Monthly Archives: February 2023
My sister, Allyn Hadlock has had quite an unusual year. Allyn has worked at Wyoming Medical Center (now Banner Health) for twenty years now. She is the Senior Manager of the PFS Billing Unit. She is well liked and works hard, but with so many changes in the working world since Covid happened, Allyn has really had working from home on her heart. At first, it seemed like an impossibility, but when Banner purchased WMC, the idea surfaced again…both in my sister’s mind, and thankfully in the minds of the new owners. So, on Monday, December 12, 2022, Allyn went home to work!!! It was a dream come true.
Allyn and her husband Chris Hadlock had inherited his parents’ property on the Platte River after his mom passed away a few years ago, and they removed the old house that was there and in pretty bad shape. Then, they had a brand-new home built there. The home was finished a few years ago, except for the unfinished attic. They had a bed up there for when their kids came to stay, but the rest of the 
attic was open. Now, it is all finished, complete with a really nice guest suite, a sitting area, and two offices. Chris doesn’t work from home most of the time, but sometimes he does. Allyn, however, simply wakes up, has her breakfast and gets ready for her day. Then she and her dog, Liberty go upstairs for the day. She painted her office in her favorite color…yellow, and she has all her favorite things in there. Nevertheless, when she is in the office during working hours, she is all business.
This year found Allyn making two trips to Arizona. In November, she went to Phoenix on a work trip. Of course, we were all jealous, because it was really cold here in Wyoming, and she got to take almost a week and go be in the warmth. It was a working trip, but she learned a lot, and the trip was very successful. Then, at the end of December, Allyn and Chris got to join daughter, Lindsay Moore; Lindsay’s husband, Shannon; and daughter, Mackenzie; as 
well as Shannon’s parents, Mary Jo and Tom Moore, in Tucson, Arizona for the Arizona Bowl game. Shannon is one of the coaches of the Cowboys. The team had won a spot in the game. Unfortunately, after a hard-fought game, the Cowboys lost, but the Hadlock/Moore families had an amazing time, and for the second time this winter, Allyn got to escape the cold in sunny Arizona. Today is Allyn’s 60th birthday. Happy birthday Allyn!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandnephew, Jake Harman is quite likely one of the happiest people I know. He spreads happiness to everyone around him. Jake works for the City of Casper, as a bus driver for the Link public transportation system, and all his riders absolutely love him, and he loves them too. He’s got nicknames for a lot of them as well, because that is what Jake does. He loves people and often “adopts” them as a part of his “family.” No, he doesn’t take them home with him, but Jake really has never met a stranger. He is a people person and makes friends very easily. His upbeat personality puts a smile on everyone’s face. I know this to be a fact, because whenever I am around him, I can’t help but smile. He always makes me feel like I am his favorite person. I think that is how he makes everyone feel, even though, I like to think I’m his favorite great aunt. Doesn’t every aunt want that?
Jake is one of those guys who will always be young at heart…or as his wife, Melanie says a “big child” at heart. In reality, he probably is a big kid. Like many men, I don’t think he will ever really grow up, and maybe that isn’t a bad thing. Growing up…or growing old, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and I think those guys who stay a big kid have the most fun in life. Jake is dad to Alice (his bonus daughter), Izabella, and Jaxx. They have benefitted greatly from Jake’s “young at heart” ways, because he still gets down on the floor and plays with the kids all the time. They love to tackle him…when they can get the better of him. It’s just as fun when he wins 
too, because the whole goal is to have a big wrestling match with their daddy…and Jake never minds the noise.
Melanie tells he that he is “an amazing dad and husband. Don’t know what we would ever do without him in our lives! God put him and me together and I am so grateful for it every day! We have our scuffles, but we are perfect for each other.” Every marriage has its “scuffles.” It’s the rest of the marriage that really matters. She tells me that “his smile is for sure my weakness, lol!” I think anyone who knows Jake can say pretty much the same thing. Jake’s smile is his greatest asset, without a doubt. It shows how joyful he is. His smile always leaves you smiling too. Today is Jake’s birthday. Happy birthday Jake!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
The Great Depression…while the main problem at that time in history was a lack of jobs and money, another huge problem was depression…real emotional depression. Of course, people just had to deal with that. There was nothing anyone could do about it…or was there? There was little that could be done about money, but maybe there was a way to lift everyone’s spirits and do some good too. So began the Depression Era Dance Marathons.
