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How the JUG
Got Its Name
by Bob Hill, W1ARR
JUG Head Emeritus
"Gosh, Old Timer," said the Young Squirt, fondling his brand-new NCCC badge, "from what I've been reading in the old JUGs, our club sure has a long and proud tradition!"
"Yes, indeed," replied the Old Timer, "and some of it is known to only a very few of us who have been associated with the club since its early days. For example, did you know that W6CF's real name isn't Jim Maxwell? It's actually J. Ulysses Grant. He had to change it and take on a whole new identity – some scandal about a morals charge involving chickens, as I recall. We never did get the whole story."
"Golly," said the Young Squirt to himself. "J. Ulysses Grant? J. U. G.? Could it be that the JUG's name…?"
"And here's something else you newer members don't know," said the Old Timer, warming to his reminiscences. "The first editor of the club newsletter was supposed to have been Hiram P. ‘Short' Skipp, K6JUG. We had to dump him, even before the first issue, when we found out he was secretly a CB operator. He let the cat out of the bag during a phone contest when somebody gave him a ‘Five-Nine' and he answered with a 'Ten-Four.' Too bad – he had real talent."
"Holy cow," whispered the Young Squirt. "K6JUG! Maybe that's where the JUG..."
The Old Timer, deep in reveries, continued to muse:
"You know, back in those days it was hard to work through the East Coast Iron Curtain in the DX contests. Oh, we'd still run plenty of Japanese and Russian and English stations, though. It got to be sort of a cliché: ‘Not many multipliers, just the usual J's and U's and G's."
The Young Squirt could contain himself no longer. "Cowabunga!" he exclaimed. "Jim Maxwell's real name is J. Ulysses Grant, the first newsletter editor was supposed to be K6JUG, and the club members used to complain about working J's and U's and G's. No wonder the NCCC newsletter ended up being named the JUG – what a great story!"
The Old Timer peered at his youthful comrade in astonishment. "What the hell are you babbling about, boy?" he snapped. "It was named the JUG because all the members used to guzzle rotgut wine at the meetings. I thought everybody knew that!"
"Honest to God," he muttered sadly to himself, "I just can't figure out where this younger generation comes up with such wild ideas."
