“My Dear Fellow Employee: We are sending you this special cachet envelope commemorating the launch and flight of Apollo XI…as a member of the Apollo Support Team for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.”
This is an excerpt from a letter that was addressed to Sun City Resident Kenn Ellis. Ellis was there, in 1969, as the three astronauts readied to take their flight. Ellis had finished his shift at the Cape Canaveral Base and had the security clearance to view the historic walk of three men.
Ellis said, “I got a chance to high five the three astronauts who were on their way to making history.”
Persistence paid off for Sun City resident Kenn Ellis when his tenacity to find work landed him a job that brought him to Cape Canaveral on the day of the Apollo XI launch.
How did Ellis get there? That is an interesting story.
Ellis served in the Air Force for 4 years.
“When I got out, I just wanted to work near planes. I got a job with TWA (Trans World Airlines), refueling planes. I had that job for 57 days. Then I got laid off. Anyone with less than 60 days lost the job.”
Ellis persevered and got a job pumping gas into private airplanes in Kansas City, Missouri.
“Every day I drove over to the TWA office and asked the woman working there if there were any jobs. And every day she said no,” he said.
But Ellis’ persistence did not go unnoticed. The director had seen him come in day after day. Ellis said, “He asked the woman ‘who is this guy who keeps coming in for a job?’”
His opportunity came the next time he inquired for any opening.
Ellis said, “When I came in the next the time, the woman gave her usual negative reply, but this time she added, hang on, my boss wants to see you.”
The director made Ellis an offer that Ellis acted on.
Ellis said, “He told me he was very impressed with me and my work ethic.” What came next was a surprise. “He offered me a job if I could get to TWA at Cape Canaveral within the week.”
What did Ellis do?
“I filled out an application. I packed up everything I had into a U-Haul and headed to Cape Canaveral. I had to break my lease. I got there and found the nearest place to the launching facility to rent,” he said.
Ellis trusted the word of the director that a job would be there waiting for him.
“When I got there, the man was expecting me and his only question was when can you start?” he said.
What was Ellis’ part in the famous mission?
“I worked on all the air conditioning. There were well over 100 buildings. I had to change the filters and it was not an easy process. They had to be cut into size. I worked the midnight shift. The biggest building there was the Vertical Assembly Building or VAB, it was designed to assemble the large pre-manufactured space vehicle components. It was so big and complex people would get lost.”
The VAB still is the largest single-story building in the world, and it was the tallest building until 1974.
A Press Release issued from TWA in 1969 reminded the world, “It takes many people doing many things to keep a plane in the air, and you can imagine the gigantic support effort it must take behind the scenes when the NASA-Industry team sends astronauts into space for a moon landing.”
Unfortunately, layoffs came, and again, Ellis with 11 ½ months at the job fell short of the one-year requirement to stay on.
“I decided to get my degree, which I did and spend the rest of my career as a Quality Manager.”
Ellis has autographed photos of the astronauts, letters, and his memories. Did Ellis have a favorite astronaut? Without hesitation, Ellis said, “Collins.”
“We were just doing our jobs,” Ellis said. “We didn’t phantom the enormous impact this would have on the world. It was the neatest thing to be part of history. When I see the films now, I remember what fun it was to be part of it all.”
