CECIL COUNTY AND THE MOON LANDING — For anyone old enough July 20, 1969, is one of those days that is permanently etched into memory. On that Sunday, the United States landed on the moon.
A few days earlier on July 16 when the three Americans rocketed from this planet in a small capsule destined for the moon people took notice since Cecil County had a strong connection to the nation’s space program.
The Elkton Division of the Thiokol Chemical Corporation had contributed greatly to the mission. Thiokol motors had been used in every manned space flight beginning with the Mercury series in May 1961 and when Apollo 11 launched for its flight a number of Elkton division motors were onboard, playing a vital role in the mission, the Cecil Whig reported.
Then when Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. became the first men to land on the moon there was great excitement. It was almost as if everyone in Cecil County was watching as people fixated on living room television sets.
“We will remember” is how the Cecil Democrat’s Columnist George Prettyman headlined his weekly column, Rural Ramblings.
He goes on to capture the moment for us: “Even though it happened right before our eyes, even though we heard their voices, even though the whole historic episode happened as it was planned to happen to the most minute detail, there was an air of unreality about it all. It was as though the TV set was dreaming, and we were observing a fantasy far too miraculous to be true…”
“When that heavily-booted foot came dramatically into view as Astronaut Neil Armstrong made his careful descent from the spacecraft, a feeling of exultation, subdued somewhat by the accompanying chill of awe, came over us; and we gasped in wonderment, as did millions of other viewers, for then it became a certainty that a man would be setting foot upon the moon. In a moment, the first human footprint was implanted upon the dusty surface of the moon,” Prettyman continued. “The scene was somewhat eerie. . . . . .”
As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the historic moon landing, we are sharing some of the local coverage of this epic moment as covered by county’s two local newspapers, the Cecil Whig and the Cecil Democrat. Cecil County and the moon Landing had a strong connection.
For a complete history of the moon landing see this article on history.com
For more images, see this album on our Cecil County History on FB page.
