Yesterday in La Crosse
Man on the moon, 49 years ago
“Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.” People all over the earth heard those words coming from the moon on July 20th, 1969, when two Apollo 11 astronauts landed. Walter Cronkite of CBS shouted “Man on the moon!” after the landing by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. The very first moonwalk was broadcast live by a black-and-white video camera that night.
Other things were making news on Earth that weekend. Sen. Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts, and a young woman riding with him died. The new Miss Universe was 18-year-old Gloria Diaz, the first winner from the Philippines. And, the circus was in La Crosse. A circus parade happened the day of the moon landing, and the Carson and Barnes circus had two shows the next day. And Washington was making plans to take all cigarette ads off TV and radio in the U.S. The ban took effect in January of 1971, but it was proposed in 1969, 49 years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.