The Wilsons had eight children. “All good things have to end,” Rocket Boy, Homer Hickam said. This year, there was a Rocket Boy missing after the death of Quentin Wilson in August. “It’s local history, we’re from Mullens. “If you have a special young person that may seem a bit strange but is very smart, just keep in mind they are probably another Quentin. Though Homer, better known as Sonny, is the group leader, eac… News tips: 304-327-7071 Biography; References; External links; Biography. At the time, I had written about it but hadn’t been back. The festival started 20 years ago in their hometown of Coalwood, W.Va., the place where dreams of rockets lifted the boys out of the coalfields and into places like NASA. Only six survived to adulthood, of which Quentin was third oldest, and eldest son. Wilson died after falling ill in August. I know he’s watching us, and he’s with us, and I just hope that you would keep Quentin in mind,” Hickam said.
Email: news@wvva.com, All content © 2000 - 2020, WVVA Television, Inc. All rights reserved. News tips: 304-327-7071 Together this group built several rockets and competed in a National Science Fair.
Wilson died after falling ill in August. They are going to have a great life, and we want to support them in every possible way that we can,” Hickman said. “It’s actually indescribable because we get to be adored by our fans,” Rocket Boy, Roy Lee Cooke said.
Bluefield, WV 24701 |, Submit your nomination for Student, Teacher of the Month. I … Hickam told the kids “you figure out what you want to do in life and realize if you have an optimistic spirit, you’re probably going to be able to succeed.”, The festival continues for a final day at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine on Saturday, which will include the last rocket launch. This year the festival was different because it was dedicated to Rocket Boy, Quentin Wilson. “It was great going back to Coalwood. This year, there was a Rocket Boy missing after the death of Quentin Wilson in August. The BCMA was a group of boys in Coalwood, West Virginia, in the late 1950s who decide to try their hand at building rockets in Homer Hickam's autobiographical October Sky. Contents. Quentin Wilson (b. November 21, 1942) is an American engineer and one of the original members of the Big Creek Missile Agency. “I learned from them that little things lead to big things. You can be from a small town but still be something big.”. He is excitable and often confounds the other members and … [4], Not to be confused with the television presenter and motoring expert, "Students prepare for upcoming lecture by Hickam", "Quentin Taylor Wilson Obituary - Amarillo, TX", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quentin_Wilson&oldid=968425488, People from McDowell County, West Virginia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 July 2020, at 09:34. I grew up listening to it in school history, and it’s always been interesting to me,” Rocket Boy fan, Caitlyn Stone said. Bluefield, WV 24701 This year the festival was different because it was dedicated to Rocket Boy, Quentin Wilson. It was great seeing the folks who still lived there and those who came back to see it. Jayce Neal, a student at Meadow Bridge High School, attended every year to meet his heroes. Quentin Taylor Wilson (November 21, 1942 – August 30, 2019) was an American engineer and one of the original Rocket Boys featured in the book October Sky as well as the film adaptation October Sky, where he was portrayed by Chris Owen..