First Man on the Moon - Where were you?

[Ian S]

I was working at a summer job in remote Mississagi Provincial Park north of the boom/bust uranium mining town of Elliot Lake, ON Canada. Watched the moon landing on a B&W TV in the bunk house where staff resided as well as a group of Junior Forest Rangers, a popular Ontario Department of Lands and Forests' summer program for 17 y.o. kids. The only electricity was supplied by diesel generators.

 

[eytonxav]

Sac hq

 

[Major Tom]

As I drove home I looked at the busy four lane boulevard (Ventura Blvd in the San Fernando Valley for those who know the place.) Normally it would be full of traffic on a sunny Sunday afternoon. There wasn’t a car on the road within a quarter mile of me in any direction.

That's a wonderful reminder of how that event affected such a huge fraction of the population, not just in the US, but the world over. No space travel event since has captured the imagination of so many; perhaps none ever will. Acceptance of astounding technical achievements seems almost baked into our culture nowadays.

 

[SumDay]

I was a gawky 12 year old, sitting on the linoleum floor in our family room, watching it on TV. I was fascinated. Since it was before you could record TV, I had a little handheld reel to reel tape recorder and set it on record and placed it next to the TV when they made me go to bed. At least I got to hear them talking the next morning.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I was 11 years old and with my parents visiting some friends of theirs out in the country. This would be a rural area outside of Minneapolis, though I don't remember precisely where it was. My dad worked for Honeywell Avionics and there were several power supplies on the Lunar Lander that he helped engineer.

I wanted to become an astronaut and had extreme interest in the moon landing.

As I recall the moon landing itself happened in late afternoon, maybe 5:00 local time? (CDT.) As the day wore on I kept looking at the time and kept asking my Mom when were they going to turn on the TV and watch the moon landing? I was frantic because they seemed so nonchalant about it. Finally, about 10 minutes before the fateful event, they turned on their TV, a smallish maybe 12" black and white tabletop set with rabbit ears. My relief was palpable but about 15-20 minutes after "the Eagle has landed" they turned off the TV!!

After we got home I got my parents permission to watch late into the night and early morning on our 26" console TV. That's when I saw Neil Armstrong put footprints on the moon. Shortly thereafter, Buzz Aldrin joined him. I was ecstatic.

 

[MC Rider]

I was at a summer camp that I went to during grade school, in Michigan. They herded us kids into the chapel and there was a television. I never saw a TV at camp before. Remember it pretty good for something that happened so long ago.

 

[Ronstar]

Wow I posted to this thread 14 years ago. I still remember my grandfather riveted to the tv, stunned that man had landed on the moon. Given that he was born before the Wright brothers first flight.

 

[Luvdogs]

I was with my parents at a restaurant called The Pub in NJ (it's still there). It was in the afternoon.They announced that we landed on the moon and everyone applauded.

Then (it seems) I waited and waited... for Neil Armstrong to walk on the moon. I was in my parents bed nodding on and off watching their portable (but color!) TV. It seemed like it took forever for him to get out.

 

[mf15]

Just got home from watching the launch at the cape. I wonder how many are still alive that were actually there.
oldmike

 

[jollystomper]

I was 11 and home watching on the TV with my family. As a child I loved watching the coverage of space flights, I would watch the televised coverage as much as possible. These were back in the days of one TV in the family. Sometimes there were battles with siblings, but most of the time my parents sided with me .

 

[Trailwalker]

I was 8 years old and have no recollection of the landing. My parents did wake us up to watch Neil Armstrong take the first steps. I remember the awe.

 

[friar1610]

I was in Laurel, MD in the one-BR apt that was our first residence after getting married. I was a LT(jg) in the Navy and stationed nearby.

 

[pb4uski]

Hmmm, within feet of the location where I am typing this. (I inherited my parents' home, and we are currently living there.)

I was watching the landing on my parents tv in the living room. I didn't have a huge interest in it, but my parents were excited about it and wanted me to watch it as it was history.

