Coffee Cup CBers

In the latter half of the 1970s and into the 1980s the Citizen’s Band (CB) Radio was the Facebook of today.  People from all walks of life used it as a method of chatting with a neighbor, contacting new friends, or just plain having fun communicating. With the twist of a dial and the click of a microphone switch you could be instantly connected to anyone within a radius of twenty-five miles, or even more on a good day, to those that happened to be listening on the call channel, or monitoring some other particular channel.  

In this manner I met the “Fat Rat” and the “Alley Cat,” the “handles” of some neighbors I hadn’t ever known about.  After a suitable amount of chit chat over the course of weeks there came an evening when my brother “Letterman,” and myself “Simba” met with the couple with some vague idea of forming a group of enthusiasts for the enjoyment of our new-found entertainment.

It wasn’t too long before the “Coffee Cup CBers” was a reality.  At the beginning we merely had get-togethers where we met to enjoy coffee and pastries, and the camaraderie of good friends.  When folks chat though ideas are born, and in this case the thought of an old-fashioned dance became a popular topic of conversation.  So it was that a few of us anted the money, hired a local Country and Western Band, got permission to use the local volunteer fire station, contracted for libation, purchased hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, and snack foods, put it all together and held the first “Round and Square Dance” for decades.  Admission was charged to cover expenses, which after all bills were paid there was a profit remaining.

The profit from the first dance was rolled over into several more.  Each time there was a further profit even though the club was formed as a non-profit organization under the wing of the local Sportsman’s Club.  As an attempt to enjoy ourselves, and at the same time aid the community, we then held an old-time fireman’s field day including all sorts of carnival-type games, bed races in the street, and food and drink for all ages.  As most people had a good outing we did it again the following year with the same results.

However, it seems sooner or later all good things come to an end, and this was the case with the Coffee Cup CBers.  After a decade or so the CB airwaves were so cluttered with millions of users it had become nearly impossible to use them any more.  Only a very limited number of people continued to have any interest in either CB radios or the Coffee Cup Club so we decided to disband.  All money in the treasury was donated to the local Volunteer Fire Company as well as a limited amount of physical property.

KKZ 5098 signing off for the evening.