Fly Me to the Moon

Bart Howard wrote “Fly Me to the Moon,” a slow waltz and love song, in 1954. The same year Kaye Ballard made the first recording. I’m certain people weren’t really thinking about flying and then actually walking on the moon. Then in 1964, Frank Sinatra recorded the song, and it became a hit, closely associated with NASA’s Apollo space program. “Fly Me to the Moon” was played on the Apollo 10 mission which orbited the moon and then on Apollo 11 before the landing.

Now we think about rockets taking us, not just to the moon, we’ve been there, but to other planets far out of our galaxy, the Milky Way, and into the universe.

Which brings me to the Redstone Rocket in Warren. Have you ever driven past and wondered what it is doing there?

I recently met a man who lives in northern New Hampshire and was one of the people who traveled with Ted Asselin and a small group of men who transported the rocket 1,200 miles from the Redstone Arsenal to this remote NH town.

It’s a wonderful story. Ted Asselin, Warren native and an Army sergeant, had been stationed at the Redstone Arsenal in 1970 and noticed there were several rockets in a field — without their engines, guidance systems and other components, which had been removed. He knew that Alan Shepard, a native of NH, had been blasted into orbit on a Redstone Rocket. Mr. Asselin contacted Army officials to see if he could have one of the rockets for the town square in Warren, so the children in NH could be exposed to science and the possibilities of space.

He was told he could have the rocket, easy enough, but would have to transport it to NH at his own expense. He borrowed a truck and a 60-foot-trailer and encouraged a few friends to join him. Because of the size of the trailer, they were told they could only drive at night, so they wouldn’t disrupt traffic.

According to the history of the project: “After arriving in April 1971, a crane lifted the eight-ton missile into position at the edge of the village green. It was secured onto a steel I-beam set into an eight-foot-deep foundation of concrete and steel. The missile was officially dedicated during the town’s annual ‘Old Home Day’ on July 4, 1971, by NH Gov. Walter Peterson.”

If you haven’t ever visited Warren, I encourage you to visit. The town is at the end of the Appalachian trail in NH so there are many hikers who often stop by, curious about why it is there.

What you won’t have an opportunity to visit in Warren is the Morse Museum. It was opened in 1928 by Ira Morse, his wife Lillian and brother Dr. Richard Morse. The three had “traveled around the world shooting animals, buying strange artifacts, and bringing them back to the tiny town of Warren, where they opened their museum.” Apparently, Mr. Morse had always dreamed of traveling to Africa and — unfortunately — killing animals. After building a successful business he was able to make six safaris to the continent and then return with his stuffed big game trophies. The Morse Museum closed in 1992, and all the contents were auctioned off. The building is still there, and I’m told it is occasionally used as an ice-cream stand in the summer. We loved visiting this strange and exotic place when we were children.

Just after a visit to see the rocket, and a drive past the former Morse Museum building, I read Neil deGrasse Tyson’s book, “Starry Messenger, Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization” and “The Dialogues: Conversations about the Nature of the Universe - A Graphic Book about Science,” written by the physicist, Dr. Clifford Johnson. Both fascinating books and good summer reading when you can spend evenings outdoors looking up into the sky – especially on starry nights.

Space travel is no longer a fantasy. Soon enough many of us will be booking flights to fly into space. Until then, you can spend an afternoon in Warren, stand at the base of the rocket, look up to the sky and imagine what now seems, well, just improbable. And perhaps at the same time you can figure out what attracts explorers to this small town tucked away in rural NH.

•••

Elizabeth Howard is the host of the Short Fuse Podcast, found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or through the Arts Fuse. Her career intersects journalism, marketing, and communications. “Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back,” a book she edited, was published in May 2016. She is the author of “A Day with Bonefish Joe,” a children’s book, published by David R. Godine. You can send her a note at: eh@elizabethhoward.com.