Lunar Luminary - John K. Hirasaki

Hirasaki working on the capsule in the Lunar Receiving Lab at the Johnson Space Center - courtesy NASA
Hirasaki with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the Mobile Quarantine Facility - courtesy NASA

John K. Hirasaki drew the short straw and, in the process, won a job that put him front and center for one of humanity's greatest achievements.

Only four qualified engineers, you see, volunteered to expose themselves to any potential contamination found on the lunar surface, and Hirasaki (Lamar BS Mechanical Engineering 1964) lost the lottery. At the time of the Apollo 11 mission, Hirasaki worked for NASA's Landing and Recovery Division. He and his colleagues developed procedures to recover the spacecraft once it had splashed down in the Pacific and, far more dramatically, protect all life on Earth from the possibility of extraterrestrial bacteria or other potential hazards.

Beginning in July 1969, Hirasaki spent twenty-one days in quarantine with the Apollo 11 flight crew. During this time, he was tasked with processing and decontaminating the capsule, and he became the first person ever to handle lunar material as it was exposed to Earth's atmosphere. "When I opened the spacecraft," he recalled in a 2009 interview, "the smell was like Fourth of July after fireworks, there's that scent that you smell of black powder after firecrackers explode. It's also the scent—and this is the country boy speaking—if you strike two pieces of flint together…. I suspect what I was smelling was some slow oxidation or reaction of the lunar surface material with our atmosphere and humidity in our atmosphere."

This month we are highlighting Lamar's #lunarLUminaries to call attention to the varied contributions our graduates made to the #Apollo11 mission. Born in Vidor, Hirasaki grew up on his family's rice farm. "My education at Lamar," he explains, "was essential to being employed by NASA and having an opportunity to participate in the Apollo Program."

USA Children’s Checkers Tournament in Vidor

 The time has arrived! The American Checker Federation has sanctioned the first National Children and Youth Checkers Tournament in many years and the location is Vidor, Texas. The date is this week, July 19-20, 2019. Players from across the United States are invited to come and challenge for the coveted right to call themselves the National Champion.

At stake is not the just the title, but also trophies, prizes, savings bonds and more. Coach Watson Franks of the Vidor Children's Checkers Club says, "We have been waiting for this moment for quite a while. Our children have worked hard in preparation and I think they are ready. We have some top quality players."

There will be two divisions in this tournament. The YOUTH DIVISION will be for ages 13-17. The CHILDREN DIVISION will be for ages 7-12. As an added attraction, there will also be a Division for 7 and under. Florida is sending a five-year-old in case we had a young player ready to go. The answer is yes! Coach Franks' grandson, six-year-old Tyler Franks is up for the challenge. It should be a fun game to watch. Both will be winners!

This tournament has been a dream of Franks for some time. The City of Vidor got behind this dream to make it a reality. The dream plans to continue after this year and become a yearly happening for area. It is hoped that this is just the beginning of a great tradition. Vidor is slowly becoming known not just in the USA, but across the World as a Checkers Capitol.

 Checkers is known as a favorite Mensa game for centuries. It was a game of Kings in England played by Royalty and by Commoners. For decades in America, checkers was played at the county courthouse calling the elders to come and face off in a game of mental skills. It is said, that Checkers is an easy game to learn, but takes a lifetime to master. Other countries around the World have very large children checker organizations. It is taught in the schools and brings great crowds to large tournaments. Franks is hoping this same enthusiasm for checkers can catch fire in the United States.

The largest group that will be making the trip to Vidor this week is from Sunville Academy in Florida. They will be arriving on Thursday afternoon. They have prepared and are ready for some checkers.

The tournament will be held in the Holiday Inn Suites in Vidor. The tournament will kick off on Thursday evening with a play and greet time. The official tournament will begin on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. with a brief meeting of players and parents. The rounds will be an hour and a half. There will be five rounds on Friday and two rounds on Saturday. Awards will be presented at the conclusion at noon on Saturday.

The highlight of the event will be a banquet on Friday night catered by Frankie's of Beaumont. It will be a time of fun, eating, and prizes. 

 Good luck to all contestants. Let's play some checkers! For more information call Watson Franks at 409-201-2543

Lutcher Theater Celebrates 40 Seasons

Lutcher Theater Inc. is committed to presenting professional entertainment for the enlightenment and cultural growth of people living in Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana and to better their quality of life and knowledge of the arts and humanities.

ABOUT THE THEATER
The Lutcher Theater is a 1,460-seat performing arts facility owned by the Nelda C. and H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation and operated by Lutcher Theater, Inc. It is the largest Performing Arts Series from Houston, Texas, to New Orleans, Louisiana.

Since its Gala Opening Performance with Liberace on February 7, 1980, the Lutcher Theater has hosted only the best in world-class entertainment. National touring productions like Riverdance, CATS, Miss Saigon, Hairspray, The Wizard of Oz, Blue Man Group and performing stars including Willie Nelson, BB King, Lyle Lovett, The Oak Ridge Boys, Clint Black and Trisha Yearwood have all performed at the Lutcher Theater.

2019 Lutcher Theater Performing Arts Series

Serve Saturday

Nehemia's Vision - Neighbors Serving Neighbors

Come join us Saturday, July 13, as we help our neighbors recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey.

Registration and Training starts at 8:00 am at 460 North Main Street in Vidor. You will be assigned a neighbor to help and we even provide the necessary tools and materials!!

Free t-shirt and a sack lunch!!

For more information please call 409.617.1038.  


Tire & Scrap Metal Cleanup 2019