From the Heart: Why we are saddened by the loss of the Hara Arena

Last fall I had the opportunity to visit the Hara Arena when it was empty. Before that date, I had been to the Hara on 11 occasions, each May from 2005 through 2015. Each time it was full of happiness and life and RF energy. Sure, it was ugly, but it was a happy place. When I visited last fall and drove around the empty parking lots, it was more than ugly.

It was lonely.

It was longing for an event to make it come alive again!  It was longing for the days that Wayne Gretzky played his first professional hockey game on the Hara ice.  It was longing for the days when the Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead and AC/DC and The Who would rock the arena.  It was longing for the days where high schools would hold their proms and people would have their wedding receptions in the Ball Arena.  Nowadays it had to settle for gun and knife shows or the occasional toy show.  But once a year, ol’ Hara got to host a three day Hamvention where the place would really shine.  OK, so it would shine like a polished turd, but it still would shine.

Each May at the Dayton Hamvention, people from all over the world, representing all seven continents, come together at the Hara Arena and celebrate their individual interests in one of the most varied of hobbies–Amateur Radio. The flea markets are full of antique radio equipment, the estates of silent keys, and equipment being sold so that the seller can buy new equipment. Inside the arena the manufacturers come to show off their new, fancy radios, and other vendors sell everything from RF connectors, LEDs and Arduino boards, to cheap imported wire strippers and super glue. The meeting rooms are packed to the gills with the forums, where the hams come to learn something new.

And the whole thing happens in an arena and conference center that probably shouldn’t exist anymore. And, after the Comic Book and Toy Show on August 27th, it will cease to exist at all. At least as anything but an empty shell.

Some of the regular attendees love the place and think it has character. Some hate the place and come anyway and complain about it. And some refuse to come to Hamvention at all because it is a dump.

And it is. By all stretches of the imagination, it is a dump. There is not a white ceiling tile in the place. Each year a different plumbing fixture fails and is not repaired or replaced. The audio system in the main arena failed last year. The electrical system is scary. An attached outbuilding became unattached two years ago. And who could forget the day the main sewer line erupted in the flea market. The health department should have shut us down that day, but they didn’t and we made the best of it.

If it was so bad, then why did attendance rise every year from 2008 (17,253) through 2015 (25,621)? 2015 was a 48% increase over 2008. And although the attendance dropped by a few hundred from 2015 to 2016, it was only by about one or two percent.

I think I know the answer.

The Hara Arena is like the crusty uncle that nobody in the family really talks to all year, but he comes to the family reunion every year and tells the best stories and dirty jokes. You’ve heard all of the jokes and stories before, and they get tiresome at times, but for some reason you look forward to hearing them. And you miss them a little bit after the reunion is over.

And we just found out that our Uncle Hara is going into Hospice and won’t be around at the reunion next year.  And instead of us thinking about how we will never hear his stories and dirty jokes again, we are thinking about how we will never again be able to walk the dark and dingy halls under the Arena stands.

We will never be able to walk up the ramp in Audio Alley again.

We will never again get to wait at the big roll up door for the inside exhibits to open at 9:00 AM.

We will never again tromp through the mud to get to a Rumpke port-o-potty.

We will never again be able to navigate our way through the exhibit halls using the stains on the wall and the ceiling.

We will never again sit in the arena in the tiny seats and strain our ears during the final prize drawings.

We will never again have the internal argument about either buying the $8 bus pass or paying $20 for the nearby private parking.

We will never again purchase a cheap ham sandwich on a bun, or a slice of Hara pizza.  We may not even get cheesecake on a stick!

Next year, we will be in snazzy new digs.  We’ll probably have real concession stands and maybe even restrictions on outside food (or drink!).  The facilities will definitely more modern and better lit.  The plumbing will work.  I’m sure the paint will be relatively fresh.  By every tangible standard, our experience will be a hundred times better.  As we were all overwhelmed at out first Hamvention at Hara, we will all get to be overwhelmed again as we learn once again to navigate our way through.  “Where’s Gordon West?”  “Where’s Bob Heil?”  “I need PowerPoles but can’t find Quicksilver.”

It definitely won’t be the same.  And it will be a major undertaking for the talented folks at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association.  They will need to rearrange the flea market and inside exhibits — something that hasn’t been necessary in 52 years.  They will need to deal with new contracts for the facilities.  They may even need to negotiate with trade unions to allow the exhibitors to set up on their own.  And I guarantee that it will take a few years to make everybody reasonably happy.  And I know that there will be hiccups next year.  We all need to remember that we need to support the Hamvention folks 100%.  They are all volunteers and do it for the love of giving us a place to go each May to celebrate our mutual interests.

Some have wondered why the Hamvention has been held in a deteriorating dump for so long.  It’s because the Hamvention has grown into the Hara Arena.  It just fits.  Moving it elsewhere will demand substantial changes to the experience for both attendees and the vendors.  And I think that that is what we are all most curious and anxious about right now, as we await the final announcement of the new location.

But curiosity and anxiousness aren’t all that we are dealing with.  We are mourning the impending loss of Uncle Hara.  And we are saddened that we will never have any more Hara experiences to pass on.

To the Wampler family: I am sure that your feeling about the loss of your business are hundreds of times stronger than ours.  I’m sorry that the infighting in your family has taken this toll on all of you.  I know you tried.  We will all miss you and your efforts to give us the best experience that you could.  Thank you for 53 great Hamventions!

