8DBM 1926 Wooster, Ohio

Op: Sam Taggart 8DBM, W8JA, W1ZA, W9ENH, W9NB, W2IU

Sam moved away from Wooster, most likely in the 1930s, but not until he sported the neat call of W8JA. This is listed in my 1930 Department of Commerce callbook. Later on he became W9NB in Illinois, but he was best known as "top drawer" Top Band DXer - W2IU. He passed away in 1990 at age 85, and is buried in Wooster.

Now for some real information! In the late 1990's I become acquainted with a boyhood friend of Sam's - Forest "Frosty" Altman, who is also listed in that 1930 callbook as W8CLT. Frosty pretty much gave up on ham radio in 1930, as he did not figure there were many DX challenges left! He told me that he had worked 90 countries at that time, which seemed like a lot to me. So, I called an expert on the phone - Al Hix - W8AH (SK), and Al said that sounded just about right for the time. Frosty W8CLT got married and started to raise a family, and run a radio/TV business in Wooster. He never lost touch with his good friend Sam Taggart, and even attended his funeral.

Frosty told me that Sam went away to work for one of the major corporations I'm almost certain it was RCA. He was very well known with the W9NB call as a DXer and contester. When he moved on to New Jersey and became W2IU, he was indeed one of the top DX guys on 160. Probably the most exciting DX news of the 1961/1962 season was the appearance of Bob Snyder EP2BK on Top Band. Guess who the first USA station was to work him? None other than Sam - W2IU, of course followed quickly by W1BB. When Fred Laun - K3ZO was able to secure limited permission for Top Band action from HI8XAL, Sam was one of the first 10 entries in his log.

Sam was an excellent CW operator and also very well known in traffic handling circles. He never forgot his buddies back in Wooster, either, and was a source for hard to find parts. Frosty Altman showed me a power supply in his basement, and he told me some of the parts came from Sam. For me this was also a scary time, as Frosty fired up the supply, which I assumed had not been done in decades. No explosion(!) and it provided about 1800 volts, just as Frosty claimed. He wanted to sell it to me, but I declined! Frosty is now a silent key also.

Today, while finishing a project for some guys in a local radio club, I came up something else rather interesting. Holmes County borders my own county of Wayne. The 1930 U S Department of Commerce "call book" shows only one ham in the entire county, Helen TAGGART - W8DBM. Her QTH at that time would have been about 15 miles south of Sam. Coincidence? I think perhaps not. Sadly I don't know how to proceed to verify this. There are no old time hams left in Holmes County -- the only one that may have known anything about this passed away last year. If I do find anything else, I will forward it as a "P.S", to the story about Sam.

Actually I don't know what the relationship of Sam and Helen was. Brother and sister? Mother and son? Husband and wife? Note the closing on the card: "Vy 73 es 88 frm "ZH", "EW", "BY", "HS", and "DL". Also note that there is no printed name on the card itself. You don't find TAGGART anywhere! Could this call have been shared among many people? My old pal and QSL manager W8TPS and his father shared a call, for example, back in the 20's and perhaps 30s. At one time the FCC or whoever issued calls (Department of Commerce?) would only issue one set of call letters (station license) for each location. Both TPS and his father had passed exams, and held operator licenses. Look at the 8IZ card on Hamgallery. There are 2 operators shown -- they were brothers, and of course Waldo, the second op, was on the air for 87 years, most recently as W8ANO.

Relationship mistery solved by W8SU and W8JNE using Ancestory.com:
In 1930 Sam held W8JA in Wooster and Helen held W8DBM in Millersburg - even though this was after they were married, there could be a good reason for that. Remember, in those days you could only have one Station License per address. This was a good way for them to hold on to W8DBM.

The obit might reveal where the son is now living and taggarts affiliations. It was in Ancestry.com under the family tree section. It also reveals the 1930 census, they were fast movers, later on in 1930 they were living in Chicopee Mass, on Pine Street. Taggart listed as an engineer, electronics mfg. As I recall Chicopee was highly industrial, guns, motorcycles etc.

Sam held THREE calls at the same time.
1935 Callbook:
W8JA - RFD #4 - Wooster, OH.

W1ZA - 70 Pine Street - Chicopee Falls, MA.

W9ENH - 6713 S. Halsted Street - Chicago, IL.

Wonder how he managed that?

1939 Callbook

W8JA - R#4, Box 580, Anacostia, D.C. (Stn. on RT#4, Wooster, Ohio) Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Washington, DC., and it looks like Sam was actually living there.

W9ENH - QSL to W8JA

W1ZA is shown as an EX call under the W8JA listing.

In 1948 W2IU, which Sam held at the time of his death, belonged to Clinton DeSoto......as in the "DeSoto Cup" for the DXCC Challenge! So there is a question to still be answered - where was Sam Taggart in 1948 - was he licensed or was it a temporary time of inactivity for him?

Here is a picture of 446 North Buckeye Street - Wooster Ohio on May 2010. It was a grand old home in its time, and is still in relatively decent repair. Right on that very block, a special renovation project is in progress to bring 3 or 4 similar homes to their former glory. Sam was licensed here as W8JA, and this was also the sight of 8DBM. K8MFO Photo

Here is some unrelated but interesting info, perhaps a relative.

Here is a letter to QST Magazine April 1923.

QSL K8CX Collection
Info courtesy of K8MFO, W8SU, W8JNE
Photo courtesy of K8MFO