Dance Marathons (also called Walkathons) were an American phenomenon of the 1920s and 1930s. While they began as human endurance contests in which couples danced almost non-stop for hundreds of hours (as long as a month or two), competing for prize money, that couldn’t continue during the Great Depression years. Still, the dance marathons did continue throughout the 1930s as partially staged 
performance events that mirrored the marathons of the Roaring Twenties. In the dance endurance contests of the 20s, a mix of local hopefuls and seasoned professional marathoners danced, walked, shuffled, sprinted, and sometimes cracked under the pressure and exhaustion of round-the-clock motion. The Depression Era Dance Marathons weren’t exactly a means of keeping the American spirit up through the darkest financial crisis in its history, but rather they were human endurance contests that served as a way of giving broke married couples a roof over their head and food to eat for a few days.
The real emphasis here is on the word contest. People had needs, and so they were highly motivated to win the contest. It was a good thing that these dancers were young people, because marathon dancing takes a lot of stamina. The couples would actually take 
turns sleeping while their partner propped up and continued dancing with them. That kind of endurance was no easy feat, but in the end, it was all worth it…for the winners anyway. When you think about it, it while the marathons were a good idea, and the prizes really helped people out, it had to be exhausting, and it was definitely not for the older generation. You had to be young in body, in addition to being young at heart to endure all that. These couples danced their hearts out. Nevertheless, at some point, the couples finally gave out, until there was only one couple left, and the winners were announced. It was a contest of endurance. While they really needed the prize, I’m sure these couples had a great time too.
Imagine being able to remember every day of your life, or maybe, not being able to forget any of it. Everyone is different, and the brain is quite mysterious. Some people have vague or no specific memories about their past, while others remember all the details of their lives. Some people can even give specific days, times, and weather conditions that were present at the time of a memory. Now, some people might call that a blessing, while others might see it as a curse. Either way, it is a bit of a novelty, to say the least. The condition is called Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), and as of 2017, fewer than 100 people were known to have the condition. The main characteristic of the condition is that the patient has a near-perfect memory for recalling dates and events. The scientific term for Superior Autobiographical Memory is Hyperthymesia. This form of memory is sometimes confused with Eidetic Memory, which is itself mistakenly associated with photographic memory. Superior Autobiographical Memory or Hyperthymesia is a confusing phenomenon, even for scientists.
The first person diagnosed with HSAM was Jill Price, who in 2000 emailed Dr James McGaugh, a professor in neurobiology and behavior at UC Irvine, about her memory problem. Strange that she called it a “memory problem” and not just an unusually good memory. Price wrote, “Whenever I see a date flash on the television…I automatically go back to that day and remember where I was, what I was doing, what day it fell on…” She described the experience as “nonstop, uncontrollable, and totally exhausting.” I think that part…especially the “totally exhausting” part, is something that most people wouldn’t even consider when it comes to memory, but then we have never been faced with a situation quite like that of Jill Price.
After receiving Price’s email, Dr McGaugh started researching the condition. Like most of us, it was something he had never given much thought to. His research took a long time, because information and case studies were pretty much non-existent, but in 2010, he appeared on 60 Minutes to discuss his findings. The 60 Minutes segment caused other people to reach out to him about their own version of the condition. Among the people who reached out to him was Joey DeGrandis, who had been aware of his near-perfect memory since he was 10. DeGrandis actually took a different approach to his situation than Price had. In fact, he treated his memory somewhat like a magic trick…even performing at a school magic show by accurately naming what day of the week any date in recent history fell on. He had previously considered his memory a novelty, he changed his opinion on it after hearing about other people with the condition and decided to take part in McGaugh’s studies.
The research into HSAM showed addition things that most of us wouldn’t thing about. One thing that the research showed was that many people with HSAM also suffer with obsessive traits. DeGrandis told Time he felt his HSAM contributed to his occasional bouts of depression and anxiety, as he struggles to let go of certain things. While many people think that HSAM is the same as having a photographic memory, that is actually not the case. Oddly, people with HSAM have no advanced memory when it comes to remembering things like names or faces. DeGrandis said in a 2017 interview with Time magazine, “I’m not great with names, or with mundane details like whether I brushed my teeth today or where I put my keys.”
I guess that we will never fully understand the human mind and memory, because while I can’t even begin to claim any link between HSAM and me, I find that I do quite well with names and faces, as well as remembering 
computer procedures (once I’m shown one time), and a pretty good aptitude for medical procedure (at least as it applies to caregiving). I consider these things, at least a little bit like a photographic memory, since I can actually picture the computer screens in my head when I’m explaining steps to take with phones or computers to my family. The mind is an amazing thing, and I doubt if we will ever fully understand all it is capable of.
