The Space Shuttle Challenger mission, named STS-51-L, was the twenty-fifth Space Shuttle flight and the tenth flight of Challenger. The crew was announced on January 27, 1985, and was commanded by Dick Scobee. Michael Smith was assigned as the pilot, and the mission specialists were Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, and Ronald McNair. The two payload specialists were Gregory Jarvis, who was assigned to conduct research for the Hughes Aircraft Company, and Christa McAuliffe, who flew as part of the Teacher in Space Project. The mission was originally scheduled for July 1985, but was delayed to November and then to January 1986. The mission was scheduled to launch on January 22, but was delayed until January 28, 1986. This was definitely a “less than ideal” situation. Delay after delay, maybe should have raised a serious red flag, but somehow, it did not. At least not to the people who could have changed the outcome.
One man…Roger Boisjoly knew that the Challenger space shuttle might fail catastrophically at any time. There may have been others I suppose, but none that chose to try to take action. Boisjoly knew that every mission was an accident waiting to happen. Knowing that, he tried to stop the launch on January 28, 1986. He had a definite sick feeling about this mission, but NASA refused to acknowledge his objections. That fact amazes me!! Boisjoly was a rocket engineer who worked for a company that NASA contracted with. He had noticed that the Challenger’s booster rockets had a major design flaw. Their elastic seals had a tendency to stiffen and unseal in cold weather. I’m sure that most of NASA simply took for granted that there would not be much cold weather in Florida. Nevertheless, on this occasion, the Challenger was scheduled for a winter launch. The time had come, and Boisjoly knew that the temperatures would be too low for the booster rocket seals to handle, even in Florida. He convinced colleagues at his engineering company to formally recommend NASA delay the launch. They did, but NASA ignored that recommendation. It was a life altering, or life ending decision on NASA’s part. Most of us know that the rest is history. The launch took place, the seals failed, and the Challenger exploded less than two minutes after it launched. That day, because of the foolish stubbornness and arrogance of NASA, seven people lost their lives. The air temperature on that January 28 was predicted to be a record-low for a Space Shuttle launch. The air temperature was forecast to drop to 18° F overnight before rising to 22° F at 6:00am and 26° F at the scheduled launch time of 9:38am. For most of us, those temperatures wouldn’t seem 
to be so severe, but for that little seal, it was very severe. Why couldn’t they have swallowed their pride, and postponed a little longer until the temperature warmed a bit. Were we really in that big a rush to start that mission, that we were willing risk the lives of seven people in the attempt. I love the space program and all that it has accomplished, but the people who made that choice that day were foolish and selfish.
My niece, Lacey Killinger has had a banner year this year. Most of this past year was spent planning for and preparing for her wedding. There were fittings, parties, a bachelorette trip to Nashville, all culminating in the wedding of her dreams on October 28, 2023. On that day, Lacey became not only a wife to Chris, but a bonus mom to her beautiful bonus kids, Brooklyn and Jaxon. Lacey truly loves those two kids. She has a kind heart and a sweet spirit, and the kids really love her for it. It was such a beautiful day, and it was so special to see her dreams come true. They immediately turned into a completed family, even though they were pretty much a family before…from the very beginning to be exact. 
Over the past few years, many things in Lacey’s life have been taking an upward turn. It’s not that she was in a slump, because she wasn’t, but rather, it’s because she is receiving so many blessings from God in her life. The Bible talks about overflowing abundance and joy, and that is exactly what is going on in Lacey’s life right now. She owns her own hair salon, called LuxLou Beauty, and she specializes in hair and makeup for weddings. Business is going so well for her, that she is often booked out for months in advance. there is no better to gauge the success of a business than how busy they are.
