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Oct. 15, 1968

A 34-year-old man, who had spent much of his boyhood in La Grange and still claimed the city as his home, was one of three astronauts tentatively scheduled to orbit the moon in Apollo 8 during December. He was Air Force Major William A. “Bill” Anders, the son of Comdr. (Ret.) and Mrs. Arthur Anders, of California, and nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar F. “Smiles” Anders of La Grange. Major Anders, Air Force Colonel Frank Borman, 40, and Navy Captain James A. Lovell Jr., 40, were to fly the first manned test of the 363-foot Apollo Saturn 5 either in an earth orbit as a loop around the moon and back or around and around in lunar orbit, depending on the outcome of the Apollo 7 flight that was in progress. Because Apollo 8 would not carry the lunar module, it would be unable to land on the moon. Major Anders was born in Hong Kong, China, while his father was stationed on naval duty in the Far East. After his retirement, Comdr. Anders and his family moved to La Grange where they lived from 1946 to 1951. The two Anders brothers, Edgar and Arthur, bought Hermes Drug Store and operated it as a partnership.

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