On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven people on board. One of the victims was teacher Christa McAuliffe.
Like the rest of the country, Romeo was devastated by the tragedy. The photo you see here was taken by Karen Hamilton, and it graced the front cover of the February 5, 1986 issue of The Romeo Observer. It depicts an American flag lowered at half staff. According to the caption, flags at Romeo schools were flown this way to honor McAuliffe and members of the Challenger crew.
George Harrison - school superintendent - said at the time that administrators will be discussing the impact of America's worst space program disaster to school children "who may have viewed extensive media coverage."
McAuliffe was chosen to be the first teacher in orbit as part of a plan to bring America's space program to kids. Because of this, it would've been important to talk to them about it. After all, McAuliffe could've been any of their teachers.
No one in the Romeo area was more affected that Stanley Tombrella. He was a sixth grade teacher at Indian Hills Elementary School at the time, and he applied to become the first teacher in space for the mission. Tombrella did this in 1985.
He was interviewed for a separate article on the front page of the same edition of The Romeo Observer. In it, he gave his sympathies to McAuliffe's family and said, "I am totally shocked to think something like that could happen. Disasters like that do happen, unfortunately."
In addition, he had no regrets applying to become first teacher in orbit. He added, "It is difficult to know what I will tell my students...She (McAuliffe) knew the risks, but it was something she wanted to do - a dream of hers, just as it is a dream of mine."
When asked how he would talk about the tragedy with his students, he said that they will likely start the discussion, and he will try his best to answer their questions.
When the Challenger exploded, people came up to Tombrella and said that they were glad that he wasn't chosen. In part of his reaction, he said, "I am shocked to think it could have been me up there."
And yet, if Tombrella had to do it all over again, he would have.
To read more of Tombrella's article in The Romeo Observer, check it out below.
In addition, to learn more about Romeo's reaction to the Challenger space disaster, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890. If you want to search for articles on that topic, you can find the Romeo newspapers like The Romeo Observer on the Suburban Library Cooperative's Local History Digital Collection website.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, February 5, 1986, p.1-A