I recently watched an absorbing documentary about the historian Robert Caro and his long-time book editor Robert Gottlieb. The title of the film is “Turn Every Page” – from a quote that Caro often cites when talking about his research. When he was a young reporter, his editor Alan Hathaway, told him: “Just remember, turn every page. Never assume anything. Turn every ***damned page.“1
This quote has been rattling around in my brain ever since – especially now as I work my way through more than 4000 (scanned) pages of archival material about our astronaut families in the moonshot era. I took these scans on my archival research trips, and most of the material I scanned are documents by and about the wives, our moms.
I thought I knew the insider story. I did, in many ways. But discovering the words and worlds of our moms (the astronaut wives), at that time, has been eye-opening / illuminating in so many ways.
So, to reiterate (my previous update), this is a long-term project, as I turn every page of these women’s stories. I owe them nothing less.
There is also more to this data gathering story. My sleuthing for the astronaut wives’/families’ story took me to archives that are not broadly known as sources for this history. NASA preserved many aspects of the official (paid) work of the moonshot era: the astronauts’ and program workers’ stories. But NASA did not keep or preserve the story of the moonshot era families, a story which involves “work” for the program that was essential, even as it was unpaid and often invisible to the public.
For now, I’ll end this very short update with a look into my archive trips. (All the photos below are from these travels.) I’ll post more about my archive explorations, and more on the project, as I continue turning pages.
Dora Jane Hamblin Papers in the Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa
My biggest treasure trove comes from Dora Jane (“Dodie”) Hamblin, the LIFE magazine lead journalist who covered the “personal/family” stories of the Apollo astronauts from 1967-1969. The wives all knew “Dodie” as she was a frequent presence in our lives at the time. She left her papers to the Iowa Women’s Archives at the University of Iowa.
LIFE Editorial Records, The New York Historical Society
I found more from Dodie and her LIFE Magazine colleagues in the LIFE Editorial Records at the New York Historical Society.
Tom Wolfe Papers at the New York Public Library, Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room
Tom Wolfe did extensive research for his book “The Right Stuff” including interviews with astronaut wives. His handwritten notes (and shorthand) are nearly indecipherable, but typed drafts and letters are easy – and fascinating – to read.
National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD
I’m still searching through the voluminous records of federal agencies (NASA headquarters, U.S. Information Agency, U.S. State Department, Presidential Libraries) for photos and film footage. The National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, MD has been particularly helpful.
