That's a beautiful story. Unfortunately I have no such skills (or skills of any kind, unfortunately). To actually make one's own radio and use it to get QSL cards is quite an accomplishment. (One college buddy had a private radio station in his dorm room.)
I've always been in love with international broadcasting, but I have no technical knowledge of radio. However, it's always fascinating to read people who do.
I don't know if you've ever heard this, but the reason Freeman Fisher Gosden ("Amos" on the original radio version of "Amos 'n' Andy") got into broadcasting was because he had been involved in radio in the army during World War I.
Is Morse code even used at all these days?
I've heard CW not too awfully long ago, and the local ham shop sells bugs still. I've learned and forgotten Morse twice now. If I got back into radio I'd kind of have to stay with that, because my hearing is damaged to the point where voices are a challenge.
A lot of the old-timers in the ham clubs in our area still use it. Even though it isn’t required on the tests anymore, when you hang out with these guys you want to learn it.
My husband is studying for his Extra now; I bought him a key set for Christmas.
-JT
You will hear plenty of morse code on the lower end of the ham bands, especially during contest weekends. As for practical use, FEMA recently conducted an exercise simulating a disaster in the pacific northwest, which included ham participation. Part of that was the relay of message traffic to FEMA operations in Washington, DC. During the initial third of the exercise, the short wave radio conditions were poor which prevented the passing of automated digital traffic. Morse code operators picked up the slack relaying the traffic.