OLD FORGE, Pa. — Officials and community members gathered to dedicate part of South Main Street to one of its own.
Glynn Lunney grew up in Lackawanna County and made history in 1969.
Lunney was the flight director during the Apollo 11 mission, putting the first man on the moon.
Rusty Fender presented the idea for Glynn Lunney Way to the borough council four times over the years, the last was in 2021, and council members were on board. After two years of paperwork and approval from NASA and PennDOT, this mission is finally complete.
"I think that the feel of today was again reliving that August 8th, 1969, when Glynn came back to his hometown two weeks after he fulfilled the greatest technological achievement of all time," said Rusty Fender, Old Forge native, NASA, and PennDOT engineer
Lunney passed away in 2021, and his four children and their families flew in from Texas for the dedication.
Shawn Lunney says Old Forge may not be their hometown, but it feels like it is every time they're here.
"I came for the parade in 69. And it was always such a joy to come here because it's all these people we knew his family, and to have the folks work so long and so hard to dedicate a street in his name, which will be permanent and lasting forever. I know he'd be so grateful," he said.
Old Forge prides itself in a lot of things, and people say this small community is proud to have raised the man who helped put mankind on the moon.
"Watching him on television as a kid and seeing him with the headsets on talking to the Apollo crews, it was just something that was very near and dear to my heart, so that's why I think it means so much to me today," said Joe Glynn of Old Forge.
"This town made him who he was and what he was, and I think he always took that with him. And so we really, really appreciate what the town has done not only with his latest gesture but really for helping my dad be who he was," Shawn Lunney said.
Old Forge Mayor Robert Legg also declared June 8 Glynn Lunney Day.
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