Little Guys, Big Impacts
The caretaker who put a man on the moon is an apocryphal tale to live by…
This is the introduction to October’s edition of the Off-Field newsletter, curating monthly tales from the fringes of sport and society. Read it here.
At the height of the Space Race in 1962, with John F. Kennedy having won the election two years earlier on a promise of beating the Russians to the moon, the President paid a maiden visit to NASA to check in on the progress of the Apollo mission.
While he was mainly there to meet the trainee astronauts and talk to the scientists and engineers behind this era-defining mission, Kennedy’s natural inclination led to occasional interactions with other members of staff.
Midway through his tour of the space centre that would one day bear his name, the President walked by a caretaker sweeping the corridors. “I’m Jack Kennedy,” he said, offering his hand to the man before asking, “What is it you do here at NASA?”.
Without missing a beat, the handyman put down his broom and shook hands with the visitor. “I’m helping put a man on the moon, Mr President,” came the response.
The tale might well be apocryphal, but the narrative helped to shape a clear vision for every worker who walked through the doors at NASA. No matter how small the role, everyone was playing their part towards mankind’s greatest achievement.
October is an important month in the history of the space programme. This month in 1961 saw Apollo’s first unmanned flight, and the same month seven years later witnessed its first crewed mission in Apollo 7.
And so, despite the date, there’s no spooky or kooky in this month’s newsletter. You’ll find no werewolves with this here moon. Instead, our theme is little guys — in this case people, countries, and objects — making big impacts.
With pesky drones in Belgrade, happy citizens in Finland, pioneering Bolivian mountain guides, and engineering geniuses in coal mining and rollercoaster design, I daresay you won’t find a selection like this anywhere else.
Enjoy the read, and happy Halloween!
This is an excerpt from the Off-Field newsletter. Subscribe, for free, here