To my friends at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association:  We know that big changes are coming and we know that decisions will need to be made.  We all have high hopes and we all know that you will get it done.  Don’t be discouraged by those who choose to complain and whine, but please listen to those who thoughtfully make suggestions and provide constructive criticism.  And most of all, thanks!  Thanks for providing us this wonderful convention each year and thanks for having a contingency plan and thanks for committing to bringing us a 2017 Hamvention!

Rest in Peace, Hara.  We’ll miss you.

 

(Published from DFW, Texas)

12 comments

  • Bill this was my 5th Hamvention. My 1st in 11 years, I’m glad I made the trek up there this year and look forward to what the folks at DARA. surprise us with next year. Everything changes but I hope the new digs still have grilled brats instead of the boiled. Wienies we have down here at HamCom.
    73 HARA
    De KA5TXL

  • I’m sorry, but while I will have fond memories of Hamventions, I won’t miss Hara Arena one single bit. Just think about what it said about amateur radio that it’s premiere conference was held in a crumbling structure that probably should have been closed years ago. Moving to a modern, clean, well-lit facility with proper bathroom facilities will be the best thing to happen to the Hamvention. It will attract more hams and more vendors and be bigger and better than ever.

  • Dan, differing opinions are always welcome here and I’ve always respected yours! I will be sure to do a “crosstown traffic” referral to your blog post concerning this news as well!

  • Very well said. I remember years of Computerfests and Hamventions at Hara. I will miss it and never had a major problem with the place.

    I think the most annoying thing about the complainers, the ones that say move it to Columbus or Indianapolis or whereeverville, are slighting the immense work of DARA. We’ll see how they like it when we get those new digs and ticket prices double or more.

  • How I am saddened by HARA closing, I am Really even more saddened by the hateful comments about being run down and this and that, IT is HOME to a lot of us who live here in Dayton , and I am Really FED UP with the nasty comments. Hara shutting , is a real stab in my heart, I feel like I’ve lost a best friend, to a long horrible death . Some of you ,want to make negative comments, but you have NO idea, How much personal pain and heartache this is for our city , and for the Wampler Family , who have went OVER and BEYOND , to keep Hara from closing, but due to a Bitter inner Family FIGHT , the place could not be renovated. So I encourage you ALL , to please , respect the loss, and THOSE OF US who are feeling a personal loss to this arena.. IT was NOT just the home of Hamvention, NOT just a place that people from all over the world came, may I remind you ! But it was also a place where friends were made, lives were changed, and PEOPLE are mourning this loss of this arena, MORE Then you can even fathom.. THANK YOU !

  • Well written and I couldn’t agree more with every word. Find myself relating to all…. technology changed over the years from selling crystals to computers etc don’t see teletype machines in the flea market anymore but I remember when they were out there…The smoke wafting through the air from the charcoal grill in the flea market…the food always smelled better than it tasted usually lol but it sure was fun. I suppose one’s experiences over the years are a bearing on whether it was enjoyable or not . It was always our yearly family tradition that my dad loved….We had some great weekends….I’ll always cherish that
    … now that he’s a silent key…. Thanks for sharing your thoughts….

  • I have attended the last 36 hamventions in a row (since 1981). I have attended high school wrestling at Hara, home shows and other events. I hate to see Hara go because I have so many memories but sometimes we need to move on. (its 25 miles from my home, close enough to talk simplex with an HT to home).

    RIP Hara, lets see whats next.

    And we shall create more new memories at Greene County fairgrounds starting in 2017!

  • I started going to the Hamvention in 1968 when I was a kid in junior high (or whatever they call it now).

    A lot of places like the old Imperial Houses North and South (both long gone) along with the Salem Mall have fallen over time. All these places supported the various activities of the special interest groups such as MARS (another shell of itself), VHF/UHF, RTTY, FM repeater, EASTCARS, MIDCARS, and the other groups. The restaurants all around Hara that have passed on to memory as the urban blight took over.

    The old days are gone and been replaced with all kinds of cosmic stuff that has the internet rather than the ether as its backbone. Let’s face it Ham Radio is not the same, two meters is a shell of itself. I hardly hear anyone on the air anymore when I turn on the radio. When I put out a call very rarely does anyone answer its not like the 1970s when there was even AM operators on two and six meters who would answer a call. Six

    So its time for a new Hamvention place where the new operators came play STEM through robots, the internet, and all the stuff that is new and cool. Now days a kid can dial up a Russian on their iPhone rather than wait for a Russian station to come up on-the-air on 15 meters.

    So Hara and the old Hamvention pass of into history……along with many of my old mentors and friends from DARA back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s like W8DHJ, W8UX, K8DIV, etc. 73 to all the SK from the days gone by.

  • Hamvention’s new home will be the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia.
    (About a mile north of downtown, just west of US 68, on Fairground Road.)
    Its buildings are newer than Hara’s.
    But that’s only because a tornado demolished the old ones in 2000.

  • I agree completely and will miss the old girl. Let’s give the club and the new location as much support as we’ve given HARA over the years.
    Let’s make sure the kid coming to Dayton Hamvention next year is as smitten and amazed as we were the first time.
    That your ham friend (like me:-) will finally come after years of urging and go back home to tell his friends “you’ve gotta see this”!
    KM4CH

  • Very well written piece that brings a tear to the eye. But now that the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia is the new home of Hamvention, it looks like we’re going to have an even better experience next year, with parking back on the site like it used to be at Hara, plenty of room inside and out, and a wonderful future of Hamventions to look forward to.

  • Our friend Riley Hollingsworth left a comment but on the wrong article… so I’ll repost it here. Riley, it is an honor to have you as a visitor here!

    Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH August 5, 2016 10:44 am (edit)

    What a beautiful tribute to Hara Arena!

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