Walter C. discusses space at library

Walter Choroszewski is a familiar face at the Dorothy Henry Library’s annual meeting, usually displaying travel photos of exciting destinations.
True to form, Walter C. as he prefers to be known, while playing the song Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra, surprised the meeting group with a trip summary to the moon.
Pre-celebrating this year’s 50th anniversary of America’s moon landing, Walter C. expertly documented a brief history of rocketry. He cited how rocketry first was used in celebration, namely, fireworks, then was acquired in warfare and finally travel into space. He specifically mentioned futuristic authors Jules Verne and H.G. Wells as influencing rocketry and space pioneers.
Joking about his own Polish last name, Walter C. revealed his native country of Poland delved in rocketry way back in the 1600s.
He spoke about the formation of NASA in 1958 and the highly volatile space race between Russia and the United States in the 50s and 60s.
“Space travel and reaching the moon was a dream of President Kennedy,” Walter C. said.
That dream became a reality on July 19, 1969 when Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, a New Jersey native and Michael Collins landed on the moon.
The hour presentation ended with a question and answer session, followed by refreshments.