12
L E H A V R E
N E W S
J A N U A R Y Queens remembers Moon Landing and
Woodstock 50 years later
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
The summer of 1969 was an historic
time in American pop culture. Those
alive during the time recall the first
time humans set foot on the moon and
the iconic Woodstock music festival
that drew hundreds of thousands to
Bethel, New York.
The new year marks the 50th anniversaries
of these two events and Queens
residents still carry the memories with
them half a century later.
From July 16-21, 1969, viewers
watched in wonderment as astronauts
Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin
Jr. and Michael Collins embarked on
the Apollo 11 space mission.
"I remember I was staying at my
godmother's out east and we watched it
and I remember asking are they really
on the moon or is it filmed in a studio,"
Donna Stewart Prudenti told QNS on
Facebook. "Everyone was watching
and it was so quiet. Now thinking
back how extraordinary it was and the
silence from the adults was because
they were in awe!"
Queensborough Community College
(QCC) alum Robert Guillot, known as
"Rocket Man", became obsessed with
space when he saw Sputnik from his
home in Queens Village. His fascination
led him to a career as a space
scientist at NASA who test-fired rocket
engines at the Marshall Space Flight
Center in Alabama.
“My skin was covered with goosebumps
in anticipation during the
launch; I was overwhelmed with a
sense of personal pride as the astronauts
orbited the moon and prepared
the lander, and then I struggled with
intense anxiety during the soft landing
and blast-off from the moon, the
most dangerous phase of the mission.
It was only when the astronauts
re-entered earth’s atmosphere that I
finally felt some relief,” Guillot told
QCC in 2009.
Guillot added that Armstrong and
CBS anchor Walter Cronkite were the
two figures who he most closely associated
with the Apollo 11 mission.
“Armstrong is one of the most famous
names in the history of mankind — a
national hero and a national treasure,”
said Robert. “Cronkite was the voice of
that era and single-handedly fixated the
country on this momentous event. He
was the most trusted man in the country
and will forever be inextricably
linked with the moon landing.”
To commemorate the 50th anniversary
of the moon landing, the United
States Mint is issuing four coins: a $5
gold coin, a silver dollar coin, a clad
half dollar coin and a five-ounce proof
silver dollar coin. The coins will be
released on Jan. 24, 2019.
A month later, 400,000 people
gathered in Bethel, New York for the
Woodstock Music and Art Fair from
Aug. 15 to 17. Music fans were treated
to memorable performances from Joan
Baez, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,
Ravi Shankar and Jimi Hendrix whose
rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner
remains iconic to this day.
Also on the festival performance roster
that year was Astoria-born musician
Melanie Safka. Known eponymously
as Melanie, the singer was one of
three solo female artists to perform at
the festival along with Baez and Janis
Joplin. The artist's appearance at the
festival reportedly inspired her 1970
hit song "Lay Down (Candles in the
Rain)".
The Bethel Woods Center for the
Arts just announced that they will
be marking the 50th anniversary of
12 LEHAVRE COURIER | JANUARY 2019 | WWW.QNS.COM
Apollo 11 astronauts. From left: Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.
Woodstock with an anniversary festival.
From August 16-18, organizers
will put on the "Bethel Woods Music
and Culture Festival: Celebrating the
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/NASA
golden anniversary at the historic site
of the 1969 Woodstock festival," which
will feature a slate of unnamed performers
as well as "TED-style talks."
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
