Coalwood and October Sky

Last week, I went to Coalwood, West Virginia, to complete the circle of October Sky. Several years ago, I asked my students to read OS in my trig classes and it has changed my world and many of theirs. USA Today did a feature story about how we were reading the book and I ended up meeting Homer Hickam, the author of the book, when he would visit Atlanta on his book tours. It has been a wonderful experience and many of my students have been inspired by the story, enough so that several have gone to college for aeronautics and/or math and science related careers. But, I had never been to Coalwood, the town where it all began. So, off I went, winding my way through the mountains and valleys of West Virginia,( which looks an awful lot like North Georgia but more extreme in its elevation changes). Finally, I pulled into the little gas station in Coalwood and proceeded to strike up a conversation with the lady who worked there. I told her why I was in town and she said she would call 'Red' to see if he was around and didn't have anything to do. Well, about fifteen minutes later, Red Carroll shows up in his green plymouth. Red is the father of Odell Carroll, one of the Rocket Boys from the book and movie. And unlike the movie, in which Odell's father's death is discussed, Red seems to be quite alive. At 88, he showed me all around Coalwood, the nearby Caretta mine and we even sat down at his house and discussed flowers and how to make my tomatoes grow better next year. Red worked for Homer's Dad for 33 years and attended many of Sonny's rocket launches.He told me of the day he needed to drive to work and his car wouldn't start. Knowing why, he said he fussed all the way to the launch pad to get his car battery back. Red took me out to the launching pad for Homer's (Sonny's) rockets, to the machine shop of Mr. Bykowski and to the Dugout where Homer spent many a night dancing and flirting. It was an emotional day to say the least and I couldn't have felt more welcomed than if I had gone to my own family reunion. He even showed me Captain Laird's journal from the 1950s and it had entries about Homer(Sonny) and his Dad going to Bluefield. When it was time to go, I knew that I had just experienced a day that I will treasure forever. Now I know where Homer got his strength of conviction and his passion for life. If you ever get a chance to visit Coalwood, don't hesitate, it could mean as much to you as it did to me. But read the book again first.    THE PICTURES ARE (IN ORDER): 1,2,3 are at Caretta mine, still operating, 4 is the Clubhouse, 5 is Red standing in front of Mr. Bykowski's machine shop, 6 is the launch pad(it really is a long walk, so we drove), and the last one is Homer's house.

Comments

[suzanne]

Mike
I'm glad you haven't been eaten by any alligators. That scares me. I hope you are well. Email me. :o)

Suzanne