I moved to Titusville in 1959 where we lived right on the river about 7 miles south of River Palms at the big now retired power plant. I received NASA facts about every vehicle and every component. In school almost everyone's parents worked for one of the space programs contractors or NASA. When Alan Shepard or any of the astronauts were launched the entire school walked to the rivers shore to watch. I watched the Gemini flights launch from right here at River Palms when it was the Howard Johnsons hotel. Riverview Elementary was where the southern part of the high school is now. I am a dedicated lifetime space information junkie.
Space and local history videos you may enjoy:
My favorite local history video, is "Growing up with Rockets" a real locals experience growing up in the early days of the space race.
"Growing up with Rockets" is a 1985 documentary film produced, directed, and narrated by Nancy Yasecko, a media artist and educator who grew up on Florida’s "Space Coast It covers the era from the 1950s through 1981, beginning with the testing of captured German V-2 rockets and ending with the first flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Not the quality of today, as it's mostly 8 and 16mm film clips. An interesting looking back at early Brevard county. I knew and worked with one of the guys in the film, Mark Nichols.
Cape Canaveral 1962: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25mr8l-aiCE
The Cape 1963 - Restored Color (USAF, 1963) Cape Canaveral, Mercury, Gemini, Titan, NASA, JF Kennedy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckNsi-2ugWs
1962 Florida MOONPORT USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-mFoqlUmLY
Cape Canaveral 1962: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25mr8l-aiCE
Florida Moonport USA - 1965, Cape Canaveral, HD Remaster, Documentary, Historical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cXVUBZYEUQ
Cape Kennedy 1965 - Restored color (USAF, 1965) Cape Canaveral, Gemini, Titan, NASA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JhYDh5Mj5c
Narrated The Cape: Kennedy Space Center's Surprising Origin (1949-63) – A Deeper Dive Into the Archive 18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTLHtlIU5mc
Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Tour, May 1991: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i0iCahT-mU
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Orientation Tour (Late 1980s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9fB_MZ1jfo
Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum, Multiple Videos: https://ccspacemuseum.org/videos/
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station – Early Space Age tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMP7XSTBSKM
Cape Canaveral's Historic Hangar S: America's Cradle of Human Space Exploration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9xw79nK5ec
Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum, Cape Canaveral Today (1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QheBkkU0dIs
When We Were Apollo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjljfiqUmAk&t=360s
An Oral History of Cape Canaveral - 50th Anniversary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgQbYZHiozk
The History of Cape Canaveral, 2019 Lecture : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlMZ05GxNf4
Unbelievable 50-year Plan at Cape Canaveral! | KSC Flyover-May 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FScanxR4TiE
Cape Canaveral Lighthouse & Space Tour: A Historical Journey from Past to Present-Feb 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXl6c4qHGsg
Our River Palms Titusville Home site before it was our Home: The Old Howard Johnson restaurant and motel Titusville: http://www.highwayhost.org/Florida/CapeKennedy/Titusville/titusville1.html