Jack Gordon

 

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An unbylined story from January 2,1970, issue of The Seattle Times Newspaper,

 

Astronauts to Touch Down for Visit Here

Mel, Vic, and Jack-- 1969

From Left--Mel Anderson, Victor Rosellini, and Jack Gordon

The Apollo 12 astronauts will arrive here tomorrow for a brief visit that promises to be more hectic than their walk on the moon last month.

The three astronauts will arrive at Boeing Field at 12:30 p.m. Charles (Pete) Conrad, Jr., and Alan L. Bean will bring their wives. Richard F. Gordon, Jr., a native of Kingston, Kitsap County, will bring his wife and six children.

The astronauts' stay in the Puget Sound area will last just under 24 hours.

THE PUBLIC will have several opportunities to see the astronauts close up. With children out of school, large crowds are expected. The main public functions are:

A civic welcome at 3 p.m. at the Public Safety Building Memorial Plaza, Fourth Avenue and James Street; a motorcade parade beginning at 3:45 p.m. from the plaza, north in Fourth Avenue to the Westlake Monorail terminal; a walk through the Seattle Center grounds short-ly after 4 p.m. and a question-and-answer session at 4:15 p.m. in the Eames Theater, Pacific Science Center.

The Eames Theater pro-gram will begin with a film of the Apollo 12 mission at 3:45 p.m. Admittance is free.

For safety reasons the general public will not be admitted to the arrival and departure site at Boeing Field.

The Gordon children will participate in some of the events. They are Carleen, 15; Ricky, 13; Larry, 11; Tommy, 10; Jimmy, 9, and Diane, 8.

Mayor and Mrs. Wes Uhlman; Senator Warren G. Magnuson, and Mrs. R. F. Gordon, 7336 17th Ave. N.E., the astronaut's mother, will head the welcoming group at Boeing Field. Other mem-bers of the Gordon family also will be there.

Bremerton's East High School Band will play.

THE ASTRONAUTS will be feted at a Boeing Co. luncheon before the motorcade heads for the civic welcome at the Public Safety Building Memorial Plaza.

At the plaza, members of the Four Freedoms Home will be among 100 guests and officials. Bands, including one from North Kitsap High School, Gordon's alma mater, also will be on hand. The astronauts will speak briefly.

The North Kitsap band will head the parade from the plaza to the Monorail terminal.

Jack Gordon, chairman of the planning group for the visit, suggested best viewing of the parade may be along the first few blocks of the route.

The civic banquet, sponsored by Greater Seattle and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with city, will be a public function for which tickets have been on sale.

Saturday the astronauts will split up briefly. Gordon and his wife will fly to Poulsbo for a civic welcome there.

The Gordons will return in time to join the final minutes of an invitational brunch at Rosellini's Four-10 Restaurant with Magnuson.

The astronauts' motorcade will depart from there at 11:30 a.m. for Boeing Field and will take off about noon for Houston. Throughout the visit each of the astronauts will drive in separate, marked cars.

 

Note: If the picture with this article looks familiar, it was also used by the Times for John Reddin's article on Jack

 

 

 

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