Dear Betty,
I relate fully with your listening adventures in 1937, when shortwave radio was the ultimate in telecommunications for that time. Fifteen years later, I was in elementary school and we lived on a small island east of Puerto Rico. My father was a ham radio operator, and as I lay in bed at night I could hear him communicating with others all over the world. Their signals might be very weak, but Dad could make sense of what they were saying, just as you made sense of what you heard. So I know, first hand, that quirky atmospheric conditions most certainly could deliver those words to your radio.
At that time a TV station had been established on Puerto Rico, a hundred miles away. Although much of the programming was in Spanish (and in black & white, not color!), my parents and I could enjoy a few English language programs during the week, such as I Love Lucy, Liberace, and Guy Lombardo. But it was on Saturday mornings, when there was no school, that I remember watching children’s cartoons and other programs from stations in Florida, more than 1100 miles away! Some moments the signal would be clear, and then it might fade away, but I was watching and enjoying a program originating from an unbelievably great distance away. Some people might not believe that, but you and I know what’s really possible.
Thank you for writing down what you heard that day. We are all indebted to you for your work. You have every reason to be proud of your part in helping to solve the mystery of Amelia and Fred’s disappearance. We are all proud of you.
Thank you, Betty!