Joe Locasio Don Wallace Museum Collection, bulk 1986 - 2007

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Summary

Title:
Joe Locasio Don Wallace Museum Collection
Dates:
bulk 1986 - 2007
Abstract:
The Joe Locasio Don Wallace Museum Collection contains planning documents and memorabilia for the Don Wallace Museum in Rancho Palos Verdes, California collected by Locasio.
Containers:
box: 1
box: 2
Extent:
0.75 Cubic Feet 2 letter document boxes
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Name of item], Joe Locasio Don Wallace Museum Collection (Collection 075). Local History Center, Peninsula Center Library, Palos Verdes Library District, Rolling Hills Estates, CA.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection is primarily made up of museum development plans and communications, member and donor information, meeting minutes and agendas, financial records, brochures, and mailers. Also includes digitized video recordings featuring Wallace and ham radio.

Biographical / historical:

Joe Locasio (call sign K5KT), an avid radio enthusiast, was formerly the president of the Honolulu DX, Southern California DX, and Palos Verdes Amateur Radio clubs. Locasio was on the leadership board of the Don Wallace Radio Ranch Foundation (later known as the Don Wallace Museum Foundation) and served as Chairman for three years. The foundation aimed to create a museum dedicated to ham radio and Don Wallace's accomplishments. After years of back and forth between the city, community, and developers, the museum project was abandoned.

Don Wallace (call sign W6AM) was born 1898 and was a major figure in the ham radio field. Wallace received his first operator's license and was a radioman on a submarine before he was selected by Woodrow Wilson as his personal radio operator in 1919. He was named Chief Radio Officer aboard the U.S.S George Washington serving President Wilson and was in the position during the Versailles Peace conference after WWI. In 1924, Wallace won the Hoover Cup for best homebuilt land operated amateur radio station in the U.S. He continued to design and experiment with amateur radio and won multiple awards during his life time. In the 1930s he helped handle traffic messages after floods and an earthquake in Long Beach and also published his Short Wave Manual.

In 1945, Wallace bought a 120 acre radio facility on the Palos Verdes Peninsula from Press Wireless, a group of newspapers that erected the radio trasmitting and receiving site. The site played a crucial communications link to the South Pacific during WWII. Known as the Wallace Radio Ranch, or Wallace Ranch, Wallace built his rhombic farm consisting of 61 poles and 16 rhombic antennas, one of which was 1550 feet long, and thought to be the largest amateur radio antenna in the world.

Wallaced leased some of the property for agricultural use which helped reduce his personal taxes on the land. During the 1960s however, Wallace sold all but 24 acres because of the high taxes. He continued to broadcast from his Ranch until the end of his life, making contact with people in 365 countries.

After Wallace's death, the 24 acre site was sold and developed into residential housing called Wallace Ranch Estates. A plaque commemorating Wallace is located at the entrance to the development at Armaga Spring Road and Via Malona in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Acquisition information:
Donated to the Local History Center by Joe Locasio.
Processing information:

Initial rehousing and stabilization of materials by Logan Gorsuch, Monique Sugimoto, and Sianna Bethune. Final arrangement and description by Sianna Bethune, January 11, 2024.

Arrangement:

Arranged into two series: administrative records and media. Administrative records arranged alphabetically by folder title; thereunder chronologically, with undated materials filed after dated materials.

Physical location:
Local History Center
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Sianna Bethune
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-01-29 12:05:31 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the Local History Center for access information.

Terms of access:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred citation:

[Name of item], Joe Locasio Don Wallace Museum Collection (Collection 075). Local History Center, Peninsula Center Library, Palos Verdes Library District, Rolling Hills Estates, CA.

Location of this collection:
701 Silver Spur Road
Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274, US
Contact:
(310) 377-9584
Website