The first use of the term "Elmer" as a mentor that I know of occurred in
QST. I first saw it back in the
early 1970's; it was coined by Rod Newkirk W9BRD (now VA3ZBB), editor of the
"How's DX?" column. It came from one of the stories that Rod used to
introduce the column every month, in which (if memory serves) several DX'ers
were talking, and the subject of one's mentor (as we would now use the term)
came up, a ham by the name of Elmer.
I have since heard from people that this may have been a repeat or a rewrite
of an earlier piece, but that's the earliest appearance that I know of.
Over the last 30 or so years, Elmer has come to mean an amateur who mentors,
tutors, and otherwise helps new amateurs into the fold, and existing
amateurs into new aspects of the fold.
Oh, and don't bother trying to find an email for Rod. He doesn't have one,
but he still uses the old "mill" he used years ago to write his column.
Write him via his VA3ZBB address, I'd bet he'd love to hear from some of
you!
73, ron wn3vaw
"I lost most of my squad over Macho Grande... Planes too..."
Ted Stryker, Airplane II: The Sequel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ken Brown" <ken.d.brown@verizon.net>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 12:50 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] OT: Radios? Why are they Radios? (Was Radio debate)
Actually the term "Elmer" is a fairly recent one. It was not in use in
the late sixties when I was studying for my Novice, and I never heard
that term until perhaps the eighties. I got my mentoring from OMs and OTs.
DE WN6CFF
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