to R in the picture above is Tim, KF4IIC, Ernie, K9LO, Travis, KI4KNB, and Les, W4FRA. This was from Field Day 2005 at Boddie-Noel and that was the GOTA station setup behind Ernie.

Ernie moved down from Wisconsin to take a job as Chief Engineer of a group of broadcast radio stations here. Talk about a fish out of water, there is very little commonality between North Carolina and Wisconsin culture! But Ernie was a ham, and that was enough common ground to welcome him in the Tar River Amateur Radio fold.

Well, last night, Ernie called me on the telephone from Wisconsin (he moved back early in 2006)

We had a grand time talking about old times, catching up, and such as that. I was glad to hear he was doing well and both of us were trying to outdo each other in conveying complements to each other.

Ernie never missed a club meeting or event except when he was laid up with a bad back. We made plans to meet up in Dayton for 2008 and that is one I will endeavour to keep. We made allot of jokes at Ernie's expense and he held his own and gave it right back. You guys in Wisconsin are lucky to have him, and even though he is a little rough around the edges, all of us in NC miss him.

Take it easy, Ernie, we'll see you in Dayton next year!