A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
By Orville Potter, WD4HIQ
Since it's existence is verified monthly in the club's newsletter, most members of the IRARC are aware of a well established, highly regarded, local institution known as the SMAH. Information that is of historical significance with regard to this unique organization follows.
The year was 1983. At that point in time, the apparent desire of a small group of local Hams was to attend the "Old Bastard's" (OB's) luncheon every Wednesday at the Patrick Air Force Base Officer's Club. If our readers are not familiar with the OB's and how that group was formed, it might be a good idea to ask one of them about it. That is a story in itself.
Anyway, since I was the one living the farthest north on the beach, I usually drove each week. On my drive south, I would stop and pick up George Temlitz and then Joe Rubino. We usually arrived a bit earlier than the rest of the OB's so Joe could claim his cherished seat at his favorite table. It so happened that, for several weeks in a row, someone got there first and "rudely" occupied "Joe's seat". Not only that but this same fellow dominated the conversation, believe it or not, to the point that our friend, Joe, could not get in the proverbial edgewise word. Those readers who knew Joe realize that such a situation was completely and absolutely intolerable, not to mention unbelievable! About the third time such a situation developed, Joe exclaimed on the way home, "Don't bother to stop for me next Wednesday as I am not not going to the OB luncheon anymore. Why don't we have our own OB luncheon on Tuesdays?"
I replied that such a change in plans would be just fine with me so we planned to meet on the following Tuesday. George Timlitz stated that he would like to join with us. Upon becoming aware of our plans, George Milnor, WA4JUP, also decided to gather with us. That was the very beginning. We then had our own OB luncheon! We called ourselves the OB splinter group. At this stage, we had attendance amounting to four stalwarts!
Number five was another non-Ham who lived in Cape Canaveral. His name was Bob Anderson. Bob constantly monitored the two meter repeater frequency. When he heard someone call in with a problem, he would get on the landline and do his best to help out. Many times he called the police or the AAA to help someone in distress. In those days, our newly formed, private OB group was moving around from restaurant to restaurant on almost a weekly basis. Each week, our destination eatery was discussed on the air. Bob Anderson would overhear our discussion and ask for permission to join us. Of course he was urged to do so. Bob later acquired his Ham ticket with the call KB4KSK. Unfortunately, he has since passed away.
Next, Bob Gingras, WB4JMH, heard us on the air and wanted to join. At this juncture, we were meeting at the Desperados restaurant on the beach almost every week. At this point in time, Joe decided that we should quit calling ourselves a splinter group and pick a more appropriate name. Since four members of the bunch had a Ham licnese at the time and since George and Bob were a bit backward when it came to securing a Ham ticket, Joe wisely selected the name "SMAH" for the group. All agreed this was appropos as SMAH was HAMS spelled in reverse.
Thus the SMAH, as we know it today, was born. We continued to grow in numbers and moved from Desparados to the Italian Garden, which was situated in the Merritt Island Mall. Influencing this decision was the fact that the owner of this establishment was also a Ham. Later, we moved again, this time to the ElCharo. These accommodations did not last very long. Finally, we decided to try, for size, the Holiday Inn in Cocoa Beach. Joe made this decision based on the fact that he was attending a business men's lunch there and he knew Shelly and other waitresses there. For various and sundry reasons, the day of our meetings was changed on several occasions. We finally settled on Fridays as being most accommodating.
As nearly as I can recall, the early members of the group included WA4MMD, WD4HIQ, WA4JUP, W4YWA, KB4KSK, W4JC, WB4JMH, N4HNW, KA4FFA, WB4EBH, George Temlitz, and, when he got his priorities straight, W1TLZ. There may well have been others and I apologize for any omissions.
On several occasions, Joe tried to apply a tighter rein on the group via the organization route. For example, he wanted to have membership cards printed for those attending two weeks in a row. On each occasion when rules, regulations, or other bureaucratic moves were proposed, he was overruled in a hasty, bold, and otherwise convincing manner. Joe finally gave up when some members threatened to stay away if the group became too formal. Actually, freedom from rules appeared to be a major attraction. No dues, no formal programs, no bylaws, no minutes, no nothing but good fellowship and an excellent lunch!
When we first started meeting at the Holiday Inn, we had a long private table in the main dining room overlooking the pool and the attendant bathing beauties. The motel management moved us to a private dining room when the number of attendees swelled and we began to annoy the other paying customers. The annoyance was no doubt aided and abetted by the free bottle of vodka the management furnished for our consumption! Our private meeting place was originally known as Gully's Coffee Shop. As of the year 2001, we continue to meet here. The free vodka was discontinued, but enthusiasm has not been dampened.
I recall that, in the early days, some stranger would venture into our private room and ask if it were a private party. Joe would invariably announce in a loud and distinct voice that this was the regular meeting of the "Cocoa Beach Pornographic Society", and they were certainly welcome to join us. On one memorable occasion, two attractive ladies smiled, came right on in and asked, "Where shall we sit?" For once in his life, Joe was nonplussed. That is the first time I had ever seen him in that state.
The current version of the SMAH continues to meet every Friday at the Holiday Inn. I have seen as many as 33 and as few as 13 attending. One thing you can count on: there are always plenty of congenial Hams in attendance and, invariably, all have a pleasant time. The gathering commences at about 11 A.M. The price of lunch, icluding tax and tip, now varies from $3.50 to $7.50. As you can see, the price is hard to beat. All Hams, their wives, friends, and acquaintances are welcomed with open arms, so why don't you and yours plan on dropping by? Of one thing I am sure; you will be glad you did. Remember: no rules, no dues, just plain ordinary fun and relaxation!
(The foregoing article was published in the January 1991 edition of Spurious Emissions, the IRARC Newsletter.)
