THE "ROCKET BOYS" STORY
Pictured above is the former home of Homer Hickam, Jr., located in Coalwood, WV. Mr. Hickam has become a well known writer with his book "Rocket Boys" becoming one of the "great books of 1998" as selected by the New York Times which later became a movie called "October Sky." Homer and his fellow Rocket Boys, which consists of: Quentin Wilson, Roy Lee Cook, O'Dell Carroll, Billy Rose and Sherman Siers were from Coalwood with the exception of Quentin who was from Bartley, a small coal camp a few miles away.
The young men where so excited the first time they saw Sputnik I, a satellite launched by the former Soviet Union in 1957, fly across the Coalwood sky, they formed a club called B.C.M.A (Big Creek Missile Age), named after the Big Creek High School each attended. After many attempts to fly their improvised rockets, they finally got one to soar over four miles high. They then entered the National Science Fair where they won a gold metal. Miss Riley, who was their Chemistry and Physics teacher at Big Creek High School and their biggest influence, gave them their first book that guided them through their rocket launching successes.
The "Rocket Boys" of McDowell County shared the spirit of new challenges and horizons in a nation that saw the coming space age. As their rocket launching exploits grew, gradually the young men had all of Coalwood's support. The community supported their enthusiasm and dreams of defying the confines of earth through encouragement and assistance in their rocket development. Even the place where the boys would set off their rockets, a place they called Cape Coalwood, can be visited today. A reconstructed launch site stands as a community tribute to their efforts.
While working on his writing career, Mr. Hickam was employed as an engineer for the U.S. Army Missile Command from 1971 to 1981, assigned to Huntsville, Alabama and Germany. He began employment with the National Aeronautics and Space Adminstration (NASA) at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1981 as an aerospace engineer. During his time at NASA he held many positions from Design and Crew Training to Training Astronauts on Science Payloads. In 1999, the Governor of the State of West Virginia issued a proclamation in honor of Mr. Hickam for his support of his home state and his distinguished career as an engineer and author and declared and an annual "Rocket Boys Days" in WV. Coalwood holds an annual "October Sky Fest" to honor the hometown boys.
For more information on Homer Hickam, see his web site at:
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE OCTOBER SKY FEST AND COALWOOD, PLEASE GO TO: