OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

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Rob Patterson
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OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Rob Patterson » Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:07 pm

We all know its half a century since Apollo 11 did its thing. And what a fabulous thing it was too.

I was 18 years and 18 days old when I left work on an early lunch break to watch Armstrong and Aldrin walk on the moons surface. As the only other TV I had access to was at home, several miles away, I had to walk a couple of blocks up the main street of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales to watch it all unfold on a B&W TV in a shop window. I stood there for well over an hour, completely absorbed by the slow moving event, but I wasn't alone, there were about 20 or 30 of us watching. The shop (A music store called "The Clef") had mounted speakers outside so we could hear it all too.

So now you know where this Aussie was on this momentous day in history, Where were you?

Cheers,
Rob
"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." HENRY FORD

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Rob Patterson
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Rob Patterson » Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:22 pm

Oops. I posted it on the wrong forum page.
I'm still not used to this new-fangled forum, as good as it is....
Sorry,
Rob
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Scott_Conger » Wed Jul 17, 2019 8:37 pm

In my living room...allowed to stay up late to see it on our B/W console TV. Had a plastic confetti "popper" that my parents let me set off when we saw him jump off the ladder. What an amazing thing to watch in an otherwise uncomputerized world.

Grew up to become a watchmaker and later a tech and then Systems Engineer. Got to assemble Hand Controls for Space Station as a tech, meet lots of astronauts and generally feel a great sense of accomplishment.

My growth to Mechanical and finally Systems Engineer never provided me the sense (or actual) accomplishment that that period of my life provided.

It is a shame that CGI and computers in general have resulted in subsequent generations missing the "wonderment" of such an endeavour and accomplishment.

Thanks forhelping to bringing back some wonderful memories.
Scott Conger

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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Oldav8tor » Wed Jul 17, 2019 8:48 pm

I was a college student, working a summer job doing the midnight shift at a metal burnishing plant. I saw the landing and waited at home as long as I dared, hoping they'd start their moonwalk but had to go to work. I took a small portable B&W TV with me planning to watch during my lunch break. Arriving at work, our little crew of six men showed up with no less than three TV's. When it came time for the astronauts to exit the lander, we shut down the plant and gathered around the sets to watch the action. The foreman was right there with us so nobody got in trouble.
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Shane Lach » Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:23 pm

Swimming

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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by DLodge » Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:30 pm

I was 28 years old and living in Holland, working for an American company. There were two American women working there also and we had begun the habit that I would go to their shared apartment in the evening for dinner. The evening of the landing, we were watching it on Dutch TV. Because I had been in the Air Force, I picked up a moment before they did that the landing had occurred. The transmissions had been repeatedly, "Houston, this is Eagle" and then I heard, "Houston, this is Tranquility Base." I knew they were down. It was late at night there, the sky was clear and there was a full moon. We went out on their balcony and simply looked in awe at the moon, knowing that they were there. I still get chills thinking about it.


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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Graybeard77 » Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:35 pm

I was up near the DMZ in Veitnam. Just hoping to get home in one piece.

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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Mark Gregush » Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:49 pm

Just had gotten out of 7th grade and was at home watching it with family on TV. Mom and Dad didn't even get color TV till sometime in the 80's. The only person I knew with color TV around that time was my friend Robert, I would watch Star Trek over there.
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas! :shock:

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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by RustyFords » Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:51 pm

I was 6 months old...in the family living room.

My parents say they propped me in front of the TV with my older brother just so I could say I watched it.
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by D Stroud » Wed Jul 17, 2019 10:07 pm

I was 19 and in Basic Training at Ft. Leonard Wood wondering what was going to happen during the next two years. We did get to watch it in the day room. Dave
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Rob Patterson
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Rob Patterson » Wed Jul 17, 2019 10:14 pm

All of those initial television images you got to see came through the Honeysuckle Creek ACT & Parkes NSW dishes here in Australia.

The images of the landing was received in Parkes and televised worldwide. But the dish was right down on a very low angle just as the winds became unacceptably high, so they switched over and the images of the first steps were received at Honeysuckle Creek, just south of Canberra.

