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Field Ethos
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By Edgar Castillo
It was the late 1960s, and America was a decade into a fierce space race for spaceflight supremacy against its adversary, the Soviet Union. Both superpowers were engaged in achieving superiority, however it was the USSR that took an early lead and launched the first satellite, Sputnik in 1957, and put the first human into space in 1961. The next goal for both countries was to be the first to put a man on the moon.
In the early fall of 1966, half-a-dozen astronauts were hunting antelope in Granby, Colorado, on the Little King Ranch. They had been staying as guests of millionaire oilman John M. King. Present on the hunt was retired FBI agent and acting Kansas Highway Patrol Superintendent, Larry Hughes. Also in attendance was Mr. and Mrs. Horigan of Frankfort, Kansas. Marilyn Horigan worked at the FBI Field Office in Topeka alongside Hughes. Hughes regularly hunted on the Horigans’ farm during bird season and was known to invite interesting guests. During the stay, Hughes suggested that plans be made for the astronauts to come and hunt on the farm. However, due to the ongoing Apollo Program, the hunting trip was postponed for a year.
Tragedy struck both the Soviet and American space programs in 1967. The U.S. astronauts were in desperate need of some downtime and a little R&R from their rigorous training and stress. On a Sunday afternoon on November 19, 1967, the Kings boarded their private 11-passenger jet and took off from a Colorado airfield. That evening, the plane landed at Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, Kansas. There they met up with the six astronauts who had secretly left Dallas earlier that day. The caravan drove north to Frankfort, Kansas, where they would stay with the Horigans on their farm and bird hunt the following day. Quail season had opened up on the 18th, and the astronauts were told that there would be plenty of shooting.
That night, word reached five additional astronauts who were in Broken Bow, Nebraska, competing in a shooting match, with an invite to join their fellow space explorers. They immediately chartered a plane and flew in and stayed with friends of the Horigans at a nearby farm.
The next day, after an enormous home-cooked breakfast, 11 astronauts; Col. Buzz Aldrin, Maj. William Anders, Neil Armstrong, Col. Frank Borman, Lt. Col. Michael Collins, Col. Gordon Cooper, Charles Duke, Lt. Cmdr. Ron Evans, Capt. James Lovell, Maj. Stuart Roosa, and Capt. D.K. Slayton, took to the field at 9:30 a.m. It was reported by the local newspaper that, “The astronauts wore boots, hunting jackets well stocked with shells and camouflage jackets or plaid shirts.”
The spacemen tramped through fields and brush, hunting several area farms for bobwhite quail. The rocketeers proved to their hosts that they were just as efficient with shotguns as handling space rockets. By noon, the men had shot several quail each and had worked up an appetite. Mrs. Horigan appeased them with ham sandwiches, potato chips, and gallons of coffee.
Afterwards, while Col. Borman was hunting quail, an announcement was made at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center that he would head the second crew of the planned mission on the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. It was expected to fly in early 1969.
Quail hunting ended at dusk, with the astronauts “bagging slightly less than the legal limit.” They had all enjoyed a day incognito, laughing, letting loose, and having fun shooting quail. When it came time to clean the birds, the astronauts were in a joking mood. Collins said, “I can see why I wasn’t a brain surgeon,” as he cut off the wings and feet of quail.
As twilight settled over the rolling farmland and the Horigans’ residence, the 11 astronauts gathered their things and left under the cover of darkness. They returned to Topeka and took a military flight back to Houston to resume training for the Apollo space missions and future moon landing. Soon the local newspaper caught wind of the visit and wrote an article that was published later that week.
Years later, many of the astronauts would say that one day created many lasting memories. They appreciated the individuals and families who coordinated the trip, opened up their homes and hospitality to strangers. Many of the astronauts would return to quail hunt on the Horigan farm. The space legends were able to enjoy a classic Kansas bird hunt, going undetected without being harassed by the local paparazzi and townsfolk, and proved that there is always time for a good ol’ fashioned quail hunt before going into space and walking on the moon.
Side note: The Horigan’s enacted a small plaque above their son’s bed that said, “Neil Armstrong slept here.“
The post A Hunters’ Moon—The Quail Hunt That Fueled Apollo appeared first on Field Ethos.