Similar story here. I watched the moon landing at my parent's summer home and I am currently sitting at my summer home when is 5 doors (2/10 mile) south, except I was very interested in it having previouy done a paper on the Saturn V rocket in grade school.

 

[Taco]

Just got home from watching the launch at the cape. I wonder how many are still alive that were actually there.
oldmike

I was too young to remember, but I was in Cocoa at the time! My dad worked at the cape.

 

[aja8888]

Happy Moon Landing Day!

Where were you on that day?

I was on a Minuteman II nuclear missile launch site in Missouri several meters underground.

 

[MarieIG]

Similar story here. I watched the moon landing at my parent's summer home and I am currently sitting at my summer home when is 5 doors (2/10 mile) south, except I was very interested in it having previouy done a paper on the Saturn V rocket in grade school.

IIRC my interest in science / space made an appearance in the fourth grade.

 

[clifp]

Wow I posted to this thread 14 years ago. I still remember my grandfather riveted to the tv, stunned that man had landed on the moon. Given that he was born before the Wright brothers first flight.

Me too, so thanks to @Chucknut for bumping the thread and ignoring" the thread is too old warning". I know there are fellow space nerds on this forum.
So I thought I posted my "mom send me to summer camp." (see page 1 of the thread), but 14 years is a long time.

It is bitter-sweet memory because in my post I mentioned that Mom, was always trying to make up for sending me to summer camp during the moon landing. A couple of years after that post, my mom entered into a decade-long bout with dementia, that mercifully ended last Oct. The last meaningful present my mom got me, was a replica of the Eagle Lander, which sadly did not survive cats knocking it to the ground.

My mom died a few days short of her 96th birthday. On happier news here is a shot of Buzz Aldrin at 93 and his new wife Anca Faur 63, (my age) they got married in Jan. and here is a good article in People about her.

https://people.com/human-interest/who-is-anca-faur-buzz-aldrin-wife/

Buzz has led an amazing life even if had never gone to space. Marrying this brainy babe at 93, just adds to his legend of what he did 54 years ago.

 

[Ronstar]

John Houbolt is known in Joliet, Illinois as the NASA engineer who spearheaded the Lunar Module. He originally attended Joliet Junior College in engineering (as did I). The City of Joliet later named the street in front of JJC "Houbolt Road" in recognition of his achievements.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Houbolt

 

[MuirWannabe]

My dad, who passed last November at the age of 90, worked with Werner Von Braun and many others in the Saturn V design. We lived in Huntsville, Virginia, and finally ended up in Houston just prior to July 1969. I remember laying on the living room floor watching them on the moon. I was 7.

My dad loved his career with NASA and felt he worked with intellectual giants.

 

[Gumby]

I was ten years old and living in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It was in the middle of the day and I was at a friend's house watching the TV with him and his family. After Neil Armstrong said "the Eagle has landed," we all ran out outside to the front yard and proceeded to shout like maniacs and jump up and down. And all up and down the street, most of the neighbors were doing the same thing.

 

[gauss]

I was young and on vacation with my parents -- probably a room at a Holiday Inn somewhere.

Parents were excited and waking me up to show me these lower than normal quality TV images and audio -- I am quite sure that my appreciation of all this increased with age.

-gauss

 

[unclemick]

Made sure I was home and watched on TV. Day job Boeing engineer - age 26.

Heh heh heh - space nut since 6th grade.

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

We drove a few miles out to Lake Stevens to go swimming on that hot day. I was 14 and brought along a portable record player we plugged into the picnic area shelter. I remember playing The Beatles' "Get Back/Don't Let Me Down" single over and over, along with other hits of the day. (I had a part-time job at Rudy's Record Store in Everett, WA.) When we got back home we watched the events unfold on TV. Still remember that day.

 

[BarbWire]

At Girl Scout Camp Texlake. Everyone went to the dining hall, and two counselors brought out their (not allowed) tiny B&W TVs for us to watch.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

I wasn’t alive. Is it possible to see the U.S flag with a telescope that is planted on the moon? Who is guarding it?