Irb W2VJZ

Some may wonder what happened with Irb Richardt from Liberty Corner, NJ, a ham known for his resolute, and at times somewhat controversial opinions. I first encountered Irb as a new ham when I lived in Buffalo, NY, meeting him on the air, we enjoyed a very nice chat. Soon a letter arrived at my doorstep from Irb, a most interesting read! Over the years we all heard the various opinions about Irb, witnessed his battle with the FCC, and sadly with some other hams. In the end, I think all of us respected Irb for sticking to his beliefs about a small government, his admiration of Thomas Jefferson and his fierce independence from government intervention and control in his life. Over the years I enjoyed many chats with Irb, and as I became older and learned more about the world, I began to see a great deal of wisdom in his beliefs about the nature of our government, his deep respect for the U.S. Constitution and his traditional values of faith. I found him to be a kind, well considered patriot, outspoken perhaps, but almost always on point.

I still remember my last conversation with Irb, just a few months before he passed. For some reason I felt compelled to record it, thinking it might well be the last time I spoke with him. It was clear from the weakness in his voice that Irb was not feeling well, he told me that he was taking aspirin, for what he claimed was the first time in his life. Unfortunately Irb passed away a few months after our QSO, and like others, I wondered what was to become of his beloved farmlands, located as they were in what had become prime commercial property in NJ. Irb used to refer to his farm as the "Sons of Liberty" farm, a reference to the early patriots of the American revolution.

Well, I am delighted to report that the story has a happy ending, Irb's farmlands were saved from development and have now become the Sons of Liberty Park! You can read the story in local paper's here, baskingridge.patch.com/articles/a-walk-in-the-park-with-the-mayor.

Ken W2DTC has the entire story here, complete with photos of the site, its worth a look, w2dtc.com/2010-1016-sons-of-liberty-farm-page.htm. Ken also has some choice sound bites from Irb and other hams on his page, take a look at  w2dtc.com/w2dtc-sound-bites-page.htm

A few years back, a local filmmaker from NJ, Don Gehan, made a video of Irb and his farmlands, you can view this video in the right column. In the video Don walks with Irb on his property, speaks with local town officials, and most interestingly shows Irb interacting with local schoolchildren. Irb was a maple syrup farmer, and one way which he supported himself was to sell maple syrup to the public, on the honor system. You can see a very different side of Irb in this video, one that many of us were not privileged to witness on the air, such are the limitations of radio. I hope that you'll take a few moments to view Don's video and understand a little bit more about this gentleman.