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Ralph W. Ziegenbein Lansing, MI QCWA # 1308 |
Ralph Ziegenbein (pronounced Zig-en-bine) held Amateur Callsign W8PLP. He was a popular barber in the Lansing area, with a shop located on Michigan Avenue, near Clemens and made a large impact on our Club. "He would ask if you were a Ham when you came into his shop", said longtime CMARC member, Currin Skutt, W8FSZ. "If you said yes, he would open a drawer and hand you a QST, if you said no, he would direct you to the magazines on the table."
There is little information on the man known affectionately as "Mr. Ham Radio" and he has no Family in the area, according to Skutt, but he is remembered as the man who spearheaded the push to bring the Novice Class license to Amateur Radio. According to Skutt, Ziegenbein came up with the idea, looking for a way to get the younger generation interested in Amateur Radio. It was markedly more difficult to jump into the hobby then, having to meet the requirements of a General Class license. Following much discussion, it was agreed that something could be done and after more discussion in the next month, CMARC sent it to the Club Secretary and had it typed up for submission to the ARRL. "The League took it from there", Skutt remembered and Amateur Radio added the Novice Class to its list. The rest, as they say, is history!
Ziegenbein was among the last of the sparkgap users in the Lansing area, too. Currin tells a story about how Ralph's transmitter would weld the electric meter when he used his transmitter, which caused some problems with the electric company. A man of good humor, Skutt also told of Ziegenbein's homespun phonetics. "He called himself a modular fruit stand", said Skutt. "Peaches, Lemons and Prunes".
W8PLP assured himself a place in the hearts of CMARC members of that day. Currin shared that Ziegenbein was a "man of his word. If he told you he would do something, you could expect a report on it at the next meeting". His dedication to the Hobby was apparent and Skutt also said the Lansing barber never missed a meeting.
A member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA), Ziegenbein was traveling to the Upper Peninsula for a meeting in 1960 when he and his wife were involved in a terrible auto accident near Houghton Lake, Michigan. Ziegenbein died in the accident, but his wife was taken to a Grayling hospital with injuries and she recovered.
