October Sky

October Sky
Homer Hickam
Published by Dell Publishing, New York, New York in 1998
ISBN 9780440235507
428 pages, illustrated

This book is a far reach to fit into my usual reading of history, genealogy and DNA. I need to go back about 53 years to truly explain why I would have read October Sky. Like the author of the book, I was very intrigued by the Russian-American Space Race and spent hours drawing space ships that could travel hither and yon through the universe. I didn't get into thinking a lot about fuel and actual launches but perhaps it was because there was just one of me interested. It was something I thought about, wrote a bout and drew pictures about all on my own. Few people knew of my interest and they were principally my grandmother, parents and siblings. Well that is a lot of people actually as I had six siblings. My mother actually encouraged me to think about space travel and when I thought I might join the Air Force after High School was quite supportive of the idea. I toyed with the thought but managed to earn enough money in my summers to pay for my university education so didn't have to enter the Air Force in order to follow my dream of being in Science. Once into University then an interest in Medicine came between my thoughts on the Air Force and Space travel and eventually marriage replaced all of those thoughts and I didn't follow through on any of those childhood dreams. Regrets; absolutely none - I have enjoyed my adult life. But back to the book. I watched the film (we bought the VHS years ago) and decided I had to read his book to see what caused him to swing his eyes skyward and dream that wonderful dream of leaving earth and being up in the stars; so much closer to God. For in all of that thinking; I never lost sight of God and the desire to come closer to Him.

I will not write a full book report on October Sky as I am reserving that for my genealogy, history and DNA books in order to show what I have learned that I can utilize in my family studies. The story of Homer Hickam, son of the manager of a coal mine in West virginia, and his pals who worked with him is the most remarkable story coming out of the 50s in the United States. These boys who never really would have had any thoughts but following their fathers into the coal mines of West Virginia all left their towns and went to college/university and became so different from those who had given them birth. They left a footprint that put West Virginia on the map and led thousands of West Virginians out of the coal fields and into the promised land of America. Nothing wrong with being a miner but by the end of the book the coal mine which had been a place of work for generations in Homer's town was slowly closed down although did have a new breathing spell at the end of the book but the future was clearly marked for them. A decline in use would mean a decline in jobs and the sons of these coal miners needed to find something new to do.

Mixed into that overall story are the personal lives of the people that Homer knew so well. The pains and the triumphs of their lives as they moved into adulthood. The story of Homer's parents who did get to live the good life of retirement at Myrtle Beach far from the coal fields of West Virginia. The triumph and sorrow of a young science teacher, a woman, who inspired this young group of boys to be more than what they saw around them and to go on and win the National Science Fair with their rocket and fuel experiments. The books brings us there with them in their "Cape Canaveral" as they set off rocket after rocket each time to incredible new heights that guaranteed them their place in history at a time when America was struggling to win that race to the moon (and they did!).

I highly recommend this book to anyone who shared with me that incredible moment in history when we left our planet and took a picture of it from outer space - when man walked on the moon; when we saw ourselves as more than what we had been for thousands of years - explorers of the universe. It is also for those who have followed us in life and are curious about how we felt about the search for something out there.