It started with a dream - when a small group of radio amateurs in Asheville, NC began to talk about starting a radio museum - and in the late summer of 2001 the Museum was dedicated. The Southern Appalachian Radio Museum (SARM) has many examples of early radios on display such as Atwater-Kent, Philco, Crosley, Silvertone, home-built equipment, and amateur radio equipment such as Hammarlund, Hallicrafters, Heathkit and even a "Gibson Girl"....a transmitter from the WW II era that could send a distress signal from the lifeboat of a downed airman or seaman.

Visitors often see radios that they or their parents owned years ago nestled among the many pieces of equipment graciously donated by people interested in preserving the history of radio. The museum is located in the Elm Building at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College - in space generously provided by the school.

Pictured are N4AA Carl Smith, SARM President, W4AFM Bill Hayes’s granddaughter Gaylen Ehrlichman, Hayes’s great grandchildren Dustin and Catherine Ehrlichman.

Since an article appeared in a radio magazine in January, many people have visited the museum and donated both equipment and funds generously - the only requirement for entrance is an interest in the history of radio.

Perhaps most important is that everyone has a special opportunity to directly participate in the birth of this new museum that is totally dedicated to the history of radio and which includes not only radios listened to in years gone by, but also amateur radio equipment plus an operating ham station! In any event, there may not be another museum open to the public like it in the Southeast, so now there is a place for that special historic collection to have a permanent place to be seen by many!

The museum has received a small initial grant from the American Radio Relay League, who have left the door open for matching funds on a one for one basis, so every dollar contributed (as well as equipment) is very important. It will take time, but the Museum’s goal is to have a "home of our own" accessible to the thousands of visitors who come to Asheville each year to enjoy the marvelous scenery found in the area - not only the famous Biltmore Estate but also many other attractions of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. If you would like to send a check to help support the Museum, you may send it to: S.A.R.M, Attn: Carl Smith, PO Box 249, Leicester, N.C. 28748-0249.

The future home of the museum will have sufficient space for student and other tours as well as for the growing equipment inventory. Smith points out that all donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law since the museum is a tax-deductible 501(c)(3) non-profit entity approved by the IRS and are gratefully acknowledged in writing. He added “many exhibits will be of a hands-on type and provide wonderful educational opportunities for both young and old.”

The SARM also has an operating amateur radio station, W4AFM. This was the call of a well-known and accomplished code operator who lived in Asheville for many years, Bill Hayes. Bill was a friend who trained and helped many people enter the amateur radio hobby and obtain their amateur operator license. In 1939, a World Championship Telegrapher contest was held in Asheville with many attending. Bill participated with a code retention rate of over 60 words per minute, but it was won by Ted McElroy at 75.2 words per minute, a record that still stands today.

You will find directions to the museum at http://www.SARadioMuseum.org and find that although it is officially open on Wednesday afternoon from 1-4pm, volunteers will gladly give you a free tour if you call. If you have any questions or would like a brochure, call Carl Smith, N4AA, President, whose efforts made the museum possible, 828-683-4251; Borden Sabiston, K7DXF, 828-645-9472; Clint Gorman, K4KRB, 828-299-1276 or John Travis, W4QCF, 828-298-1847.

Biographical note. John Travis is an ol' Virginia HAM who retired from the FAA and transplanted to
Asheville, NC, near the Great Smoky Mountains. He learned code on a farm in 1943 when about 13 years old,
was firmly hooked on radio and subsequently licensed in 1949 while in the Signal Corps.