Lacey and Chris are just perfect for each other. They are of like temperament, and they like many of the same 
things. They are loving parents to the children, and the kids love them both so much. Their workplaces are much different, but that is to be expected, and both are exerts in their field, so they are successful at their jobs. They are both soft-spoken, and very loving people. Anyone who knows them is blessed by them. They always look forward to summer, as they love to got to the lake and hang out with the family The kids especially love going to the lake to cool off and swim. Family time is very important to the Stevens family (Lacey’s family) as a whole, and they really love to get together for various summertime gatherings, like an annual family reunion. Chris and the kids totally love going and everyone has a great time. Today is Lacey’s birthday. Happy birthday Lacey!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My husband’s aunt, Margee Kountz practically grew up with his older siblings and him. She was born in 1949; and Bob’s sister Marlyce in 1950, Debbie in 1953, and my husband, Bob in 1954. They were followed by Jennifer in 1961, Brenda in 1963, and Ron in 1968. So, by the time she was 10, Margee was an aunt three times, and she had built in playmates. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they were always best friends, because let’s face it, kids fight…even if one of them is the aunt. She was only a year old when she became an aunt. She was only four the second time, and five the third time. That makes them more like siblings than aunt, nieces, and nephew. 
Margee has always had a sweet spirit. She is kind and helpful, and she is a giver. She gives of herself to anyone in need. Margee was a single mom for most of her children, Dan and Sandy’s lives. She worked hard to be a good mom, and when the grandchildren came along, she was a big part of their lives too. Especially after Dan’s wife, Darlene passed away when their kids were very young. I don’t know where the grandkids would have been without her. They grew up very close to their grandma. Now the great grandchildren are arriving, and I hope she will get to be as close to them as she was with her grandchildren.
Margee helped out when her oldest sister, Joann Schulenberg, my mother-in-law, had Alzheimer’s Disease, and I don’t know what I would have done without her. She was retired then, and everyone else worked. When I had to take my father-in-law to doctor’s appointments, Margee would sit with my mother-in-law, and it was a huge 
help. To try to take both of them to the doctor’s office would have been impossible. I owe her a great debt of gratitude. Her willingness to help meant more to me than words can ever express. Margee’s has been a life of service to others. She has gone above and beyond the call of duty move times than I can count, and it has not gone unnoticed. Margee is such an angel, and I am so thankful for her. Today is Margee’s 75th birthday. Happy birthday Margee!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When my husband, Bob’s uncle, Bobby Cole comes to mind, I am taken back to the days when my girls, Corrie Petersen and Amy Royce, were little. Whenever we took a trip to see Bobby and Bob’s aunt, Linda Cole, we always had a great time. The girls got to play with their cousins, Sheila and Pat, and we enjoyed visiting and playing cards with Linda and Bobby. In those days, they lived in Kennebec, South Dakota. It was a tiny little town, with very little to do, so having visitors was a big deal to them.
Linda and Bobby owned a hotel, and there were a few guests, but not really very many. It was like they owned a bed and breakfast…for us anyway. The rest of the guests had to go somewhere else for their breakfast. Bummer for them!! The visit was always so relaxing. The small-town feel was always there, and really, I loved it. I wouldn’t want to live in a small town all the time, but as an annual getaway, it was nice. I suppose it was the break from the everyday that held the majority of the appeal. We didn’t get to see Linda and Bobby much, so having the unhurried time to visit was a rare treat. They were always so full of laughter and fun.
A few years later, their hotel was struck by lightning during a summer storm, and it burned to the ground. After 
the fire, they made the decision to get out of the hotel business, and to get out of Kennebec. That was when they moved to Winnemucca, Nevada, and for the most part the annual trips stopped. Winnemucca was too far away to make it a weekend trip, like we could with Kennebec. I was always sorry to see those trips end. It was rather like the end of an era. The only thing that was more sad was when Bobby passed away, and then when Linda passed away. I will always miss them. They were a very fun couple. Today would have been Bobby’s 81st birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Bobby. We love and miss you very much.
