Originally published in the March 1983 issue of the Collector and Emitter.
It is not the business of a correspondent — especially a serious technical correspondent such as yours truly — to stray from the electronic straight and narrow in a publication such as the C&E.
However, we must with all apologies attempt to keep up with the whirlwind of rumors and reports concerning our own beloved Q. R. Zedd and his nubile, blond, 20-year-old QSL secretary, Tondelayo Schwartz, that have circled the globe and fascinated the media in recent days.
In a nutshell, the world is ga-ga over rumors of a storybook romance.
While we cannot confirm or deny these rumors, we can out of a sense of historical responsibility report some of ther highlights.
From The Norman Transcript, Feb. 17: Q. R. Zedd, noted amateur radio operator and inventor of radar and color television, left his ranch south of the city yesterday on a whirlwind worldwide tour.
Zedd, commonly known simply as “the greatest,” was accompanied by his blond, nubile, 20-year-old secretary, Tondelayo Schartz, of Moose, Okla.
The pair was said to be aboard the Pacific Princess (the Love Boat) which Zedd chartered for one week….
From the Acapulco Bugle, Feb. 20: Sr. Q.R. Zedd, the best radio amateur radio operator in the world, briefly visited our city today in the company of a blond, nubile, ’20-year-old girl, name unknown. He bought her several large diamonds and a parrot….
From the Rio Star, Feb. 26: Q.R. Zedd and his lovely companion i Miss Tondelayo Schwartz, danced till dawn yesterday on the Starlight deck of the Martin Borman Room,.,.
From the Moose (Okla) Messenger, Feb. 27: Mr. and Mrs. Herman Schwartz, Moose, played host this week to Mrs. Constance W. Zedd, of Mena, Ark., in the Schwartz home.
The Schwartzes served weiners and saurkraut and sesame seed buns to Mrs. Zedd, who drove to Moose on a motorcycle about the. size of the Goodyear blimp….
From the Women’s Wear Daily, Feb. 26: What great Oklahoman, commonly known as the greatest DXer who ever lived, has been seen with what blond, nubile, 19-year-old (sic) secretary recently aboard the LOVE BOAT? We know, but we won’t tattle, tra la, tra la.
From the Daily Oklahoman, Feb. 27: We don’t know anything about this Q. R. Zedd and we don’t know anything about any Tondelayo Schwartz, either, and we don’t want to because we think it is disgraceful, they are probably part of Barry Switzer’s crowd, going around, making money and having fun and doing all kinds of had stuff and not sleeping in church at. night. If we have said it once we have said it a thousand times, where do, people that aren’t newspaper publishers get off, making money? We think they all ought to have to leave the state at once….
From QST, March: Let’s all pitch in and handle more traffic, especially in our beloved CW….
There you have it.. rumors abounding, but no definite word that could tell us with certainty that the greatest DXer of them all has finally decided to have a serious romance We shall pursue this, we promise you.
At presstime, neither Mrs. Zedd in Mena nor the Schwartzes in Moose were answering their, phones. Persistent calls to the Pacific Princess were ignored as Zedd worked the .pileup but ignored the call of your reporter….