Having a blast: Watertown man shares love of building model rockets

May 18—SACKETS HARBOR — At Market on Main, the newest spot to shop in the village, a corner evokes nostalgia, wonder and excitement. Model rockets line the wooden shelves, both a reminder of a beloved childhood hobby and an opportunity to discover something new.

A Buffalo native, Joseph J. Eberle Sr. recalls growing up an outdoor kid, playing outside every chance he could get. He was about 11 years old when he began building and launching model rockets as a hobby.

"We'd make homemade ones, we'd make them out of kits," he said. "And then years went by and I never really did anything about it until the grandkids came along."

Mr. Eberle, now 67, left the Buffalo area when he was 18 and said he has been a Watertown and Jefferson County guy since 1977. He and his wife Kathy raised their four children in the county and now live in the town of Watertown. Their first grandchild, Fiona, was born in 2006, and they now have seven grandchildren who call Mr. Eberle all variations of "Pop."

On Sunday nights, the Eberle clan gets together at Mr. Eberle's house for family night and will occasionally shoot off some rockets on the property along Route 11. This is where Mr. Eberle says everything began for Pop's Rockets, stemming from the joy of sharing the hobby with his grandkids.

Last Christmas, he made 14 rockets and told the kids they were going to spend the day shooting them off together. And shoot them off they did, with all the kids, spouses and grandkids spending an afternoon watching the launches.

"Kids and adults, they just have a blast," Mr. Eberle said. "It's really fun because they go really high, it's exciting."

For Mr. Eberle's birthday this past year, his daughter Kelly M. Clark, owner of Market on Main, gave him a poster featuring a stylized rocket ship that says "Pop's Rockets, est. 2006." She shared with him a vision that had been discussed by friends and family for Mr. Eberle to make his rockets to sell at Market on Main under the name of Pop's Rockets. After traveling to Florida for about a month, he got to work when he came back. So far, with the market not having been open for a full month yet, Pop's Rockets has already sold over 20 rockets. Proceeds from the rockets, which cost a little over $20, go back into the purchase of materials for more rockets.

"You can buy a rocket kit from Hobby Lobby; the problem is that takes about three days to put them together, and most kids don't want to do that," Mr. Eberle said. "And then when you get it all set you have to have some sort of launchpad to launch. Then you've got to buy the engines and you've got to buy a fuse, and all of a sudden, you're talking about 50 to 60 bucks for something that a kid has to spend three days to get to."

The idea with Pop's Rockets is that when a rocket is sold, it's ready to go. It already has the engine, the fuses, it's already packed with a parachute, and it even has a launch rod. Mr. Eberle said he recommends adult supervision for lighting the fuse to launch these types of rockets.

Mr. Eberle will be hosting a rocket-building workshop at 10 a.m. Saturday at Market on Main. Mr. Eberle hopes to see the workshop turn into a regular event. He wants to get kids involved in building model rockets, teach them about science and safety, and get them engaged in an outdoor activity. Participants will leave with a completed rocket, an engine and some fuses.

"I think about this region, maybe folks that move in for the summer — the kids, a lot of times they find themselves on their iPad or their iPhone," Mr. Eberle said. "Wouldn't it be awesome if we could spend two or three hours with them whenever and give them access or an introduction to a hobby that gets them outside?"

Weather pending, blastoff will be Saturday morning once the rockets have been completed, with Mr. Eberle planning to launch at least one before everyone heads home.

Mr. Eberle estimates he's made hundreds of rockets in his life so far, and is looking forward to making more. It takes about three days to put a rocket together, to do it well, he said. The main materials are either plastic or cardboard tubing and wooden fins, preferably made of fine balsa wood. Nose cones can be made from folded paper.

A labor of love, Pop's Rockets are handmade with attention to detail. They can also be customized. With graduations coming up, orders have been coming in for rockets painted with the colors of local schools. Having worked as the business administrator for the South Jefferson Central School District for 30 years before retirement, Mr. Eberle proudly features a rocket in the school's colors in the Pop's Rockets corner at Market on Main. Admitting he is not an artist, Mr. Eberle said his wife decorates the rockets he puts together, sometimes with the help of a talented family friend.

"It's a great gift idea for kids and adults and as much as it sounds like it's a kid activity, parents love it," Mr. Eberle said. "I have fun building them. My office now has a table where we have an assembly station where we can build three rockets at a time. I have one I've been thinking about, the tube is 8 feet tall, though I wouldn't sell that because it takes a pretty good size engine."

On the smaller side, the rockets of Pop's Rockets all feature Model A engines, which can go about 700 feet in the air. After it burns its fuel and ascends about 700 feet, the rocket delays for about three seconds. After the three seconds, there's a little charge and that pushes the parachute out. Once that happens, all that's left is to try and find the rocket once it lands.

"Grandparents, we're not cool, but when Papa brings out a rocket, everybody goes, 'Can I light it?'" Mr. Eberle said. "We have a recovery team looking out for the rockets after they're launched and everybody gets a turn. All the kids love participating and trying to find them."

As she sells her father's rockets, Ms. Clark tells customers to take a photo or video and tag Market on Main on social media. If they're able to find the rocket after launch, they'll receive another engine.

"I really see it as kind of a legacy and in honor of my father," Ms. Clark said of the Pop's Rockets section of Market on Main. "We're all about family and to be able to incorporate something that any one of my family members does within the market, it's pretty special. I've had a great time with it, watching him interact with my son and nieces and nephews, that family connection is the most important thing in life."

Ms. Clark said she believes the customization opportunities for Pop's Rockets are endless.

Mr. Eberle is simply happy to share his love of the hobby with others.

"I think I have the most fun chatting with older men who remember being a kid with model rockets and forgot all about it," he said. "And now they have an opportunity, like me, to do that with their grandkids — and the grandkids eat it right up."