posted 07-13-2019 11:24 PM               

Space Cover #523: From Montclair To The Moon – 50 Years Later

For the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing this month, I thought I would highlight a couple of Apollo 11 covers that mean a lot to me and my family.

My dad has always been interested in aviation and the space program. While working for Bendix, he designed the test equipment for the Range/Range Rate indicator for the Lunar Module cockpit. This is the indicator that Buzz Aldrin is reading off to Neil Armstrong during the final descent to the lunar surface.

Dad started collecting space covers in very late 1966 shortly before I was born. For the Apollo missions he used to send out hundreds of covers to be postmarked for various mission events. For the first moon landing he decided to do something special.

Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin's hometown is Montclair, New Jersey. My parents live less than an hour away from Montclair so dad decided he would service covers for anyone who wished to have covers cancelled in Montclair to commemorate Buzz's hometown. He placed an ad in the Space Unit's Astrophile publication offering to have covers cancelled and a rubber stamp cachet that he designed added if they so chose for anyone who was interested. They could send him the covers and he would take them to Montclair to be cancelled for the moonlanding.

He was contacted by the Space Unit to cancel 500 covers that would be given free to members. He purchased the envelopes and added Apollo 8 stamps and his cachet to all 500 covers. He was also contacted by Joe Fitzpatrick of Space Craft Covers to cancel 500 covers for him as well. Again, he purchased the envelopes and added Apollo 8 stamps. Joe even offered to give dad 25 of the covers after the Space Craft cachet was added to thank him for servicing the covers.

As soon as the Lunar Module Eagle touched down safely on the lunar surface on July 20 dad headed to Montclair. All in all, dad serviced almost 1300 covers for himself and others for the moon landing. He also drove to Landing NJ and Tranquility NJ to service covers for himself. As well as for the moon landing, dad also serviced covers in Montclair for the launch, first moonwalk and splashdown, as well as unofficial first day covers when the Apollo 11 stamp was issued in September. To most of them he also added his cachet. He also attended Buzz Aldrin Day when Buzz came to visit his hometown after the flight.

The first picture shows dad's generic Montclair cover as they were done for the Space Unit. He designed the cachet and applied the rubber stamp to all 500 covers and for any collector who requested it.

The second picture shows the cachet that Carl Swanson drew for Space Craft Covers. This is not considered a regular issue SCC. The cachet is the same as the one for the regular issue but the colors were changed slightly. I have always regarded Space Craft Covers as the best space covers produced during the 1960's and am very proud that my family had a little something to do with them.

As a side note, I did not accompany dad on his trip to Montclair on July 20. I was 2 years old and sad to say probably slept through the whole thing.