Another, absolutely sterling archival researcher has given Paul with some new material, which, I am sure, will be going into a blog post some time soon.
Some of this material indicates that, from time to time, while living in his home in Granville, OH, in the mid twenties, Townsend socialized with one "Professor Howe"
Granville resident, Richard H. Howe, an associate professor emeritus from Denison U, is probably that person:
It seems that he was very likely to have been the faculty sponsor for the Denison Radio Station where Townsend DJed. and that he and Townsend shared a mutual interest in wireless communications. I also note that his his WW II work was in the Underwater Sound Laboratory. (that's SONAR to you, sailor!)*.Richard H. Howe Services for Richard H. Howe, 88, of 420 E. Broadway, Granville, will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Centenary United Methodist Church, Granville, with the Rev.
Duane E. Johnson officiating. Burial will be in Maple Grove Cemetery, Granville. Mr. Howe died Wednesday afternoon in Licking Memorial Hospital.
He was born July 6, 1898. He was associate professor emeritus of physics at Denison University; a 1916 graduate of Granville High School and a 1920 graduate and Phi Beta Kappa at Denison; and a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Following graduation, he was associated with the Denison Physics Department where he worked until retirement in 1963. He was in charge of the physics laboratory at Ohio State University, Newark campus in 1964 and '65; former mayor of. Granville; former member of Granville : Village Council; served as curator of Granville Museum ; served in the Army during World War I; during World War II was a civilian employee of the government's Underwater Sound Laboratory in Boston, Mass., and Florida.
On Feb. 12, 1916, he became the first licensed amateur radio operator in the U.S. and remained active in this field until his death. He was noted for technical lectures in the amateur field, and in April of 1922, founded the first radio broadcast station in Licking County WJD. He was a member of Centenary United Methodist Church since 1913; 50-year member of Center Star Masonic Lodge 11 of Granville; Granville Historical Society; American Legion Post 398 of Granville; American Association of Physics Teachers; Antique Wireless Association; and former secretarytreasurer of Ohio Physics Club.
His wife, Goldie (McLaine) Howell, died Sept. 16, 1980. Friends may call from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Friday in the McPeek Funeral Home, where Masonic services will be at 7 p.m. Friday.
Am I missing any other points of possible connection between Townsend and Howe? If Denison holds his papers, they might be worth a look through.
Jan
*not saying there is any connection, but I would be remiss if I did not note that CalTech's Smythe/Smyth (Gone Dark) worked at the Sound Lab in Point Loma, Ca before he was pulled into the earliest of the CalTech/JPL rocket projects. I may have caught a whiff of a link in an another oral history from the time, but I need to find it and reread it again.