SOLEMN WALK — Jacqueline Kennedy holds hands with her brother-in-law, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, as the coffin carrying the body of President John F. Kennedy is placed in an ambulance after arriving at Andrews Air Force Base on Nov. 22, 1963. President Kennedy was assassinated earlier that afternoon in Dallas.

The Butler Eagle asked Butler County residents to recall their memories of where they were when they learned of President John F. Kennedy's death 50 years ago on Friday. Here are some of those memories:

<b>Everyone was quiet</b>I was 15 years old in the 9th grade at Butler Junior High on Nov. 22, 1963. First we heard rumors when we were going between classes about JFK being shot. Then we had an announcement over the PA system telling us that our popular president had been shot and killed in Dallas.Our last two classes for the day were canceled, and we sat in the gym waiting for the bus. I remember almost all the girls on the bus were crying and everyone was quiet.Our family spent the whole weekend watching the TV, seeing Jackie getting off the plane still covered in blood, to Oswald being shot, to little John's salute to his Dad passing by. It was very sad and it still is today!I still wonder how different the world might be today if that had not happened.<i>Ed Kellerman,Summit Township</i><b>I remember some kids cheering</b>I was in Mr. Beech's 7th grade English class at Slippery Rock Junior-Senior High School when an announcement came over the loud speaker telling us President John F. Kennedy had been shot and died.This is the hard part. I remember some kids cheering. I knew we lived in a Republican area but to this day it still saddens me that back then we were kids and some chose to think this was OK. I am sure that all the kids in that room who cheered do not feel that way now but how sad it was then. I do not remember what the teacher said in turn but evidently it didn't stick in my mind.<i>Shirley Garver,Middlesex Township</i><b>Nuns telling us to pray</b>I remember I was in 8th grade at St. Paul's Catholic school. We got an announcement over the loud speaker system telling us that our president had been killed.It was very upsetting to all of us as we listened to the nuns telling us to pray for the president and his family and also for the nation.I remember watching TV after school that day and watching it over and over. Years later I learned that my husband was in Navy boot camp waiting for his orders. His graduation from boot camp was canceled due to the death of Kennedy.<i>Ben and Diane McCaslin,Clay Township</i><b>I clipped articles about it</b>I was in 7th grade when the announcement came over the speakers that JFK was dead.We were off school for a few days and I remember sitting in front of the TV with my notebook writing down things that were happening.I clipped newspaper articles about it. You know it seems like yesterday, can remember it that well.<i>Karen Alchier,Saxonburg</i><b>Announced over the intercom</b>Where was I when I learned of President Kennedy's assassination? Appropriately, I was in history class my junior year at Butler High.The class had just started, when the school office broadcast the radio news in mid-report. Everyone was confused and my teacher excused himself to go find out what was happening.The reporter commented that the first lady had not been hit, and my first thought was that maybe someone had thrown rocks at the president's motorcade because of what happened to Richard Nixon in South America several years before. It wasn't until later that the school secretary announced over the intercom: “It is with deep regret we announce the President of the United States is dead.”There was silence and sadness all around. Girls cried and teachers quit teaching. That evening all events were canceled and the stores in Butler closed. Main street was like a ghost town.President Kennedy had been my hero since his visit to Butler in October 1960, and I was in complete shock. I would not be shocked again until Sept. 11, 2001.I would never have heroes again.<i>Charles Bopp,Center Township</i><b>Shopping at Aland's Toy Store</b>My sister and I were shopping at Aland's Toy Store in downtown Butler when we heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot.Numerous other customers were browsing and making selections along the aisles of the shop. Aland's had a radio in the back room where someone had heard the announcement of the events in Dallas. They relayed the information to the people in the store.Almost immediately there was an eerie, silent veil that fell over the area. Without speaking, most people, as if they were drones or robots, put down anything that they were holding. They barely looked at each other. Instead they exited the store quietly.It seemed that everyone vanished or evaporated into the air. Main Street was emptied of pedestrians.The event presented an atmosphere of the unusual, the unknown, along with apprehension and anxiety- a feeling of numbness I had never experienced before or since that time.The rest of the day and for days after all that your mind could grasp was filled with media puzzle pieces that everybody was trying to assemble into a complete picture.Are the pieces all there yet? Will we ever be able to know if the puzzle is completely accurate?With the death of our president we gained a new perspective of our county and ourselves.<i>Betty Martzolf,Butler</i><b>I turned off the bell to change classes </b>I was the principal of Heath High School and the Licking County Vocational School in Ohio when my wife called me to say that the president had been shot.I turned the school radio on to a station broadcasting the news and turned on the public address system to all classrooms. I said nothing. I turned off the bell to change classes so no classes changed for the remainder of the day.When the bell rang to dismiss school, students went to their lockers saying little. The building was the quietest it had ever been with that number of students leaving.I remember that day well.<i>Joseph Marks,Slippery Rock</i><b>My faith in God just disappeared</b>Yeah, I'll never forget that day! “11/22/1963''My wife, Nancy, and I were sitting in the kitchen, listening to an old 13-inch TV that we had on top of the refrigerator.We were stunned to hear that our president of the U.S.A. was killed!!My wife in a crying wail said, “Oh, my God. He is dead.”My 3-year-old son happened to be riding his little tricycle in circles from the living room to the kitchen, and his small ears caught my wife's words, He began chanting as he peddled, “God is dead, God is dead.”My wife and I sat in a silent stupor, as my faith in God just disappeared for a while.<i>Leonard L. Haney,Saxonburg</i><b>He was my idol</b>I will never forget that day, Nov. 22, 1963.I remember it well. It started as a crisp, bright day at home in Callery, with my young 6-month-old baby girl. As I was preparing a cherry pie and listening to the radio, came the news, “Kennedy has been shot.”Immediately an unbelievable feeling of loss came within me. He was my idol; I was pleased to help elect him.Our country needed this vibrant and knowledgeable young man. It made me think, how could I help?Now I will be 80 on that fateful day, 50 years later still trying to help.<i>Geri Minehart,Evans City</i>