Sylvester Stolzenberger – W7IVM

From the April 1996 edition of Ohm Town News:

HISTORY OF W7IVM
by Clayton Clark, AC7O

(The older members of the Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club will remember the contributions of Sylvester Stolzenberger, W7IVM.  Younger members and new Hams may be interested in the history of this great contributor to amateur radio as they use the radio equipment he left for us.)

Sylvester, known to all as Sy, was born and raised on Long Island, New York and worked for the Sperry Gyroscope Company as an electronic technician.  He never married and was the youngest in his family so in later years he was alone.  When he retired he moved to Florida but felt alone there.  He moved to Logan, lived here for one year and then found a nice little house in Clarkston.  The neighbors and our Ham community made him feel at home in Cache Valley.  He loved motor cycles and rode all over the west.  He monitored all of our repeaters all of the time and served to relay messages, to instruct new comers, to chastise anyone who needed it, and to welcome any passerby to the valley.  There was always a cheerful voice for someone who wanted information or just to talk.  He did not hear well so his frequent request was: “increase your deviation”.

Each year he served as host at a breakfast for the Hams who went to Clarkston to serve as communicators for the Pony Express Ride.  There were usually 15 to 20 of us.  The breakfasts were very good and we enjoyed the fellowship.

He loved music and had a good library of disks, tapes and CDs.  In 1984 he wrote me a letter stating that arthritis had made it impossible to play his electronic organ so he was designating me the buyer thereof, value new $2000, price to me $600 (2 years old).  No argument, no hassle.  I paid him, tried to learn the organ for a year then gave up and gave the organ to my sister.

At that time he knew his heart was weak so he arranged with his lawyer, Brent Hoggan, to take care of all of his affairs in case he became a sudden “silent key”.  In 1988 it happened.  The neighbors, who had been checking on him frequently, found him dead in his easy chair in his beautiful, spotless house.

Brent Hoggan called me and stated that Sy had arranged a funeral for himself in the North Logan funeral home; I was to be one of the speakers and Brent Hogan was the other.  A musical number was to be an organ solo by our only Ham radio organist, Gary Richardson, KC7WN.  All Hams were invited.  Cremation had been arranged and carried out in Salt Lake and all expenses had been paid.  BARC was to inherit all of his radio equipment.  All other assets were to be auctioned off, including house, car, tools and furniture.  The proceeds, after expenses, were to be sent to his only relative, a niece in Florida.  I sent the niece a letter with a few personal items such as pictures and included comments about what he meant to us.  She replied, gratefully.  She is a police officer in Florida and has a daughter.  I bid a fair price at the start of bidding for his music equipment and library complete.  No one bid against me so I have it to enjoy and remember him.  Neighbors bought his household furnishings and tools.

The funeral was interesting and a proper tribute, with many Hams and his Clarkston neighbors there.  He was good to his neighbors, repairing anything for them.  They were good to him.

BARC members assembled at his house on a Saturday and removed all of his radio equipment.  The tower, rotator and beam were sold to Kelby Davis as the highest bidder.  All other equipment was taken to my basement where it was arranged in units or lots for silent bidding.  People could write their bids on cards on the lots.  To make a bid or raise a bid you would sign your name with a new bid.  After a few days, bidding was cut off, winners paid their money and carried off their item or lot.  Cash received was over $800 which was helpful in getting the Mount Logan repeater going.  The HF rig, a Kenwood TS130S, worth about $600 with power supply, and a two meter transceiver worth about $300, were held back to serve in the club shack on the USU campus for the benefit of all club members.

In this club shack or radio room on campus we felt we should keep his call sign, W7IVM, prominently displayed in memory of our friend Sy.

In our last BARC meeting a motion was passed that we apply for a club call and ask for the call W7IVM to honor Sy.  I hope that motion is being implemented.

If anyone has a good photo of Sy or additional information that would be applicable to this page, please contact me (K7CTC) so I can see that it is added.  As I continue to read through old issues of the Ohm Town News I will add things that may be of interest.  Thank you, Chris (K7CTC).