My niece, Jenny Spethman has had a very busy year, both at work and at home. Sadly, she lost two of her pets this past year, Angel (her dog) and Princeton (her cat). Nevertheless, Jenny has persevered, and adopted a new puppy, named Bella and cats, Tigress and Zoe. Jenny has always been an animal lover and has had a variety of pets over the years. She is a natural with every animal she has ever owned or helped…including a baby raccoon once, and of course, her Iguana.
Jenny’s year at work has been really busy too. Jenny began her career as a runner at the law firm where her mom, Cheryl Masterson also works as a legal secretary, but Jenny is really so much more than that now. She helps in so many areas, and everyone loves her helpful and caring nature!! Jenny has an artistic flair, and although it is not part of her job, she enjoyed doing some redecorating in the main lobby and in some of the conference rooms. Her eye for what looks attractive really shined forth, and everyone there enjoys the new and updated look!
Jenny has a good friend who is getting married soon, and Jenny is a part of the group of friends who are 
helping her friend and future sister-in-law plan the wedding. As a woman who has been married for a long time, Jenny hasn’t been in a wedding in years, so she is really enjoying all of the excitement of being in this one. She and her friends are enjoying every moment of planning this wedding and are going all out to make sure it’s the wedding event of the year…at least in their own circle!!! The girls in the wedding are going to Denver to shop for wedding clothes and accessories for the wedding. The girls are so excited about this trip, and they plan to make it a great weekend, and do a lot of fun pre-wedding activities along with the shopping. Jenny is so excited to be going on this Girl’s Trip. It’s going to be a great time.
Jenny is a great mom, and for most of her married life, she was a stay-at-home mom to her four children, Xander, Zack, Isaac, and Aleesia (their daughter, Laila, lives in Heaven). Having three sons, made Jenny think 
she would never get a daughter, but then Aleesia came along, and Jenny had someone to do girly things with. Now that Aleesia is growing up (she’s 10 now), Jenny and her daughter have been doing more mom and daughter stuff. Jenny has always been a spring and summer girl, and she is looking forward to motorcycle rides and drives in their convertible, with her husband Steve, who is the love of her life, and always will be. Today is Jenny’s birthday. Happy birthday Jenny!! Have a great day!! I love you!!
Over the years, many people have collected postcards. Some like them for the scenic views, and some collect postcards that have been sent to them, saving them as mementos of family members who won’t always be with us. I have picked up lots of postcards for my sister, Cheryl Masterson, who has a collection. While this is a cool way to get great pictures of amazing places, postcards were once used as…intel.
Starting in 1942, as the BBC, as part of their planning of the D-Day attack, issued a public appeal for postcards and photographs of mainland Europe’s coast, from Norway to the Pyrenees. The British people were eager to help and began sending in postcards and pictures from their trips to France. Other families began searching through boxes of family photos, searching for anything that might show the beaches. Photos of kids building 
sandcastles, and people lounging on the beach flooded the BBC offices. While it all seemed like a fun project, the people had no idea that their family photographs would prove very instrumental in the D-Day landings. Within 36 hours, over 30,000 packs of pictures of the French coast arrived at the BBC offices. Even more incredible was the fact that by 1944, 10 million holiday snaps and postcards, hotel brochures, letters and guidebooks had arrived by post. Once there, the postcards and photographs were sorted, and the best ones were pinned to a board in a top-secret planning room. Then the army bosses began to study every inch of the beaches and landing areas where the Normandy invasion would go on to take on June 6, 1944.
The families who sent in their family photographs and postcards, had no idea what would come of their contribution. They weren’t told why their pictures were needed, just that it was an important project. Looking at the photographs now, the innocent snaps almost bring a feeling of deep sadness. Nevertheless, the photographs and postcards were instrumental and extremely important to the war effort. After looking at all the 
pictures, it was decided that the best place to carry out their plan was on the beaches at Normandy, France. Many of these postcards were used in briefings with officers, land craft operators and other infantry soldier to study and orient themselves based on their drop locations of the building and landmarks in these photos. Of course, the rest is history, and the operation to storm the beaches at Normandy was a great success.