Anytime a country, engaged in a war, can capture a ship belonging to their enemy, they will find themselves strategically in a better position than before, but to capture the entire fleet…now that can mean the difference between winning and losing the war. On January 23, 1795, at Den Helder, North Holland, Netherlands, an extremely rare occurrence took place when a French Revolutionary Hussar cavalry regiment came across a Dutch fleet at anchor in the Nieuwediep, just east of the town of Den Helder. While it was not unusual to come across ships at anchor, what is extremely rare is an interaction between warships and cavalry. One being on land and one on the water, usually prevented any interaction, since the men on horses couldn’t carry guns big enough to reach the ships under normal conditions. The difference in this situation was, of course, that the Dutch fleet was frozen at anchor, not simply sitting at anchor. They had no place they could go. The men on the Dutch fleet knew that they were “sitting ducks” with no recourse, so after some of the Hussars had approached across the frozen Nieuwediep, a negotiation began. It was decided that all 14 Dutch warships would remain at anchor. It was a pretty easy negotiation, because in reality, the Dutch fleet had no other choice. They were now prisoners of war and their capture had happened without violence or even a battle. In an extremely rare even the Dutch fleet was captured by the French Revolutionary Hussars on horseback.
Jean-Charles Pichegru was the leader of the French units…the 8th Hussar Regiment and the Voltigeur company of the 15th Line Infantry Regiment of the French Revolutionary Army, who had been assigned to invade the Dutch Republic. The Dutch fleet was commanded by captain Hermanus Reintjes. This rare event took place during the War of the First Coalition, which was part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The little town of Den Helder is located at the tip of the North Holland peninsula, south of the island of Texel, near the shallow Zuiderzee bay (which means Southern Sea). The Zuiderzee was closed off and partly drained in the 20th century, and what is left of it now forms the freshwater IJsselmeer.
Nevertheless, in the fall of 1794, during the War of the First Coalition of the French Revolutionary Wars, the area was the site of one of the most bizarre captures in history. That day, the Dutch proclaimed the Batavian Republic, effectively ending the war with France and allying itself with France instead. Suddenly, the French were no longer enemies of the Dutch, which seems like a good move in light of the capture. Nevertheless, there were those among the Dutch Navy and the army there who remained loyal to the Stadtholder, and there were fears that Navy ships from Den Helder might sail for England to rejoin William V, Prince of Orange. For that reason, the new Batavian interim Government issued orders to all its fleets at Vlissingen, Hellevoetsluis and at Den Helder, not to fight against the French if they appeared, and to keep the ships at anchor to make sure they could be ready to defend the new Republic against the British.
This event might not have been possible, were it not for the fact that the winter of 1794–1795 was exceptionally cold, causing the Zuiderzee to freeze. Pichegru saw an opportunity and ordered General of Brigade Jan Willem de Winter to lead a squadron of the 8th Hussar Regiment to Den Helder. De Winter had been serving with the French since 1787 and would later command the Dutch fleet in the disastrous Battle of Camperdown. So, while he was successful in one operation, he might not have been the best leader in the long 
run. Still, the operation was carried out with no casualties. The French simply received the assurance from the Dutch captain that the vessels and their crews would remain at anchor until the political situation in the Dutch Republic would have become clear. The situation was finally settled in May 1795 under the Treaty of The Hague, when the Batavian Republic officially became a French ally. Now, its ships would serve a common cause.
Known as the “Millionaires’ Ship” because of the number of wealthy Americans who traveled by her, RMS Republic was a “palatial liner” and the flagship of White Star Line’s Boston service. She was a steam-powered ocean liner built in 1903 by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The ship was equipped with some of the latest technology of the time, including a new Marconi wireless telegraphy transmitter. All that new equipment would come in handy when disaster struck.
