I still have the black and white negatives we shot off the TV — a full roll.
— Felice Frankel, Boston
‘The only car on the road’
We were visiting relatives in New Jersey on the day of the landing. We watched the landing on TV there. (I think my father was disappointed that Walter Cronkite wasn’t on the moon to personally show the landing and to interview the astronauts.)
We took off for home, where we planned to watch the moonwalk. Originally there were many hours until the moonwalk, so we had plenty of time. However, as we drove up, the radio informed us that NASA was continually moving up the time of the moonwalk, so we became a bit nervous.
As we drove through our hometown of Syracuse, N.Y., on the normally busy highway, we realized that we were the only car on the road! Everyone was home watching the spectacle. Fortunately, we arrived home with some time to spare, so we were able to watch the moonwalk.
— Lee Schechter, Binghamton, N.Y.
‘We were all completely silent’
I was spending the summer on Monhegan Island, where we had a family home. The island had no electricity, but across the street June Day had a generator. She put her TV in her front yard and a crowd gathered to watch the event.
Watching TV on the island was novel, but seeing the first man on the moon was unforgettable. We were all completely silent.
— William Vaughan Jr., Chebeague Island, Me.
‘A profound impact’
I was 8 years old and watched the moon landing from my parents’ living room in Nashville. It had a profound impact on my life. So much so, I now work for NASA, made friends with Neil, Buzz [Aldrin] and Mike [Collins] and have managed the anniversary commemorations for the agency since the 35th anniversary of the lunar landing.
— Bob Jacobs, Washington
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