At McDonnell-Douglas, my father was in charge of an area that produced models - both life sized and desk models as in the ones above. Unlike the plastic kits found in hobby stores, these models are cast in one solid piece. He worked on the shot that launched Ham the monkey into space, making the seat (capsule within the capsule that contained Ham). Hence, there were many representations of monkeys around, including a large photo of Ham in Dad's seat mounted above the toilet in the basement john. He was also responsible for making most of the life sized mock-up's of the Mercury and Gemini capsules used as displays & tests at McDonnell.

In the background is a page from an old edition of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. It is a spread of pictures on General Pershing's visit to St. Louis after WW1. It was saved because my grandfather and my father were in the crowd. Dad used to point to where they stood to watch the parade. Unfortunately, he pointed to different places each time.