Monday, July 20, 2009

History

40 years ago today I was not even born!
I was a thought but not even a twinkling in my parents eye.
My parents lived in Southampton, England and on the other side of the world, or stars even, 3 guys were making history.........they were walking on the moon.

Yes that is right, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins were up there in the sky 'taking one giant step for mankind'
Another piece of history or rather geography was that at the moment Neil Armstrong took a step on the moon, then the small town of Wapakoneta, Ohio was firmly cemented on the map as well.

Although it is amazing how many people do not know this town.

I have actually had the awesome privilege to live in this town, and given an extra special heart beat I would be back there tomorrow.
Why?.....I don't actually know, it just struck a cord with me and will stay with me for ever.

The city of Wapakoneta is within the Auglaize County of Ohio, it is situated on I75 at exit 111, just where State Highway 33 crosses I75. It is approximately 60 miles north of Dayton and 80 miles North West of Columbus.

It has a population of 9500 (2000 Cencus) and is originally an old Indian area. Most of the streets are named after Indians with the exception of the odd streets that are named after Neil Armstrong. Places like Apollo Drive, Lunar Drive and of course Neil Armstrong Drive.
Which in fact is where his parents use to live. In fact I have held a hose pipe with his father!

Every year in Wapak, they have a fun run around part of the city, to celebrate Neil's achievements. The year I was there, which I think was about 86 or 87, I got to do some marshalling for the fun run and my position to monitor was on Neil Armstrong Drive. It was a stinking hot day and his father had erected a hosepipe on top of a ladder at the edge of the street. This then allowed the runners to run through a spray of water as they ran past. So thoughtful.

My only regret from when I lived there was that I never managed to go to the Neil Armstrong Museum that is run by the Ohio Historical Soceity. All the kids I knew at the time, told you what it was like, because it was the local place to end up on a school trip at, but seeing as I never managed to get to High School there, I never got to the museum. This is something that one day I hope to put right.

So on this special day for mankind everywhere. When it gets dark tonight, take a quick glance up at the moon and think about what those 3 awesome men achieved all those years ago.

2 comments:

Needled Mom said...

I am old enough to remember watching the moon walk and the excitement we all felt. I did not know about the Ohio town with the history you have shared with us. Very interesting.

Kent and Leisy said...

hooray for ohio! and for neil armstrong!! if you ever decided to come back here- let me know :)