The two QSL cards (from stations whose call signs spell words) in this post are both very cool. I decided to go with W0ZAP’s card first because it’s such a nice, cheery photo on a cold, snowy day here in Ann Arbor.
The second card is from Ron, K3SEW. I already have a card from Ron, but this card is much cooler. I’m going to guess that Ron, at one point, worked for a power company. My father in law worked for Detroit Edison, and when I showed this card to my wife, Silvia, she exclaimed, “That’s Reddy Kilowatt!”
Ashton B. Collins, Sr., of the Alabama Power Company created Reddy Kilowatt in 1926, and the image was licensed to power companies across the United States to represent electricity as a safe and useful utility. Reddy has a lightbulb for a nose, wall outlets for ears and a torso and limbs made of lightning bolts. At one time, more than 200 different companies used Reddy as their company mascot.
I think this is a great QSL card.
Steve~W8SFC says
Reddy Kilowatt was the “mascot” of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company – the utility company that provides energy to most of the homes and businesses in the state. The character is also used by many rural electric cooperatives across the country. I remember seeing Reddy in television commercials and other advertising materials back in the days of black and white tv. I would bet that most people my age have seen and would recognize Reddy Kilowatt, he’s sort of a celebrity logo/character like Smokey Bear and others we’ve all seen over the years. The most equivalent example of this sort might be the Geico Gecko, or the Aflac duck. The human analog of this iconography was Iron Eyes Cody, the native american who was seen in the Keep America Beautiful anti pollution public service ads on television in the 1970’s, (in reality he was Sicilian and not Native American, but he was cast as such because of his features that are widely accepted as Native American by Hollywood). Reddy Kilowatt was a anthropomorphic representation of electrical power and he was so effective because he put a friendly face we could remember on the, “shocking”, subject matter of electrical power.