February 3, 1931, dawned beautiful and calm in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, but by the end of the day, few people would be thinking of how the day had started out. At exactly 10:47am the hands of the clock on the band rotunda in Napier stopped turning. That was the moment when the area was hit by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The quake shook the area for a full three minutes, causing such destruction that it actually changed the topography of the area forever. Buildings were leveled, streets were destroyed, fires broke out, power and phone lines were knocked out, and 256 people lost their lives…161 in Napier, 93 in Hastings, and two in Wairoa. Many thousands more were injured. The 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake the deadliest natural disaster in New Zealand’s history.
The earthquake left the people in shock, as they surveyed the damage to their beautiful seaside city. People had trouble breathing, due to dust clouds from shattered buildings, and the roads were filled with huge splits making it impossible to get emergency equipment into the area. When the initial shaking began, people ran panic-stricken out of the buildings and into the street. Many of them were killed instantly when they were struck by falling masonry, as stone decorations on many buildings crashed to the ground. Still others were buried alive in the rubble as the buildings collapsed. To make matters worse, fires were burning throughout the city of Napier for a full 36 hours before they could be contained. Most of the surviving buildings from the initial impact of the quake, were leveled by the fires. Nearby Hastings lost approximately 200 buildings and most of the deaths there were in a single department store, although many died in the public library too. Hastings also suffered from out-of-control fires due to problems with their water supply, but fires weren’t as bad as in Napier.
While the earthquake was a major tragedy, there were numerous acts of heroism that will never be forgotten. 
Water for fighting the fires ran out because underground pipes had cracked and broken. Fire engines at Napier’s central fire station were covered in debris from the destroyed brigade building, and they couldn’t be used when fires broke out in the town anyway. Napier Hospital, built only a year earlier, collapsed, claiming the lives of 12 nurses. Rescuers fought to bring out trapped and injured victims from the rubble before the fires reached them. Still, many died in the terrible inferno. With the loss of the Napier Hospital, first responders quickly set up emergency hospitals. Unfortunately, the hospitals lacked the necessary medical supplies, and so the doctors and nurses were limited in what they could do to help the injured. Back-up medical teams were sent from Auckland on board Navy ships and from Wellington by train, but this took time to arrange, and with communication largely out, the communications had to be routed through ships in the harbor, like the HMS Veronica, which had just tied up in the harbor when the quake hit. At first her captain thought there had been an explosion on board…until he saw the wharf twisting and beyond it houses and other buildings crumpling to the ground. It was then that the sickening reality hit him. He quickly sent his sailors ashore to assist with the rescue effort. By the morning of February 4, 1931, the area was filled with rescue workers trying to save anyone they could. Unfortunately, for many, help came too late. Still, a full three days after the quake a 90-year-old man who was buried in the earthquake rubble was finally dug out alive. Miracles do happen.
Napier was forever changed from this devastating tragedy. The Ahuriri Lagoon and tidal flats that was once a large body of water was completely emptied, and today the area is the site of the Hawke’s Bay Airport. The sea floor just off Hawke’s Bay was lifted approximately 8 feet 10 inches. The main fault, which was buried under the earth’s surface heaved up the land, setting off two smaller faults which broke on the surface. Following the terrible devastation, came resilience and determination in the people, and the area would be rebuilt and 
improved. The streets were widened when they rebuilt, and services were improved, including New Zealand’s first underground power system. The architectural fashion of the time was known as Art Deco, and central Napier is almost entirely built in variations of this style. One beautiful legacy from an otherwise tragic chapter of Napier’s history.
While my nephew, Dave Chase is a fun-loving, always active in every sport there’s a team for and the most sociable guy, his wife (my niece Toni) has ever met, what stands out above all, is his participation in family activities and his devotion to ALL of his family!! Dave took a number of trips this year, including a trip to San Diego, California for the NCAA Championship, a skiing trip to Winter Park in Utah, a fishing trip in Canada, a trip to Sturgis, South Dakota, several trips to Colorado for concerts and baseball, several trips to Centennial and Laramie, Wyoming for football games, basketball games, hiking and spending time with family, and a trip to Jackson Wyoming for hiking and sightseeing. Dave and Toni love to travel, and that has been a good thing for his whole family. Toni tells me, “Of course, I’ve always felt his love and kindness toward me and James and now Manuela and have always recognized him as the most unimaginably loyal and dependable patriarch of my little family that he is. BUT this goes way deeper, and I didn’t see it until I started thinking about what Dave has been up to in the last year. Dave’s devotion extends to his whole family circle. I could fill up the next 300 pages if I tried to cover all the examples that come to mind, but in an attempt to keep it short, I will just throw out a few.”
