Postcard brings memories, friendship for Hattiesburg men
Pine Belt residents Hugh Garraway and Bob Helfrich shared a common bond from many years ago, but neither realized it until Garraway found a postcard when going through his old ham radio equipment.
The date was March 27, 1964. It was Good Friday.
Helfrich, a boy of 10, was living in Yakutat, Alaska. Garraway, a 15-year-old ham radio operator, was living in Hattiesburg.
An earthquake — the largest ever recorded in the United States — was of a 9.2 magnitude, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. At least 139 people were killed, most of them in the ensuing tsunami, according to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Helfrich family, like many others in Alaska, were fine but had no way of letting their family in the Lower 48 know.
As word of the earthquake and tsunami spread, volunteer amateur radio operators were sought to relay communications between survivors in Alaska and family members stateside.
"My oldest sister was finishing high school in Jackson," Helfrich said. "My grandmother lived in Jackson, and I had an aunt and uncle from Jackson. Dad was trying to get word to them that we were OK."
Garraway, a licensed operator who learned ham radio through the leadership of Leslie Newcomb, Scoutmaster of Troop 91 in Hattiesburg, was able to get hold of the Helfrich family in Jackson to assure them their family members in Yakutat were fine.
A couple weeks later, Helfrich's father somehow was able to get Garraway's contact information and sent him a postcard thanking him for his role in helping his family.
"We are greatful (sic) to all the ham operators everywhere and especially you," the postcard says.
That part of history may have gone unreported, long forgotten, but for Garraway's sentimental stroll through days of old and a renewed passion for ham radio — nearly 50 years after that fateful day.
"My interests moved to other areas of life," he said. "I let my amateur radio license expire."
Garraway said he decided to pick up his old hobby again when he retired. He studied for and was able to regain his operator's license. Garraway was going through his old radio equipment, which had been stored away for decades in a Perry County shed, when he happened upon the postcard. The postcard had been placed in a container with his "QSL" cards, which are written confirmations of radio exchanges. The postcard also had survived a house fire.
"I found the container with my old 'QSL' and thank you notes and looked through them," he said. "I looked at the thank you note and realized that the last name on the card was the same as someone I had never met but had friended me on Facebook because of mutual friends."
Helfrich's sister and brother-in-law, it turns out, are friends of Garraway's parents.
Helfrich had wished Garraway a happy birthday in a Facebook message. Seeing the name brought the postcard to mind, so Garraway asked if Helfrich or a family member was stationed in Yakutat during the earthquake. Helfrich replied yes.
"I sent him an image of the postcard and he replied that it was his father’s handwriting and that it was a small world," Garraway said. "It was a nice moment."
"I was shocked," Helfrich said.
Garraway also was surprised to make the unexpected connection, as most families did not know the names of the ham operators who helped them. He said the note from the Helfrich family was the only one he received from all the calls he made that night.
He said he got involved when he heard of another ham operator asking for volunteers to let families know their loved ones in Alaska were all right.
"I volunteered and we spent the night as follows: He would send me the name and phone number of a person to contact. We would verify that I had the information correct and then I would make a collect phone call to the individual or family," Garraway said. "The operator would ask if they would accept the call with information on the family. Of course no one declined the call.
"Since we were sending messages of well-being, there were only sobs of joy on the other end of the line. Finally an operator contacted her supervisor and received permission to stay on the line with me until all messages were delivered that night and morning."
Helfrich's father, Jan Helfrich, was a Dutch pilot who was in training when World War II broke out. He was one of about 600 Dutch pilots sent to Jackson to finish their training. It was in Jackson where he met Helfrich's mother, Marjorie Brooks Helfrich, a secretary at Hawkins Field, which at the time was the Jackson Army Airbase.
His father later worked for the Federal Aviation Administration and the family was transferred to Alaska in 1959, where the family remained until they returned to Jackson when Helfrich's father died in 1966.
The Helfrich family was at the FAA's range station in Yakutat, only a few hundred yards from Yakutat Bay, when the earthquake struck about 250 miles away. Like many curious 10-year-olds, Helfrich ran outside instead of staying under the protection of a door jamb, as his father directed.
"I was watching the trees go back and forth and the ice breaking — it was still icy," Helfrich said. "My poor dog was in his box, trying to get up but kept falling down."
By coincidence, both Helfrich and Garraway ended up in Hattiesburg, but they are not aware of any time their paths crossed until that Facebook moment last year.
And what a big moment that was. Helfrich shared the postcard message with his sisters and 94-year-old mother.
"I just couldn't quit talking about it," Helfrich said.
Garraway, a noted musician and retired computer science instructor with the University of Southern Mississippi, and Helfrich, Mississippi 12th District circuit judge, finally met face to face April 6, when the Hattiesburg American brought the two men together for a photo shoot.
"That's amazing. That's a small world," Helfrich said.
"It's strange how it happens," Garraway said.
About ham radio
The word amateur is defined as a person who does something on an unpaid basis and for the love of it. Amateur radio is a hobby with service potential. To become an amateur or "ham" radio operator, one must pass exams on electronic principles, Federal Communications Commission rules, and electromagnetic wave propagation. Prior to 2003, the FCC also required a potential ham radio operator to demonstrate proficiency receiving and sending International Morse Code.
Source: Hugh Garraway