A year later I was registered for National Service and readying myself for Vietnam.

Rob
"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." HENRY FORD

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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by TonyB » Wed Jul 17, 2019 10:56 pm

Believe it or not but I was in the USA at that time, I haven’t just fallen off the boat as some imagine. Actually I was at a conference on computer aided electronic design at the University of Michigan summer course. We watched both the take off and moon landing on a small 9 or 12” black and white TV. Carolyn was a baby at the time so will have no memory. It’s probably because of the Moon landing that I was recruited from England and now you have had to put up with me for fifty years. It’s been one hell of a ride. 😊😊
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Steve Jelf » Wed Jul 17, 2019 11:29 pm

I watched at home in Lomita. We had color by then, but of course the pictures from the moon were b&w. Last night PBS had a two-hour special on the moon program, and we got to see David Brinkley, Frank McGee, and Uncle Walter reporting.
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by James_B_NC » Thu Jul 18, 2019 12:49 pm

I wasn’t born yet and my dad was in middle school.
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Fri Jul 19, 2019 4:42 am

It was my last summer vacation of high school, and although I worked part time in the family business, that day I stayed home and watched all of it I could!
I also managed to watch much of the Apollo 13 crisis in spite of being a senior in high school. When we watch the Tom Hanks movie, I remember a lot of the archive footage they used, and remember watching and hearing it live. I had so much hope for our world in those days.

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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Rich Eagle » Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:17 am

I was Chief Design Engineer for Research Engineering Co. One of 5 misfits who managed to design, build and put this ATV into production. Keeping manufacturing drawings up to date along with graphic design and promotional artwork. Working 12 to 16 hours a day for little or no pay but quite a title for a draftsman. The company had to sell controlling interest after two years and 30 units built. Poor marketing of a vehicle before it's time led to the investors dissolving the company and claiming it as a tax loss. It was the best education a guy could get about work, people and money. I recovered from the financial loss and what I learned helped in future employment and building parts for my cars. I greatly appreciate the success and failures of the early auto pioneers.
We didn't have much time to notice the moon landing but Mom was on the edge of her seat for every second of it.
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Rich Bingham » Sat Jul 20, 2019 2:35 pm

Where was I ? Pretty much where I've always been the last half-century. Working on the ranch, summer "vacation" after my Junior year in college. No TV, I probably heard about the moon landing several days after it happened. Too dumb to grasp the importance of it all (?) I thought "that's nice" but I couldn't get all that worked up about it. During that time, it was more interesting to me that the moon-shot crew had been training at Craters of the Moon here in Idaho.

For me, possibly more memorable was the ride Rich E. gave me in an "Action Track Vanguard" prototype on their "proving grounds" south of Ucon !! :lol: (what a hoot !! :o )
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by Charlie B in N.J. » Sat Jul 20, 2019 6:01 pm

Chanute Field Ill. U.S.A.F. tech. school. aircraft elctrician.
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by ironhorse » Sun Jul 21, 2019 9:53 am

Taking a break from Machine Shop (Tech School) to watch the launch.
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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by BobShirleyAtlantaTx » Thu Jul 25, 2019 10:40 pm

I was at Fort Rucker, Alabama learning how to repair UH-1 helicopters and decrease the worlds population.

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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by DLodge » Fri Jul 26, 2019 10:07 am

DLodge wrote:
Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:30 pm
... The evening of the landing, we were watching it on Dutch TV. ... We went out on their balcony and simply looked in awe at the moon, knowing that they were there. I still get chills thinking about it.
I had an email exchange the other day with one of the two women in whose apartment we were. She said, "We were on the balcony scotch in hand toasting the moon and astronauts." I had forgotten that part.... :D

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Re: OT; Where were you 50 years ago?

Post by DanS » Sun Jul 28, 2019 9:22 pm

I was at Shaw AFB, Sumter, South Carolina. A bunch of us watched on a little b/w tv in the barracks. It was my mother's birthday that day also. My walk on the moon didn't come until a year later. :lol

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