Right after Sputnik went up In 1957 there were rocket clubs formed in high schools around the country similar to the one in the movie October Sky. I was a member of a club of 5 members in my high school in Oklahoma City. Von Braun came to Oklahama City and met with us and a couple of other clubs.
We went on to fire several rockets at Fort Sill that were tracked on radar and our club set the record of 5200 ft. One of our members went on to be and engineer and worked for NASA for a while.
I always think of October Sky when I hear about Von Braun. That was a great film...
Was that the "Fort Sill Beta" design that ran on zinc dust and sulfur?
I still have my copy of "Rocketry for Amateurs" that shows how to built that rocket.