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Chesterfield Woman Preserves Late Father's Ham Radio Legacy

TL;DR: A Chesterfield County woman continues her late father's ham radio legacy by taking his call sign and displaying his vintage radio collection at a Colonial Heights museum.

The story

Kathleen DeMajo Adams, 38, honors her late father's lifetime passion for amateur radio and vintage technology by inheriting his call sign and placing his expansive collection on public display at the Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum in Colonial Heights.

Her father, John DeMajo, was a retired engineer and radio historian from New Orleans who began collecting radios at age six and never stopped. He obtained his first FCC radio operator's license at age 13 and held the ham radio call sign K5HTZ, assigned to him in the 1950s. Over more than six decades, DeMajo amassed one of the largest vintage radio collections on the East Coast, spanning radios from the 1920s through the 1960s. His home in Chesterfield filled to capacity with rare radio artifacts, antique shortwave receivers, and other communications equipment representing the full arc of radio and broadcasting history.

Beyond collecting, DeMajo was an active engineer and historian. He founded the Museum of Yesterday, a non-profit dedicated to preserving 20th-century American history with a special focus on communications technology. He also operated a low-wattage radio transmitter from his home, broadcasting vintage programs to preserve American broadcast history. Among his proudest possessions was a restored 1926 Wurlitzer theatre organ, its pipes extending into an upstairs bedroom with sound powerful enough to vibrate neighboring homes.

John DeMajo passed away in late 2023 from lung disease, just months after a July 2023 interview where he emphasized the urgency of pursuing meaningful projects while able: "If you have a dream that you want to do something like this, do it. Do it while you can."

His daughter now continues his legacy. Kathleen DeMajo Adams transmits under the same call sign, K5HTZ, reaching listeners across greater Richmond and around the globe via shortwave radio from her Chesterfield County home. Along one wall at the Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum, visitors can now see portions of her father's trove of technology, representing a lifetime of collecting and restoration work. "Radio connects the world," Adams said of the hobby her father introduced her to before the internet era. "It's the thread that brings all the people together." Through the exhibit, community members can explore the history and evolution of amateur radio and the technology that shaped 20th-century communications.

Key players

• Kathleen DeMajo Adams: Chesterfield County resident, amateur radio operator, collection curator
• John DeMajo: Late father, retired engineer, radio historian, founder of Museum of Yesterday

Key dates

• 1950s: John DeMajo assigned ham radio call sign K5HTZ
• 2023-07-07: WTVR profiles John DeMajo and his collection
• 2023-11: John DeMajo passes away from lung disease
• 2026-10-02: Collection goes on public display at Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum

Why it matters: The exhibit preserves an important chapter of communications history and provides Chesterfield County residents with a tangible window into the development of radio technology and amateur radio culture. It demonstrates how family legacies and personal passions can be sustained and shared with the broader community.

Places

• Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum
• Chesterfield County
• Colonial Heights
• New Orleans

Related links

• WTVR: Massive vintage radio collection now on display
• WTVR: John DeMajo profile (July 7, 2023)
• Museum of Yesterday
• Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum

Read the original at WTVR CBS 6 (YouTube) →

Sources

• WTVR: Massive vintage radio collection now on display
• WTVR: John DeMajo profile (July 7, 2023)
• Museum of Yesterday
• Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum