WICHITA FALLS MAN
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CB Radio, Morse code, and Folgers Black Silk coffee. What else could a man need in beautiful Wichita Falls, Texas? Maybe a "Red Draw" at the BAR-L Drive In? As the late Oscar Gamble said, "They don't think it be like it is, but it do!" When you see news reports of "A Wichita Falls man..." that's usually not me.
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02-15-2026 - 5:00 AM - Good Morning! It’s Sunday, and the Wichita Amateur Radio Society will hold its weekly informal net tonight on the 147.140 MHz repeater. As far as I know, all licensed Amateur (ham) Radio Operators are invited to check in. You can also tune in with your scanner radio. Do you remember the Software Lending Library at Kemp & Hampstead? I visited the business once, in the early 1990s, but I don’t remember much about it or how it worked. The only reference to it I could find online is a 1988 list of authorized Commodore warranty repair locations. I wish I still had my Commodore 64, which I bought in 1984. I used it for Amateur (ham) Radio RTTY (Radio Teletype), which was probably the first form of text messaging. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 5:15 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 69. North northwest wind 5 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 43. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph after midnight.
--- 5:30 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are as follows: Arrowhead: 82.7% Kemp: 98.2 Kickapoo: 85.0%. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (83.85%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:00 AM - The next time you drive by the police station at 610 Holliday, notice the narrow windows on the front of the building. They weren’t always that narrow, but were made narrow after repeated slingshot-propelled ball bearing attacks.
--- 7:00 AM - In the News - Wichita Co. fugitive in custody after Seymour standoff Seymour, WFISD installs two new book vending machines in schools, Texoma’s Longest Married Couple: Hal and Carma Healer.
--- 8:00 AM - It’s 1967. Imagine walking north on the service road of Central (Red River) Expressway, from Maurine Street. Past the service station, past the Ramada Inn with its iconic stairs in the lobby, to the first residence on Westcliff. This first house is important because, through the back door to the garage, was a well-stocked candy store. It’s one purpose in life: trap kids in a “tractor beam” and draw them, and their nickels, dimes, and quarters inside.
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02-14-2026 - 5:00 AM - Good Morning! It's Saturday, and Valentine's Day. I got my wife a stuffed bear, and that’s all the work I have planned for today. Work? Not really. Also, I left myself a sticky note reminder that the Daytona 500 is tomorrow at 1:30 PM. I'm not a huge race fan, so I might forget it. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 5:30 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 73. South wind 8 to 10 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. Tonight: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 9pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 9pm and midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. South southwest wind 7 to 14 mph becoming north in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
--- 5:45 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are as follows: Arrowhead: 82.3% Kemp: 97.2 Kickapoo: 84.7%. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (83.5%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:00 AM - Some local weekend radio scanning targets: Walmart (154.570 MHz), Allred Unit (153.815 MHz), Wichita County Jail (155.520 MHz), State Hospital (154.800 MHz) city transit buses (453.5375 MHz), Wichita Valley Airport (122.800 MHz), Kickapoo Airport (122.700 MHz), Wichita Falls Regional Airports / SAFB (119.750 & 122.950 MHz), and the BNSF Railroad (160.920 MHz). MORE!
--- 7:30 AM - I contacted a station at Colonial National Historical Park (US-0016) in Virginia on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
--- 8:15 AM - In the early 1980s, it was the practice of Gibson’s Discount Center in Wichita Falls to allow female employees to leave at 1:00 PM on Saturdays. The men had to stay until closing at 6:00 PM. The reason given was so the women could attend to the chores they usually do. That was the store’s explanation, not mine. I think Sunday church and supper were also in the explanation. I have no idea when that policy began or when it ended.
--- 8:40 AM - The CB Radio is coming alive with strong signals scattered across the band. Conditions should improve as the day progresses, with more channels becoming occupied. Channel 6, the "superbowl" of CB Radio, is booming. Channel 38, lower sideband, is also hot.
--- 2:00 PM - I watched Landman episodes 5 and 6 this afternoon. It's a great series. Other than the Parks on the Air contact earlier, I haven't done much radioing today.
--- 6:30 PM - The Local Group is active on CB Radio Channel 23. They're on just about every night, whether I tune in to listen or not! You can tune it, too.