There are certain events that occur and even years later, we remember where we were when they happened. Kennedy’s assassination. The Challenger Disaster. 9/11. They are often catastrophic events, but not always. When man first landed on the moon 50 years ago, on July 20th, 1969, I know exactly where I was – The Boy Scout National Jamboree in Idaho.

The National Jamboree was held at Farragut State Park, Idaho, from July 16 to 22, and had over 34,000 attendees. I was lucky to be one of them, as my folks had originally said no to attending. Then Farrell Brooks, our Scoutmaster, had a private conversation with mom and dad, and they changed their minds – I could go, but had to pay for some of the trip myself.

On July 12th, we boarded a special train in Chicago for the trip west. The train was for Scouts only, and there were approximately 600 of us on it (it must have been a zoo….;-)….). The trip took a couple of days and included a one day stopover at Glacier National Park.

Arriving at Farragut State Part we built our camp. We put up our tents, lashed together an entrance and perimeter fence, built fire pits, and nailed together our picnic tables and cooking stations.

In addition to all of the activities going on at the Jamboree, I distinctly remember excitement building about the upcoming moon landing. Both Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the two men who would walk on the moon, were former Boy Scouts and Armstrong had obtained Eagle, Scouting’s highest rank.

On July 18, while flying toward the moon, Armstrong greeted us Scouts via Radio: “I’d like to say hello to all my fellow Scouts and Scouters at Farragut State Park in Idaho having a National Jamboree there this week and Apollo’s 11 would like to send them best wishes.” We couldn’t believe it when we heard about the broadcast. Here he was, going to the moon, and he took time to reach out to us. The transcript of the broadcast made our Jamboree newspaper the next day.

Then came the big day, July 20th. We knew the landing was in the afternoon, however, weren’t exactly sure when. Of course we didn’t have any TV to follow Walter Cronkite and the coverage of the landing, but one of the older scouts had a radio. After lunch, several us stayed in camp and sat at the picnic table listening to the radio. We followed the conversations between Aldrin and Armstrong as they neared the moon, and Mission Control back on earth. I think with no visual for us, it was perhaps even scarier. At 2:17PM local time, Armstrong announced “Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.”

Six hours later, Armstrong and Aldrin both walked on the moon. Without TVs, we didn’t see any of the live footage shown on network television. However, on the following evening, July 21st, all of us Scouts marched to the amphitheater used for the opening and closing events during the Jamboree. That evening they had erected huge white screens. Tapes of the lunar landing, along with the footage of Armstrong and Aldrin walking on the moon were projected on the screens. There were 34,000 of us there, but I bet you could hear a pin drop as we watched history unfolding.

The Jamboree ended the next day and the following day we returned by train to Illinois. I don’t remember anything of the trip home. Three weeks later, Woodstock happened, and a few weeks after that, I started my freshman year in high school.

Over the years, I’ve forgotten most of what happened at the Jamboree, except for a few scattered memories. Sitting at the picnic table, listening to the landing on the moon? It’s clear as a bell in my mind.

Addendum:

1. Later in life, in addition to the Boy Scouts, I had another connection with Apollo 11. Both Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were West Point graduates. Aldrin graduated in ‘51 and Collins in ‘52. Neil Armstrong was a civilian. One of the reasons Armstrong was the first to set foot on the moon (in addition to acting as the Commander), was NASA wanted to make sure the first person to set foot on the moon was a Civilian and not a member of the Armed Forces.

2. Mom saved almost everything from when I was a kid, and then returned things to me over the years. I still have my Jamboree patches, coffee mug, special badges and the daily newspapers they gave us while there. I also still have the Look Magazine Special Edition issued the week after the moon landing.