Dave has traveled to Laramie (sometimes on his own) just to accompany his mom to basketball games so that she doesn’t have to go alone. Dave is very loving and loyal to his mom, and since his dad passed away, he has made sure that she can still do the things she likes to do. He took his mom, sister, and Toni to Sturgis, South Dakota, so that they could all see their dad and sister’s new headstone together. Then, when Jane (his sister) and Nancy (their mother) were preparing to leave the following morning, it was discovered that his sister’s tire had a slow leak. Dave insisted that she take his car back to Laramie and on to Colorado where Jane lives to ensure their safe travel. Dave and Toni took Janes car back to her the following week, complete with a new tire. Dave and his brother both enjoy hiking, so Dave went to Centennial days in advance to hike with his brother, Dan before everybody else got there…just to have time with his brother.
Dave has been a great blessing to his mother-in-law (my sister, Cheryl Masterson), treating her just like he does his mom. Taking care of her lawn is difficult for Cheryl, and Dave just took it upon himself to take on that job. Cheryl tells me, “Dave has been such a blessing to me, and our family, ever since he and Toni began dating. He honestly took our family to heart from the very beginning!! He just accepted us all as his own and made each one of us his friend with his hilarious sense of humor, and his kindness!! He brings those traits with him to 
every family event, and to church on Sunday!! He continually looks for ways to be a blessing. He’s a man who always likes to be busy. He sees a need, and he finds a way to fill that need. I can’t tell you the countless times he has come by my house on a Saturday just to rake up the leaves in my yard! Or how he’s made space in his garage to store some of the guys in our family’s motorcycles in the winter, or the times he and Toni have taken some of my grandchildren to their home just because they were bored, and fed them, entertained them, got them out of their parent’s hair, and made them happy for a while. Or the times he has gone far beyond what could ever be expected to meet a need greater than I could ever afford!! And above all else, he is a wonderful husband to my daughter, Toni, and a wonderful stepdad to my grandson, James and to James’ wife, Manuela.” Dave is so thoughtful, and everyone around him becomes the beneficiary of his kindness. He gave up his second-row seat to “Hamilton” to Toni’s sister, Elizabeth Masterson, because he knew how badly she wanted to go. Tonie told me that “just in the last 5 days he went out of his way (at 6:30 am) to WalMart for the sole purpose of buying me a space heater because my feet were cold. And he made a deal with James and Manuela to get me James’s Mustang knowing that I couldn’t stand to see it sold to anybody else.”
Nancy Chase, Dave’s mom says, “Dave is always eager to help me with anything. – Changing light bulbs, moving deck furniture to and from the garage, replacing bad 2x4s on the deck. And he gives me hugs and put his arm around me when we visited Jim’s (Dave’s dad) grave in SD…” Of her brother, Jane says, “My brother Dave has always been a natural leader. He is intelligent, funny, athletic, stays active with numerous interests and makes friends wherever he goes. It’s easy to think of funny stories regarding Dave. This year, instead of sharing some of Dave’s funny antics, I’d like to share something more meaningful. As you may know, we lost our dad just over a year ago. Throughout all the sadness and aftermath, Dave showed his true strength, gentle kindness, and love of family. Quietly and without fanfare, he has become our Chase family patriarch. I am grateful and he is perfect!” Bother, Dan says, “Some things that stand out for me about Dave over this last summer are he and I working on mom’s deck replacing deck slats, hiking in the Snowy Range and Dave always having to prove his strength by pushing dead Aspen trees down at the cabin.”
Manuela, Dave’s daughter-in-law, says, “We’re so happy for Dave’s life, he didn’t have children of his own, but life still gave him two. One is always teasing and making fun of him (James), and the other, “a little chocolate boss” who is just like him. (Manuela). Before James and I make any big decisions, we always ask Dave for his opinion or advice, because we know how much he knows. And even though Dave always says that he is the boss, the truth is that Toni and Manuela are really Dave’s boss?” As you can see, Dave and Manuela really do share the same sense of humor!!
Some stories that I write are the kind that I have to think long and hard about, but some…like this one, are so 
easy, because the people who love and care for my subject (in this case, Dave Chase) have such deep feelings of love and respect for him that my words would pale by comparison. Dave is one of those people who makes life better for everyone he meets, and there truly is no better tribute than the honor and deep gratitude of those whose lives he has touched. Today is Dave’s birthday. Happy birthday Dave!! Have a great day!! We all love you!!
