by Frank Lee
operations@thenewsleaders.com
Bill Kraft’s love of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s hopeful vision of the future stood in stark contrast to the recent and divisive election for the president of the United States.
The Sauk Rapids resident was invited to the New Mexico Museum of Space History as a panelist at the Nov. 12 induction ceremony for Roddenberry into the International Space Hall of Fame.
“There were so many highlights, it’s hard to narrow it down,” said Kraft, a retired English teacher who spearheaded a successful 13-year campaign to have Star Trek commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp and later published a book about the enormous effort it took.
The day before the induction ceremony, Kraft dined at an “exclusive Mexican restaurant” with David Stipes, an Emmy award-winning special effects artist who worked on Star Trek spin-offs, and Chris Orwoll, the executive director of the museum, who moderated the induction ceremony.
Special guests for the induction ceremony also included David Gerrold, who wrote the script for the Star Trek episode “The Trouble with Tribbles,” and who is also a renowned science-fiction author.
“We were approached for autographs, and people were asking me to sign,” Kraft said. “And there were a number of pictures taken.”
The induction ceremony was held in conjunction with the celebration of the museum’s 40th anniversary, which featured Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison “Jack” Schmitt as a guest speaker.
“I’m telling you we got the celebrity treatment,” Kraft said. “I have never been showered with so much generosity and graciousness and affection. They shuttled us around, they paid for our lodging and our meals. We were treated like royalty, and that’s not an exaggeration.”
Schmitt was the last man – and only scientist – to walk on the moon and is a 1977 inductee into the International Space Hall of Fame. He attended the museum’s dedication ceremony in 1976 and has remained a strong supporter of the facility, according to museum officials.
“I had the privilege and honor to socialize with Dr. Harrison Schmitt, and he and his lovely wife were just gracious and congenial, and it was just terrific fun,” Kraft said.
The 76-year-old had sent the museum a copy of his book Maybe We Need a Letter from God: The Star Trek Stamp, which included more than 80 letters of support for the commemorative stamp from some prominent names in science fiction, science, education and government.
“The people at the New Mexico Museum of Space History asked me to donate my Trek stamp-endorsement letters to their archives – a perfect venue or permanent home for them after I am gone,” said Kraft, who agreed to donate them.
The New Mexico Museum of Space History, a Smithsonian affiliate, is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
“I always wanted to find a permanent home for them,” Kraft said about his commemorative-stamp endorsement letters. “It is a fitting legacy to leave. I feel very good about it.”
Roddenberry joined the ranks of such notables as Neil Armstrong, Walter Cronkite and Arthur C. Clarke when he was inducted Nov. 12 into the International Space Hall of Fame.
“Mr. Roddenberry was chosen because of his vision of what space exploration could be, his commitment to promoting the future of space exploration and his work that inspired people worldwide to believe in the reality of the ‘final frontier,’” Orwoll said.
The executive director of the museum also said, “Roddenberry’s leadership brought to the forefront social, political and cultural issues that impacted the world then and continue to do so now.”
Roddenberry passed away in 1991 and years later actually traveled to space himself as he became one of the first humans to have his ashes carried into earth’s orbit.
“The idea that differences among people and different kinds of intelligence can be a source of strength and beauty, and not discord and hostility – that’s a quintessential Star Trek tenant,” Kraft said.
Roddenberry was born in El Paso, Texas, but grew up in Los Angeles. His father was a police officer. After serving as a pilot in the Army Air Force during World War II and a commercial pilot, Roddenberry followed in his father’s footsteps. It was during this time he began writing television scripts for a variety of series.
The first series he created and produced was The Lieutenant in 1963, which was about the lives of enlisted Marines and officers during peace time. Of note, the lead character’s middle name “Tiberius” was the same middle name Roddenberry later chose for Star Trek’s lead character Capt. James T. Kirk, according to museum officials.
Westerns were popular in 1960s-era television and when Roddenberry created Star Trek in 1964, he pitched it to producers as Wagon Train to the Stars. Desilu eventually bought into the concept, and the series debuted in 1964 but only ran for three seasons.
According to the New Mexico Museum of Space History, it was the reruns that kept Star Trek alive and increasingly more popular. Spin-offs and movies eventually came and fans became a worldwide legion of Trekkies. Roddenberry continued his involvement as a consultant and shared his vision of the future with millions.
Bill Kraft of Sauk Rapids (right) looks with awe at a moon rock at the New Mexico Museum of Space History where the retired English teacher was a panelist at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony Nov. 12 for Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Kraft’s wife, Karla (center), stands next to Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt (left) at the Alamogordo, N.M.-based museum.
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (center) on the set of Star Trek: The Motion Picture with Leonard Nimoy (far left), director Robert Wise (sitting), DeForest Kelley (right of camera) and William Shatner (far right).
The New Mexico Museum of Space History, a Smithsonian affiliate in Alamogordo, N.M., is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. The museum inducted Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry into the International Space Hall of Fame Nov. 12.
