By Melanie Petrucci, Senior Community Reporter
Shrewsbury – Friends of the Shrewsbury Public Library met for their Annual Meeting and program Nov. 1. After electing officers and receiving committee reports, attendees were transported by historical interpreter and History at Play Theater Company’s founder, Judith Kalaora, who took them on a journey through the life of Christa McAuliffe. Kalaora’s 90-minute poignant portrayal was very well received.
Through a series of costumes changes, Kalaora’s one-woman show took the audience from McAuliffe’s youth as a Girl Scout through college to her career as a young teacher, wife and mother. Originally from Massachusetts, McAuliffe’s was a high school teacher in Concord, N.H., when she applied to become the first American civilian to go into space. She was selected out of 11,000 applicants to participate in NASA’s Teacher in Space Project. After completing months of training, she died when the Challenger shuttle exploded shortly after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986.
