Die/The YL Story

. This is still a work in progress, your cooperation would be appreciated. And check out our list of YLs worldwide before WWII An diesem Projekt wird noch gearbeitet. Jede Hilfe ist daher willkommen. Und wir laden ein, unsere Liste "YLs weltweit vor dem 2. Weltkrieg" anzuklicken.

This is Miss M. Adaire Garmhausen 3BCK, the first "Young Lady" a new phrase coined for her benefit, as the letter explains. Hier ist Miss M. Adaire Garmhausen 3BCK, die erste "Young Lady". Wie es zu dieser Bezeichnung kam, beschreibt der abgebildete Brief: "Meine liebe YL - wir mussten Ihretwegen diesen neuen Begriff prägen, denn Sie werden wohl zustimmen, dass OM nicht zutrifft und OL höchst unziemlich wäre...".
This is how the story continued - with an announcement in QST Magazine May 1939... Und so ging es dann weiter: Mit einer Einschaltung im Mai-Heft 1939 der Zeitschrift "QST" der ARRL...	... and a follow-up article a year later. The YLRL, the "Young Ladies' Radio League was established. ...und mit dem Gründungsaufruf der YLRL, der "Young Ladies' Radio League" ein Jahr später.
	But YLs were active on the bands much earlier, of course. Some of them can be found in the photo and QSL gallery below. And check out our list of YLs worldwide before WWII. It is still a work in progress, your cooperation would be appreciated. Aber natürlich waren die YLs schon viel früher aktiv. Einige stellen wir hier mit Foto bzw. QSL vor. Und wir laden ein, unsere Liste "YLs weltweit vor dem 2. Weltkrieg" anzuklicken. Dies ist ein Projekt, das sich noch in Arbeit befindet. Jede Hilfe ist daher willkommen.
Eunice Randall at age 19 in the studios of 1XE (Photo, courtesy of Eunice Stolecki.)
Perhaps the first woman to be both an announcer and an engineer was Eunice Randall (later, Eunice Randall Thompson). At the age of 19, she was broadcasting on 1XE, a Boston-area radio station owned by AMRAD, the American Radio and Research Company, which manufactured radio receivers and various types of ham equipment. The year was 1920, and the station operated from studios on the campus of Tufts College, (at Medford Hillside, MA) with a dedicated staff comprised of student volunteers and AMRAD employees. Eunice Randall had come to radio by accident, having been raised on a farm and intending to go to art school. But needing extra money, she found a job as a draftsman in AMRAD's factory (the first woman they ever hired), and this provided her introduction to the growing wireless industry. It wasn't long before she was deeply involved with both professional and amateur radio: she soon built her own ham station, and ultimately became one of the first woman in New England to hold the first class license (her ham calls were 1CDP, and later W1MPP). To Boston radio fans of the early 20s, Eunice Randall was "The Story Lady"; two nights a week from late 1921 through 1923, she had a sponsored program (the station's first, brought to you by "Little Folks Magazine"), reading stories to children. She also did the Police Reports, gave Morse code practice, sometimes announced the news, and when guests didn't show up, she and one of the station's engineers would sing duets! She even became the assistant chief announcer. 1XE (which was re-named WGI in February of 1922) was heard all over the United States, and Eunice received fan mail (and more than a few marriage proposals) from many different cities. Gradually, her technical skills and her willingness to do whatever it took to keep the station on the air - including climbing the tower if necessary - earned her the respect of her male colleagues at AMRAD, most of whom had been vehemently opposed to hiring a woman when she first applied. While she had fun on the air, Eunice truly loved the technical side of radio, and studied hard to keep up with the much more experienced men at AMRAD. The company soon expressed their confidence in her credibility by making her a member of the team of experts sent to discuss and demonstrate AMRAD's newest equipment at conventions and radio shows. In several cases, she had helped to test or build that equipment! If 1XE/WGI's parent company, AMRAD, had not been beset with financial problems - by 1925 it was bankrupt - Eunice might have stayed on the air much longer. As it was, she did remain a dedicated ham radio operator for her entire life, and although she left commercial radio, she continued to do drafting and engineering work till she retired. Occasionally, she appeared as a guest on women's shows during the 1930s and 40s, talking about her adventures in radio's early years. <Quoted from: Donna L. Halper, January 1999 issue of Popular Communications>

YL-Gallery / YL-Galerie

This is only a small selection from our archives.
You are welcome to contribute cards, documents and photographs to our collection

Dies ist nur eine kleine Auswahl aus unserem Archiv.
Wir bitten um die Beistellung von QSLs, Dokumenten und Photos für unsere Sammlung.

CT1YL	F8YL	G6YL	HAF1YL	HB9RBK	J2IX	K4EZR
OZ7YL	SM7MF	SP3HR	YR-R35	ZS2AA		W6GEV
W1JEB	W1KTG	W3AKB	W5GAF	W5GKH	W6CXG	W6DHV
W7AHJ	W7GPO	W7GSR	W7HER	W7XFE	W8ODI	W8OZO
W8ROP	W8RSF	W9GJX	W9OEH	W9OWQ	W9PCV	W9ZQZ

	EAR-LU	F8YL	G2YL	G6YL	G2IA	HAF1YL
HK3CG	H9XF	OA4AB	VK4LO	VK3YL	VP5PA	YR-R35
VE1DC	VE4AV	VE4HD	3BWT	3SZ	4LJ	U6AFT
7AFV	NU6BKG	W1FTJ	W2LMI	W3ZI	W6ETA	W8KYR

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