All comments and captions are from the webmaster, Dave Kennett, VE7BBV unless otherwise stated. I’ll be adding to this page as I get more information…
From Graham, VE7ABC
I joined the Burnaby Amateur Radio Club in 1975. The Club had already been established by the time I joined, so my memories of the earliest days are somewhat incomplete. However, I do remember several of the members who were active when I first became involved.
Among them were Dan Gentry (VE7DG), Walt Hendrickson (VE7BGJ), Bill Moore (VE7BGA), and a fellow named Alex, who taught the theory classes. Unfortunately, I don’t remember Alex’s last name or call sign. I believe Lou (VE7CGE) joined shortly before I did. Other members, including Norm Kirk (VE7FKN), Graham “Fuzzy” Wright (VE7FZB), Wally Garrett (VE7CJT), and John Henry Brown (VE7JHB), joined somewhat later.
I don’t remember most of the original membership, but I seem to recall that meetings could have around 35 members in attendance, which was a pretty good-sized group.
Club Meetings and Activities
While I was living in North Delta, I attended the Club regularly, particularly on Friday nights. At the time, the Club met at its original location in the Metrotown area and later moved to the location on Edmonds.
My move to Langley made attending considerably more difficult. The longer drive, combined with having a son who was playing hockey, meant that I had much less free time. Even so, I have many fond memories of my years with the Club.
One of the highlights was Field Day, which we held down near the pitch-and-putt in North Burnaby. There were also trips to hamfests in the Okanagan and down to Tacoma. After some general meetings, a group of us would head to the White Spot on Kingsway for food and conversation.
Another memorable activity was what we jokingly called the “$10 erection”—helping new members put up their towers. Lou, Tom (VE7FFB), Mac (VE7ECE), Bill Kremer, Fred (VE7FFK) and I put up a heck of a lot of towers around the area. Unfortunately, in some cases, after we finished the job, we never heard from the new member again!
The Flea Market
The Club’s flea market is another part of its history that I remember particularly well. It started almost as a joke.
A member named Rob (VE7TT) once approached me—I believe I was Club president at the time—and asked if we could hold a Dutch auction for members who had some quality “junk” they wanted to get rid of.
I said, “Sure.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.
The flea market eventually became a major event. One year, Harry (VE7HNC) arranged for it to be held at the Armoury in New Westminster. The event was so popular that the lineup to get inside stretched all the way down to Royal Avenue. Once inside, getting around the tables was like trying to swim upstream through a school of salmon. It was wall-to-wall buyers.
Those were good—and profitable—times for the Club.
Some Members From the Early Years
I’ve gone back through my memories and some other sources and compiled a few of the names and call signs of members I remember from when I first joined BARC in 1975. The list is certainly far from complete. Records of older amateurs and their call signs can be difficult to find, so this is what I’ve been able to piece together:
- VE7BGJ — Walt Hendrickson
- VE7LR — Larry Reid
- VE7SD — Larry Leminski
- VE7DG — Dan Gentry
- VE7BGA — Bill Moore
There was also Alex, who taught the theory classes. Unfortunately, I can’t remember his last name or call sign.
There were, of course, many others. These are simply the members I can remember or have been able to identify through my research.
Some Memorable Club Members
Over the years, the Club had many memorable characters and interesting members.
One member who stands out in my memory is Grace Wong (VE7FJG). As I remember it, Grace obtained her first amateur radio licence at only 10 years of age, which was quite an accomplishment. Her brothers were also amateurs and Club members: Michael (VE7FFT) and Darryl (VE7FFS). Their father was also a ham, making the Wong family a real amateur radio family.
In researching the Club’s past, I’ve so far identified 25 former members who have become Silent Keys (SK). It’s an interesting assortment of characters and a reminder of just how many people have been part of the Club over the years.
Some of us are still kicking!
Past Presidents
I’ve also been able to remember several of the people who served as Club president over the years:
- Lou — VE7CGE
- Dan Gentry — VE7DG (SK)
- Brian Hopwood — VE7LN (SK) — I have not been able to find his original call sign.
- Bob Kungal — VE7KW (SK)
- Graham — VE7ABC
I’m sure there were others. As more memories come back, or as I find additional information, I’ll add to the list.
Preserving Our History
It seems to me that, if my lone grey cell is still working properly, someone once started documenting the history of the Burnaby Amateur Radio Club. Unfortunately, I don’t remember who that person was or what happened to their work.
There is a lot of history in this Club, and much of it exists only in the memories of the people who were there. The names, call signs, Field Days, tower installations, flea markets, hamfests, Friday night meetings, and all the characters who made the Club what it was are worth preserving.
This is only a small piece of that history, based on what I can remember and what I’ve been able to uncover so far.
Graham, VE7ABC
Graham also sent me some links from QSL.net containing old Field Day and Swap Meet pics along with the old club station at the old Edmonds Community Centre. Sorry in advance for the small image size, but it is interesting for a quick look.
Field Day. Be sure to click on the 3 links at the bottom of the page for more photos https://www.qsl.net/ve7bar/fieldday/remember.htm
Swap Meet 2004 at the Westminster Regiment Armoury https://www.qsl.net/ve7bar/swapmeet.htm
Club Station at the old Edmonds Community Centre https://www.qsl.net/ve7bar/station.htm
Click here for a list of Silent Keys, put together by Graham
Left to right: Walter – VE7BGJ, Graham – VE7ABC, Lou – VE7CGE
Brian (VE7CTH) and I put our brains together to figure out who was in this Field Day picture from around 1995ish. Sitting on the left is yours truly (VE7BBV). Next to me is Don (VE7FW) and Al (VE7UG – SK) standing. The next two I’m unsure of but the taller guy was our tower monkey. If you needed someone to stick an antenna on your 30′ tower, he was your man. The next guy in the jeans, white shirt and grey jacket I believe is Claude Leduc (VE7ZZX – SK) and the man in black is Roland Savoie VE7UUU. The next two we didn’t know but that’s Brian (VE7CTH) behind Vol Riley (VE7EYG). We also aren’t sure of the second to last guy with his arms crossed but the person on the extreme right is Jeff Haak (VE7HAK). We believe Lou (VE7CDE) was behind the camera since that was his Volkswagen van.
Dave, VE7BBV
Back when I joined the club in the early 90s one of the characters who quickly became a friend was Graeme “Fuzzy” Wright, VE7FZB. If you drove across the Alex Fraser bridge in the late 90’s heading toward New West you would have seen his huge tower on the right hand side in Queensborough. I don’t know the exact height but it must have been at least 100′ tall. In the past few years I’d run into Fuzzy and Barb at one of the local swap meets and he’d always be checking to see if I had any old equipment to sell. He loved collecting old radios. Fuzzy passed away June 30th, 2026 and I’ll miss him.
Dave, VE7BBV
When I joined the club back in the early ’90s, the name John Henry Brown was one I heard quite often. John had become a Silent Key before I joined the club. He was a founding member and allegedly the club’s first president.
A big thank-you to Mike McKenzie, VE7HIJ, one of the volunteers at the SPARC Museum, for sending me these photos.
If you’ve never visited the museum, check out their website and make plans to stop by. They have an entire section dedicated to amateur radio, and it’s well worth the visit. Amateur Radio Collection
Thanks again to Mike and everyone at SPARC for preserving and sharing this piece of amateur radio history!
Dave, VE7BBV