McALLEN, Texas USA — Seventy years ago, on July 2, 1936, a 16-year-old boy from Sharyland fired his home-made rockets across the Rio Grande.

One rocket struck the U.S. Bar in Reynosa, surprising but not injuring its patrons. Another started a fire in a corn field. Other rockets delivered packets of mail across the flooded river.

The boy’s experiment succeeded: the first international delivery of mail by rocket.

“I think it’s awfully nice that local people remember what went on 70 years ago,” said Keith Rumbel, 86, the man who fired the rockets.

The young scientist was supported by his father, who created a book about rocket mail.

“There were some nice write-ups in the book,” Rumbel said. “The experiment chiefly helped philatelists.”

Now living in Oakton, Virginia, the retired scientist regrets that he will not be able to travel to McAllen to see new evidence of the 70th anniversary of his teenage dream come true.

Tom Fort, Assistant Director and Curator of Exhibits of the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg, is commemorating the historical event with a new exhibit.

“The museum wanted to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the first international rocket mail, and the exhibit space that is kindly made available to MOSTH by the McAllen-Miller International Airport seemed to be the ideal venue,” Fort said.

“This pioneering experiment combined serious amateur rocketry with philately (stamp collecting) and stands as a remarkable achievement by McAllen’s Loyal Service Post No. 37 of the American Legion. Post members spent many months organizing the flights and making the arrangements with U.S. and Mexican officials. Keith Rumbel’s father, Oliver K. Rumbel, was the post historian at the time.

“All together, it was a highly successful demonstration, not only of rocket mail but of international cooperation and good will.”

“Regarding Keith Rumbel’s rocket-science career, one of his biggest achievements was as co-inventor of the solid-fuel propellant for the submarine-launched Polaris missiles. His interest in rocket-borne mail, as I understand it, came out of his interest in chemistry and stamps, and the many experiments in serious amateur rocketry that were going on around the world at the time,” Fort added.

Rumbel and his wife Helen, married for 61 years, were pleased to hear about the new exhibit.

His youthful experiment showed his scientific ability. He graduated from Rice University and worked on scientific projects during World War II. He returned to rocketry by developing solid propellants. He helped design a missile called the Terrier for the U.S. Navy and a shoulder-fired rocket for the U.S. Army dubbed Red-Eye.

Now, 70 years after his rockets crossed the rain-swollen Rio Grande, one of Sharyland’s class of 1937 is being honored by a factual, professional exhibit at the McAllen Airport, where thousands will see it.

“I’m afraid we can’t come back for the anniversary, but we do appreciate what you are doing in the Valley,” Rumbel said.

A theater group at South Texas College had been working on a play, Rocket Mail, about Rumbel’s youthful triumph. This was mentioned in The Monitor’s calendar of events on Sunday. However, unforeseen events caused the play to be canceled for now.

“Now we plan to produce the play in the fall, late September or October,” said the playwright Tom Fuschetto, instructor of English at STC and advisor to WILD, which has openings for actors. Interested actors can contact him at (956) 872-3487.
———
Jim McKone is Public Relations Officer for the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg. He reviews plays, books and rocket mail for The Monitor. You can reach him at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .