The Apollo 11 moon landing didn't come with special effects or a bestselling soundtrack — just some fuzzy images and scratchy dialogue.
Still, the world stopped in its tracks, and Hampton Roads residents were no different.
For Victor Canfield, it had been another long day of fitting pipes at the shipyard in Newport News.
He was tired by the time he returned home to Cappahosic Road in Gloucester County. But this would be no early night.
He, like millions throughout the world, was glued to the television watching Neil Armstrong take man's first steps on the moon.
Canfield can't recall exact details of the evening, but he remembers being in awe of the accomplishment.
"It was unbelievable," Canfield, 75, said Friday morning at the post office in Gloucester Courthouse.
"It was really something big."
It was only eight years earlier, Canfield said, that President John F. Kennedy outlined a national goal of sending a man to the moon and returning him safely.
Canfield, who still lives on Cappahosic Road, said he keeps a casual eye on the nation's space program. He's not sure NASA's goal of returning astronauts to the moon by 2020 is worthwhile.
"We've kind of been there and done that," he said.
Ralph Stolze grew up immersed in Buck Rogers, the fictional space explorer whose popularity coincided with the space race.
Consequently, there was no way the Williamsburg native would miss mankind's first steps on the moon.
"It was a very big thing then," said Stolze, who at the time lived in Connecticut. "People were paralyzed watching the TV."
Stolze, then a new father, recalls stretching out on a curved sofa watching grainy images of Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
He remembers being overwhelmed with pride, not just because the United States became the first nation to reach the moon but because of the enormousness of the achievement.
Ever the NASA buff, he recalled the danger of the moon mission, noting the deaths of Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, who the trio died in January 1967 during a launch pad test.
Stolze, who lives in Florida but was vacationing in Williamsburg on Friday, supports future space exploration, but only if there are tangible benefits.
"It's going to cost a lot of money to go back to the moon," he said.
Maria Jonson, 60, can't recall where she was when Armstrong walked on the moon.
Still, the world stopped in its tracks, and Hampton Roads residents were no different.
For Victor Canfield, it had been another long day of fitting pipes at the shipyard in Newport News.
He was tired by the time he returned home to Cappahosic Road in Gloucester County. But this would be no early night.
He, like millions throughout the world, was glued to the television watching Neil Armstrong take man's first steps on the moon.
Canfield can't recall exact details of the evening, but he remembers being in awe of the accomplishment.
"It was unbelievable," Canfield, 75, said Friday morning at the post office in Gloucester Courthouse.
"It was really something big."
It was only eight years earlier, Canfield said, that President John F. Kennedy outlined a national goal of sending a man to the moon and returning him safely.
Canfield, who still lives on Cappahosic Road, said he keeps a casual eye on the nation's space program. He's not sure NASA's goal of returning astronauts to the moon by 2020 is worthwhile.
"We've kind of been there and done that," he said.
Ralph Stolze grew up immersed in Buck Rogers, the fictional space explorer whose popularity coincided with the space race.
Consequently, there was no way the Williamsburg native would miss mankind's first steps on the moon.
"It was a very big thing then," said Stolze, who at the time lived in Connecticut. "People were paralyzed watching the TV."
Stolze, then a new father, recalls stretching out on a curved sofa watching grainy images of Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
He remembers being overwhelmed with pride, not just because the United States became the first nation to reach the moon but because of the enormousness of the achievement.
Ever the NASA buff, he recalled the danger of the moon mission, noting the deaths of Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, who the trio died in January 1967 during a launch pad test.
Stolze, who lives in Florida but was vacationing in Williamsburg on Friday, supports future space exploration, but only if there are tangible benefits.
"It's going to cost a lot of money to go back to the moon," he said.
Maria Jonson, 60, can't recall where she was when Armstrong walked on the moon.
