#FlashbackFriday: 1969—Apollo 12 and a New Exchange Launch (But Only One Has Moon Maidens)
On Nov. 14, 1969—55 years ago this week—Apollo 12 launched. During the mission, astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. and Alan Bean became the third and fourth men to walk on the moon, while crewmate Richard F. “Dick” Gordon orbited overhead in the command module Yankee Clipper. The mission ended with a Nov. 24 splashdown.
Taking advantage of the timing, a new Exchange at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma “launched” the same day as Apollo 12 with a space-themed grand opening. The opening featured a display of rockets and moon rocks, accompanied by two associates dressed as “Moon Maids.”
One of the Moon Maids, clerk-typist Pam Armstrong, is featured in the above photo, welcoming a first-day customer. Armstrong and others greeted each customer and handed out samples of perfume, cigars, shampoo and toys and distributed entries for drawings.
The space theme coincided with a holiday theme: Associates had decked the aisles with tinsel for the season. Both themes coincided with howling winds and freezing temperatures, but the weather could not stop customers from checking out the new store, which replaced facilities that dated to World War II.
The modern-day Tinker AFB is a premier Air Force Materiel Command installation, with nearly 22,000 civilians and military personnel assigned to the base. The Tinker Exchange features a food court, two Expresses—including the Patrol Road Express, which received an upgrade in 2023—and much more.
One Sept. 17, 2010, the Tinker BX unveiled another upgrade—and the debut of the current Exchange brand. As customers approached the 77,000-square-foot main store, they were greeted by the new corporate logo— red-and-blue chevrons coming together with the word “Exchange” underneath. The chevrons symbolize the Army and Air Force coming together.
Located in Oklahoma City, Tinker AFB is a couple of hours from the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium to the northeast, and about 75 miles from the Stafford Air & Space Museum, which celebrates the legacy of Apollo 10 and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project astronaut Thomas P. Stafford. Stafford, a retired Air Force lieutenant general, appeared on the Exchange’s “Chief Chat” in 2022.
The Apollo 12 astronauts had another Exchange connection: Below is a photo from the May 1970 edition of The Exchange Post, featuring Bean and Conrad at the Yokota Air Base Exchange (Gordon also visited but it not shown in the photo).
