50 years later: Locals recall historic moon landing

Fifty years ago this weekend, humankind first walked on the moon. An estimated 650 million people watched in suspense as NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong descended onto the lunar surface July 20, 1969.

People from the area shared their memories of watching the Apollo 11 mission with the Southeast Missourian. Comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Scott Meyer

Scott Meyer

Cape Girardeau city manager

“We were at my grandparents’ house and watched on a little black-and-white TV. I was 8 years old. I got NASA newsletters, had the plastic lunar module model kit that I put together, and got the 45 record of the ‘Man on The Moon’ recordings of the broadcast. My sisters later broke the record in half (tired of hearing it over and over) and a few years ago my sister bought me a replacement off eBay.

“I remember drinking Tang and being excited about my grandparents buying one piece of CorningWare — products of the space program.

“While the technology and science inspired me to get an engineering degree, I think the greatest lesson learned was how much can be done if we unite with a single goal and all work together to get there.”

Jay Knudtson

Jay Knudtson

Former mayor of Cape Girardeau; Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents member and First Missouri State executive vice president and bank board director

“I was 6 years old when the historic moon landing occurred. I have vivid memories of sitting on the living room floor and being mesmerized by what was happening. It was my first introduction to Walter Cronkite. The whole experience was so surreal, and I still remember thinking that there is so much more out there than the little town in Minnesota I was living in.

“All Americans should take time to research, review and recall just how historic the event was. There is nothing that unites us as a country as space exploration. It’s the one thing that is pretty much immune to political bias once the shuttle or space ship is launched.”

Ann Hayes

Ann Hayes

Southeast Missouri State University director of university communications

“I was a very young child at the time of the landing on the moon, but I do vividly recall the Apollo space missions that followed into the early 1970s. The Apollo missions were a time of incredible exploration and discovery. As a child, they were larger than life! The blastoffs and splashdowns were major news events that my family watched around our console television. The landing on the moon spawned a period of space exploration that really left so many of us with a sense of awe, enormous hope and possibility.”

Denise Lincoln

Denise Lincoln

Local historian

“I was 13. My most vivid memory is of my family — my parents and my two brothers — gathered around a small, fuzzy, black-and-white TV watching things unfold. It seemed like, as I reflect on it, it took longer and we kind of got bored waiting for everything to happen. I did look at a 1969 calendar and I think it was late afternoon on a Sunday, which would have made it logical for our family to have been home, been together, for us all to sit down and have a little bit of free time. We were able to shoehorn that in.”

Carlos Vargas-Aburto

Carlos Vargas-Aburto

Southeast Missouri State University president

“One of the things I wanted to do when I was young was actually be an astronaut. As a matter of fact, there was a point where I sent a letter to NASA when I was in Mexico. In return, I received eight or 10 books, very small books, but books that talked about space, medicine in space and biology in space. It was really exciting.

“So when the moon landing happened, my family and I were just glued to the television. It was very emotional. It’s very hard to describe in words what we were feeling; the idea that we’re seeing somebody literally on the moon, and find out that it is not made of cheese.

“It’s almost something that I wish we could have these days, because those kinds of things really bring people together. When you are doing things that appear to be bigger than you, it’s a humbling feeling.”

Jerry Ford

Jerry Ford

Local musician

“I had a big party at my apartment and probably had about 20 people there. We were all amazed at what happened and watched it pretty intensely in between a few adult beverages. The thing we all remember more than anything was not the fact that we went to the moon, but the fact that we were able to watch it. It was a technological marvel at the time to get there, but actually watching it happen was even more amazing.

“President Kennedy challenged the country to do something major, and it brought the whole country together, unlike what’s going on today.”

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