In the wilderness
“My wife at the time and I were living in a squatter’s cabin on a sand dune behind one of the most beautiful wilderness beaches in British Columbia: Schooner Cove, located in what is now the Long Beach Branch of Pacific Rim National Park. . . .
“We were surfers, riding the uncrowded waves day after day as they rolled in from the open Pacific. We walked several miles along the beach, then cut through an Indian Reserve, the Esowista Reserve, to reach a small motel, the only one in the area, located on the road to Tofino. . . .
“A friend of ours was living at the motel while he worked for the Provincial Parks Department, and he had electricity and a TV, which allowed us to watch the moon landing and Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon.”
Jim Hudnall,
Port Angeles
The famous foot
“I lived and worked in Las Vegas then. On July 20, 1969, I was driving with a friend up Mount Charleston to the restaurant on top and listened to the landing on the car radio.
“I rode with my upper body sticking out of his VW sunroof, shouting to passing cars: ‘They’ve landed on the moon!’
“My buddy almost cracked up his car as he cracked up at my excitement.
“And then in 1990, I had the rare pleasure of meeting Neil Armstrong in San Francisco. I asked him, ‘Which foot was it?’
“He looked a little startled, then chuckled and pointed down. ‘That one,’ he said.
“‘May I touch it?’ I asked.
“He laughed and said, ‘Yes, you may!'”
Mary-Alice Boulter,
Port Angeles
He’d seen it all
“In 1969, my aged father watched the moon landing broadcast with us on TV.
“He said in his childhood, he had watched the Indians come into the harbor in Seattle with their huge dugout canoes, loaded with goods to sell or trade.
“He remembered running alongside the first car to drive into Seattle and thinking how wonderful the city would be with cars for everyone!
“As he watched the TV, he said he never imagined he would actually be alive when people landed on the moon. He was born in 1890.”
Jenifer A.T. Taylor,
Port Townsend
Early education
“The first manned moon landing is my very first memory!
“I was 3 years old at the time and living on the East Coast. My parents woke me up to watch Neil Armstrong set foot upon the moon.
“It set the tone for the rest of my life as a space enthusiast!”
John Gallagher,
science teacher, Port Angeles High School
Proud American
“I was participating in a six-week Youth Exchange Program in Kobe, Japan. The date of the landing there was Monday, July 21 (Japan time). . . .
“My host family awakened me around 5 a.m. so we all could watch the landing live. Each of us had a look of wonder on our faces, holding our breaths and applauding with Neil Armstrong’s first step onto the lunar surface.
“But the real awesome experience came over the next few days as we — myself and the other nine YEP American students in the Kobe-Osaka area — began to feel like minor celebrities.
“No matter where we went, people would approach us, point to the sky, say the word ‘moon,’ smile, bow, and then shake our hands. . . . Their eyes were shining with pride; a few were even moist with tears.
“Their pride was not of being an American, but pride to be part of the human race, standing in awe of this astounding achievement, and thrilled to be able to share it with a ‘live’ American.
“In spite of our youth, we all felt like true ambassadors. . . . The whole experience shrank the world for me almost instantaneously.
“These were people with whom we had been at war with a short 25 years before, and they were now eager to share in our pride.
“I felt hope for peace in the world, and I still do.”
Linnea Martin,
Port Angeles