In the early morning of January 23, 1909, while sailing from New York City to Gibraltar and Mediterranean ports with 742 passengers and crew. Captain Inman Sealby was in command, when RMS Republic entered a thick fog off the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts. True to her reputation, RMS Republic was carrying a number of illustrious passengers, such as James Ross Mellon, his wife Rachel Hughey Larimer Mellon, their daughter Sarah of the Mellon banking family and family maid; Mrs Sophie Mansfield Curtis, wife of George Munson Curtis (treasurer of the International Silver Company); Mrs Mary Harriman Severance, wife of Cordenio A Severance; 
Professor John M Coulter, his wife and children; General Brayton Ives; St. Louis millionaire Samuel Cupples; historian Alice Morse Earle; and Mildred Montague, Countess Pasolini. Also, travelling in first class were Mr Leonard L. McMurray, who, in 1915, would survive the sinking of the Cunard liner Lusitania; and Mrs. Bessie Armstead Davis, daughter-in-law of senator Henry G. Davis of West Virginia with her two children.
At 5:30am, disaster struck when RMS Republic collided with the Lloyd Italiano liner SS Florida just off Nantucket, Massachusetts. It took a while, but by about 8:40pm on January 24, 1909, RMS Republic slipped beneath the water and landed on the bottom of the ocean floor at a depth of about 250 feet. While the evacuation process was praised as flawless at the time, a total of six lives were lost, nevertheless. It has been rumored that RMS Republic was also carrying a treasure ranging from $250,000 to $3,000,000 in estimates of the value. Of course, it would likely be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and maybe even a billion today. The SS Florida survived the collision and was later repaired.
These days, the wreck is owned by father and son Martin and Grant Bayerle, and a television series entitled “Billion Dollar Wreck” is in the process of recovering the contents of the ship. Some of the contents have been recovered, yielding significant amounts of gold and artifacts and brought to the surface by an ROV built specifically for the recovery. The total value of the recovered gold was estimated at $100–150 million. Of course, that is just rumor at this point. The shipwreck itself is 250 feet under water and much of it has deteriorated. It is said that the vaults that contain the alleged treasure appear to be very much intact. Again, time will tell.
On January 15, 2024, at 8:31am, my niece, Siara Kirk and her husband, Chris were blessed with the birth of their first child together…a beautiful baby boy named Nathaniel Andrew Kirk. Nataniel was delivered by c-section, weighed in at 8 pounds 7 ounces and was 19.75 inches long. He has dark hair, but not very much of it yet, and I could try to guess who he looks like, but I’m not very good at that. If I had to guess, I would say that I rather think maybe he is his daddy’s boy. Nathaniel is a baby that is so, so very wanted. I know you might say that most babies are so wanted, but for Siara, Nathaniel is her “Rainbow Baby” because she lost her first son, Alec Todd Olsen when he was 3 days short of three months old. For Chris, Nathaniel is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of having a family of his own. When Chris looked at his precious son, he said that it just “feels so natural” to him. Parenthood…oh yes, it feels so perfectly natural, because it is such a 
wonderful, beautiful, miracle of God!!
When I looked at the pictures of this sweet little family, I could easily see the total love these parents have for their precious little boy. They have both waited so long for this little miracle, and now he is a reality…and they are so blessed. Nathaniel is a good baby, who doesn’t cry very much. I suppose that could change as he gets a little older, but I know that Siara and Chris won’t mind that one bit. Babies get noisy, and there will be far more laughter than tears in the future, and the giggly, laughter 
moments in the life of a baby are simply the best thing ever. They never get old.
Nathaniel (aka Nathan or Nate the Great) joins his parents to make them a family. His name was chosen with great care. In Hebrew it means “Gift from Heaven” and little Nathaniel is just that a wonderful gift from Heaven. On that day…January 15, that little gift from Heaven made his appearance, and with that, Siara and Chris stepped across another threshold…the one to parenthood. Their lives have been forever changed. Their home is filled with sunshine, their days filled with smiles, the precious sounds of their baby cooing, giggling, and even crying are the greatest sounds they have ever, or ever will hear. Congratulations Siara and Chris, and we welcome little Nathaniel Andrew Kirk. We love you very much!!
