The Don Wallace Museum Foundation (DWMF) is shutting down, as the famous W6AM Rhombic Ranch in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, has been subsumed by residential development. The DWMF has donated $29,000 to the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF).

“The donation comes with no restrictions or caveats,” DWMF Board Chair Joe Locascio, K5KT, said. “As I strongly suspect, Don (the original) W6AM would favor such a donation to an organization dedicated to DXing!”

Locascio said the foundation is in the final phase of closing down after nearly 30 years of existence. “The W6AM Radio Club will continue as long as needed to support the W6AM call sign,” he noted. Locascio said the Board was making the donation to NCDXF “on behalf of previous donors,” who had hoped to see some radio activity at the old W6AM Rhombic Ranch.

“Unfortunately, we were not able to achieve our long term goal of an actual museum with an active radio station on the property,” Locascio said. He pointed out that a 18 × 24 bronze plaque on a large rock, unveiled in March 2015 and dedicated to the memory of Don Wallace, W6AM, remains at the entry to the Wallace Ranch (see Sept 2015 QST, p 20), where more than 80 homes are located on the approximately 24 acres of property that W6AM owned when he died in 1985.

“This large grant to NCDXF is our way of letting the donors to the museum know the funds were passed to a charitable foundation whose goals are consistent with the museum goals,” Locascio said.

Former notable members of the DWMF include the late US Sen Barry M Goldwater, K7UGA, who was Honorary Chairman.

“The NCDXF Board of Directors has assured the DWMF that the donated funds will be carefully used to support DXpeditions to the most wanted entities, which tend to be the most expensive,” NCDXF Vice President Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, said in a May 31 NCDXF news release.