Homer Hickam, Jr. had a dream too big for his small coalmining town of West Virginia, however, with the collective will of he and close friends, he fulfilled his dream. Coalwood is located in the southern most tip of West Virginia in McDowell County. It was a coalmining town founded by George Lafayette Carter in the early 1900's. Carter built the model town of his time, "?óÔé¼?ª if a man was willing to come to Coalwood and offer his complete and utter loyalty to the coal company, he would receive in return a sensible paycheck, a sturdy house resistant to...
in Huntsville, Rocket City, USA. I tried to hire on at MSFC Marshall Space and Flight Center, without success?óÔé¼?ª In an attempt to revitalize the space program, Dr. Van Braun left Huntsville to take a new assignment in Washington, D.C. He died soon after of stomach cancer. Sadly, I never got to meet him." Sky of Stone, 363/364 He was later hired on at Huntsville and is now a retired NASA engineer and a "highly acclaimed writer" http://www.homerhickam.com/rocket.htm. He and his wife Linda live in Huntsville Alabama. His father is the only deceased member of his family, excluding pets.