It’s hard for me to believe that my uncle, Bill Spencer has been in Heaven for more than three years already. Uncle Bill chose Christmas Day to go. I think maybe he wanted to spend the holiday with his parents and siblings. He was the last of the original family to go to Heaven, and with Covid stalking the world, he didn’t get to see his children as much either. Since Uncle Bill had Dementia, he probably didn’t realize that he didn’t get to see much of his family, but they knew it, and it made them sad. There were months and months during which they could not go visit him, and sadly it didn’t matter that all these precautions were taken. Uncle Bill still got Covid, and by Christmas Day, he was ready to go home. And so, on Christmas Day 2020, the Spencer brothers got back together again.
My dad, Allen Spencer was two years younger than his brother, Bill, but they were the very best of friends. When they were together, you didn’t have to ask them to talk about their childhood, all you have to do was sit back and listen, because the stories were the talk of the day. They had so many great adventures. They would go fishing, swimming, and boating with friends. They also loved getting into mischief, and dynamite was one of 
their favorite mischief makers. They normally used dynamite to remove tree stumps, but they weren’t above the Independence Day “fireworks” display or the “gate post” experiment. They were very industrious boys, and in those days, before things like video games, television (while it did exist, was not common in every household), and telephones (they were first in homes in 1856, but only 35% of homes in the 1920s had one), kids actually played outside, and used their imaginations. These brothers had the best time. They rode their bicycles for miles and miles. They hopped the trains…no, not like illegally. These boys had a pass, because their dad worked on the trains, but they never simply boarded a train…they hopped the train, even though they were scolded for it, they hopped the trains anyway. Danger be hanged!! Oh, the adventures they had.
When the United States entered World War II, the brothers were all set to go into the Army Air Force together, but Uncle Bill had a hernia and flat feet, so they wouldn’t take him. My dad went in alone, and his big brother, who had always been there to take care of him, was…well, a little frantic about it. He didn’t want my dad to go 
without him. He worried about his little brother. Sending any family member into the military in times of war, is something any family would worry about, and Uncle Bill was no exception. So, while his brother fought in the war, Uncle Bill worked on the planes here at home. Uncle Bill was a welder, and his skills were very important in the building of the planes that would fight and eventually win World War II. His was a very important job, and I am very proud of the part he played in the victory. Today would have been Uncle Bill’s 102nd birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Uncle Bill. We love and miss you very much.
I don’t suppose many of the young people of today would even remember the Iran Hostage Crisis, but I remember. It all started on November 6, 1979, when a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the US Embassy in Tehran. Inside the embassy were American diplomats and citizens, and their lives were about to be forever changed. The Western media called the crisis an “entanglement of vengeance and mutual incomprehension.” US President Jimmy Carter called the hostage-taking an act of “blackmail” and the hostages “victims of terrorism and anarchy.” Of course, the Iranians view it in a much different way, calling it an act against the US and its influence in Iran, including its perceived attempts to undermine the Iranian Revolution and its long-standing support of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in 1979. The Shah left the US in December 1979 and was ultimately granted asylum in Egypt, where he died of cancer at age 60 on July 27, 1980.
The attack did not go as it was originally planned. The students had planned a “symbolic” occupation, aimed at getting their cause before the media. The, they planned to release statements to the press and leave when government security forces came to restore order. This was documented by the placards that said, “Don’t be afraid. We just want to sit in.” Then, the embassy guards brandished firearms, so the protesters retreated. As he left, one of the students told the Americans, “We don’t mean any harm.” When it became clear that the guards would not use deadly force and that a large, angry crowd had gathered outside the compound to cheer the occupiers and jeer the hostages, the plan drastically changed. Then, according to one embassy staff member, buses full of demonstrators began to appear outside the embassy. A short time later, the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line broke through the gates. And so began the hostage crisis.