The first official Groundhog Day celebration in the United States took place on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, but it had its roots in Germany and was brought to the United States as a German tradition. It may have had other connotations to some people, but for most of us, it’s just a fun way to break the monotony of Winter, by guessing how much longer it will last. It is my guess that old Punxsutawney Phil is wrong about the prediction as often as he is right about it.
Since, my husband, Bob Schulenberg’s grandma, Vina Hein was born of Groundhog’s Day, the day has always been a little bit of a fun day for her. Of course, I suppose the level of “fun” would depend on the prediction for that year, and whether or not she liked Winter, which I don’t believe she did…as an adult anyway. Montana winters can be 
harsh, and Grandma even had to have her daughter Esther Hein live with her son, Walt Schulenberg, and his wife Joann during the winter, so she could be able to get to school more regularly. So, I’m sure she…like most of us, preferred an early Spring prediction, not that the prediction mattered much anyway. After all, what could she do if old Punxsutawney Phil guessed wrong? The same thing we can do today…nothing.
Grandma Hein stayed busy all year long. Between canning in the summer, cleaning, cooking and baking, as well as helping out with the garden and the animals on the ranch, life could sometimes be pretty fast paced. She also raised five children, two from her first marriage, Marion and Walt Schulenberg, and three from her second marriage, Esther, Eddie, and Butch Hein. A ranch, a husband, and five kids can keep a person very busy. Nevertheless, even with the hard work and distance from town, Grandma was happy in her life…most of the time. Having an outhouse wasn’t the easiest thing, but they had one the whole time they lived on the ranch. Grandpa did put one in the house later on, but they only used it in the winter. I’ll never forget using that outhouse. It was like living in a backwoods campground. Still, I loved going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hein.
Today marks the 114th anniversary of Grandma Hein’s birth. She has been in Heaven a long time now of course, and I’m sure that the Winter on Earth makes no difference to her. Nevertheless, for any of you that do care, old Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, so there will supposedly be six more weeks of Winter. My guess is that old Phil does better with his predicting when he sees his shadow than when he doesn’t. Happy birthday in Heaven, Grandma Hein. We love and miss you very much.
Thankfully, the NASA space program hasn’t had a great number of losses, but that doesn’t make any loss less devastating that any of the others. On February 1, 2003, just a little over 17 years after the Challenger disaster, the country was once again feeling like the Space Shuttle program was so safe that it was even mundane. Many people had no idea when the shuttle flights went up or came down. It wasn’t the nation’s fault, it’s just that like air travel, the Shuttle program was relatively save, but when disaster strikes, we are once again reminded…horrifically, that relatively save does not mean completely safe from an accident. People are prone to get comfortable when things are going well. We forget the bad times. Nevertheless, space travel is not accident proof, even if it has become relatively safe.
On that awful February 1st morning in 2003, we were once again jolted out of our comfort zones and thrust 
back into the reality that the Shuttle program might have some serious flaws. Still, the Space Shuttle program was a long running and highly successful program, running from 1981 to 2011. During the course of the program, a total of 135 missions were flown, all launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. During that period of time, the fleet logged 1,322 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes and 23 seconds of flight time. The first orbiter built, Enterprise, was used for atmospheric flight tests (ALT) but future plans to upgrade it to orbital capability were ultimately canceled. Originally, NASA built four fully operational orbiters…Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. Of course, we know that Challenger and Columbia were destroyed in mission accidents in 1986 and 2003 respectively, killing a total of fourteen astronauts. A fifth operational orbiter, Endeavour, was built in 1991 to replace Challenger. In the end, it was decided that the shuttles were getting old and had too many flaws, so the Space Shuttle was retired from service upon the conclusion of STS-135 by Atlantis on July 21, 2011.
It was a piece of foam insulation that would bring down the Columbia shuttle. It broke off and hit the leading edge of the wing. That small little bit of damage to the wing allowed hot gases to enter the wing causing it to 
break up as the craft entered Earth’s atmosphere. During the breakup, debris and the bodies of the astronauts were strewn across the state of Texas. The breakup began over California at 8:53am, and by 8:59am, communication was lost. Mission Control began its disaster procedures at 9:12am. Lost in the disaster were Rick D Husband (Commander), William C McCool (Pilot), Michael P Anderson (Payload Commander), Ilan Ramon (Payload Specialist), Kalpana Chawla (an Indian-born aerospace engineer and a Mission Specialist), David M Brown (Mission Specialist), and Laurel Blair Salton Clark (Mission Specialist). Today, marks the 20th anniversary of that fateful day. Today, we honor those we lost.