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It was the late 1960s, and America was a decade into a fierce space race for spaceflight supremacy against its adversary, the Soviet Union. Both superpowers were engaged in achieving superiority, however it was the USSR that took an early lead and launched the first satellite, Sputnik in 1957, and put the first human into space in 1961. The next goal for both countries was to be the first to put a man on the moon.
In the early fall of 1966, half-a-dozen astronauts were hunting antelope in Granby, Colorado, on the Little King Ranch. They had been staying as guests of millionaire oilman John M. King. Present on the hunt was retired FBI agent and acting Kansas Highway Patrol Superintendent, Larry Hughes. Also in attendance was Mr. and Mrs. Horigan of Frankfort, Kansas. Marilyn Horigan worked at the FBI Field Office in Topeka alongside Hughes. Hughes regularly hunted on the Horigans’ farm during bird season and was known to invite interesting guests. During the stay, Hughes suggested that plans be made for the astronauts to come and hunt on the farm. However, due to the ongoing Apollo Program, the hunting trip was postponed for a year.
Tragedy struck both the Soviet and American space programs in 1967. The U.S. astronauts were in desperate need of some downtime and a little R&R from their rigorous training and stress. On a Sunday afternoon on November 19, 1967, the Kings boarded their private 11-passenger jet and took off from a Colorado airfield. That evening, the plane landed at Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, Kansas. There they met up with the six astronauts who had secretly left Dallas earlier that day. The caravan drove north to Frankfort, Kansas, where they would stay with the Horigans on their farm and bird hunt the following day. Quail season had opened up on the 18th, and the astronauts were told that there would be plenty of shooting.
The Apollo Astronaut Quail Hunt
That night, word reached five additional astronauts who were in Broken Bow, Nebraska, competing in a shooting match, with an invite to join their fellow space explorers. They immediately chartered a plane and flew in and stayed with friends of the Horigans at a nearby farm.
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Nine of the 11 Apollo astronauts on the Kansas quail hunt. 
Neil Armstrong with the Horigan children in 1967.
The next day, after an enormous home-cooked breakfast, 11 astronauts; Col. Buzz Aldrin, Maj. William Anders, Neil Armstrong, Col. Frank Borman, Lt. Col. Michael Collins, Col. Gordon Cooper, Charles Duke, Lt. Cmdr. Ron Evans, Capt. James Lovell, Maj. Stuart Roosa, and Capt. D.K. Slayton, took to the field at 9:30 a.m. It was reported by the local newspaper that, “The astronauts wore boots, hunting jackets well stocked with shells and camouflage jackets or plaid shirts.”
The spacemen tramped through fields and brush, hunting several area farms for bobwhite quail. The rocketeers proved to their hosts that they were just as efficient with shotguns as handling space rockets. By noon, the men had shot several quail each and had worked up an appetite. Mrs. Horigan appeased them with ham sandwiches, potato chips, and gallons of coffee.
A Hunters’ Moon
Afterwards, while Col. Borman was hunting quail, an announcement was made at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center that he would head the second crew of the planned mission on the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. It was expected to fly in early 1969.
Quail hunting ended at dusk, with the astronauts “bagging slightly less than the legal limit.” They had all enjoyed a day incognito, laughing, letting loose, and having fun shooting quail. When it came time to clean the birds, the astronauts were in a joking mood. Collins said, “I can see why I wasn’t a brain surgeon,” as he cut off the wings and feet of quail.
As twilight settled over the rolling farmland and the Horigans’ residence, the 11 astronauts gathered their things and left under the cover of darkness. They returned to Topeka and took a military flight back to Houston to resume training for the Apollo space missions and future moon landing. Soon the local newspaper caught wind of the visit and wrote an article that was published later that week.
Years later, many of the astronauts would say that one day created many lasting memories. They appreciated the individuals and families who coordinated the trip, opened up their homes and hospitality to strangers. Many of the astronauts would return to quail hunt on the Horigan farm. The space legends were able to enjoy a classic Kansas bird hunt, going undetected without being harassed by the local paparazzi and townsfolk, and proved that there is always time for a good ol’ fashioned quail hunt before going into space and walking on the moon.
Side note: The Horigan’s enacted a small plaque above their son’s bed that said, “Neil Armstrong slept here.“
The post A Hunters’ Moon—The Quail Hunt That Fueled Apollo appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