On January 27, 1980, six American diplomats who had managed to evade capture when all this began, were 
rescued by a joint CIA–Canadian effort. The crisis reached a climax in early 1980 after diplomatic negotiations failed to win the release of the hostages. President Jimmy Carter ordered the US military to attempt a rescue mission, which was called Operation Eagle Claw…using warships that included USS Nimitz and USS Coral Sea, which were patrolling the waters near Iran. That attempted rescue failed on April 24, 1980, and resulted in the death of one Iranian civilian and the accidental deaths of eight American servicemen after one of the helicopters crashed into a transport aircraft. The failure resulted in the resignation of US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. Then, Iraq invaded Iran, beginning the Iran–Iraq War on September 1980. At that point, the Iranian government reached out to the US government, with Algeria acting as a mediator.
The hostage-takers, declaring their solidarity with other “oppressed minorities” and declaring their respect for “the special place of women in Islam,” released one woman and two African Americans on November 19, 1979. Before the release, these hostages were required by their captors to hold a press conference in which Kathy Gross and William Quarles praised the revolution’s aims and goals. Four more women and six African Americans were released the following day. According to the then United States Ambassador to Lebanon, John Gunther Dean, the 13 hostages were released with the assistance of the Palestine Liberation Organization, after Yassir Arafat and Abu Jihad personally traveled to Tehran to secure a concession. The only African American hostage that was not released that month was Charles A Jones Jr. One more hostage, a white man named Richard Queen, was released in July 1980 after he became seriously ill. He was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The remaining 52 hostages were held until January 20, 1981, a full 444 days of captivity. The agreed upon release came with an agreement, on January 19, 1981, in which Iran released all of the hostages and the US freed 8 billion US dollars of Iranian State assets from American banks. Then on January 20, 1981, US president-elect Ronald Reagan takes the oath of office. Just 20 minutes after Reagan’s oath, Iran released all 52 hostages, who were then flown to West Germany, by way of Algeria where former US president Jimmy Carter takes them back to the United States. Some people saw the release in a bit of a conspiracy light, 
because of its closeness to the swearing in of President Reagan. I suppose we will never know for sure. Ten days after the release of the hostages a motorcycle parade takes place in New York City’s Broadway. Whatever the case may be, and no matter what kind of celebration was held in their honor, the lives of those hostages were forever changed. You can’t lose 444 days of your life and stay the same. Too much was forever missing. Things they could never get back.
My nephew, Jason Sawdon finished last year with a very nice promotion. Jason was a sergeant with the Wyoming Highway Patrol. His position was that of Sergeant of Equipment and Technology. In that position, Jason trained men on the equipment and technology. The position took Jason and his family from Casper to Cheyenne, but it was a good move, because it also took Jason off the street and into a Monday through Friday, day job. That meant he was home at night, and that was best for him and his girls, wife Jessi and daughter, Adelaide. That move took place on June 5, 2021. Now, just two and a half years later, Jason is “movin’ on up” again, and we are so pleased and so happy for him.
On December 16, 2023, Jason was again promoted…this time 
to Lieutenant. That promotion also promoted him to Support Services Supervisor of Equipment and Technology. Basically, the job is similar, but now he supervises the men doing the training. Jason is such a great member of the highway patrol. It doesn’t matter which position he is in, because he always excelled. No wonder the highway patrol wanted to take advantage of that talent by promoting him to positions where he could use his skills to improve the patrol base of skilled men. To top it off, Jason has such a great personality, that people simply like him. Whether it is his bosses, his coworkers, and even the people he dealt with on patrol. Jason is respected and very well liked.
Today, Jason had his promotion ceremony, and it was a great ceremony. His wife Jessi had the privilege of pinning his lieutenant’s bars on, and many of the family members attended. Jason’s coworkers and family had many nice things to say about him, listing his accomplishments…that he was Trooper of the year in 2015 and his Meritorious Service Award. He was skilled in Crash Reconstruction and worked the 1-80 pileup crash a few years ago to reconstruct it. Then there was a wonderful reception at Paris West restaurant. It was a beautiful day…one that Jason has worked hard for. It wouldn’t surprise me to see more promotion days in Jason’s future, because he is so good at his job. Congratulations Lieutenant Jason Sawdon on your promotion!! We are so proud of you!!
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