JFK Life and Legacy
The city was in mourningIn November 1963, I was a student at Clarion State College.My roommate and I heard about a trip, sponsored by the college, to the nation’s capital just before Thanksgiving break. What a deal; $30 including transportation and lodging.Arriving in D.C. early on Nov. 22, our first tour was a tour of the White House, but we didn’t get to see the president. They told us he was in Dallas.Our second stop on the tour was the U.S. Capitol Building. We sat on the balcony while the attorney general of the United States, Robert Kennedy, spoke to a joint session of Congress.It was a short visit, since we were quickly back to the bus. We were all thinking “What’s the hurry?”Our bus driver awaiting us with his tiny portable radio said “somebody shot the president!”We were all thinking “sure, get out of here” because we had just seen his brother, Robert. Finally realizing this was true, we continued on our tour, with the next stop being the FBI building.We had to wait quite awhile for our tour guide there, but eventually he appeared and told us “President Kennedy has been shot in Dallas, and had died.” What a shock!Young and crazy as we were, we continued on our tour. Our next stop was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We had no idea that in a few days this would be the burial place for the president and an eternal flame would be here forever.At the end of the day, back to the hotel. Still looking to make the most out of our trip and being young and crazy, we ventured out on the town. Everything was closed, the city was in mourning. We ended up at a speakeasy on 13th Street still going strong.The next day it was back to Clarion, the tour was over. What an amazing remembrance and coincidence.
Russ Luellen,Butler
Walter Cronkite removed his glasses It started out as a regular Friday at Emily Brittain School. Pledge to the flag, moment of silent meditation and announcements. Then school started as we knew it then.Around 12:30 to 1 p.m., having lunch and getting ready for gym class. Mrs. Williams, principal of the school announced that President John Kennedy had been shot in Dallas, Texas. That’s all we knew.Classes changed and in Miss Duffs class, Mrs. Williams had the class come to the lunch room. A small television was turned on, and Walter Cronkite removed his glasses after announcing that President John Kennedy had died. We were in shock and a lot of us cried.Classes were canceled, and we got out of school early.I ran home and turned the TV on after I told my mother what had happened. She had already known,She was watching “As the World Turns,” when CBS news broke in. That weekend, my family was watching CBS and NBC on the assassination. I cried when the body of President Kennedy and Jackie came back to Washington, D.C. Monday we had no school in honor of President Kennedy’s funeral.Also, I couldn’t believe the events of Sunday the 24th when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby. That weekend of November 22 to 25, made me realize that anything can happen to you, and life is too precious to take for granted.When President Kennedy died, in my opinion, we lost our innocence and faced the bold cold reality of the events. President Kennedy had a vision for the future, and took strides to accomplish them. One for example was the space program. His vision wanted you to get involved in the country.I was 12 years old, and President Kennedy was the only candidate who came to Butler when running for president. He is the only one I saw on TV that I could identify with.Today, President Kennedy is still admired and remembered. My son and I have visited his grave at Arlington twice and Jackie’s.
Beverly Cannon,Butler
Tears were always comingOn Nov. 22, 1963, I was in my 6th grade class at St. Peters School when the sister came in and informed us the president had been shot. Classes were canceled and we were sent home.The sadness that followed was never matched in anything since.All Americans the next few days were glued to the television. Tears were always coming from someone as we watched the news clips and the funeral.I cannot remember when a man had touched a nation as John F. Kennedy did. It must have been a different time in life when compassion ruled.Live life one day at a time.
Gary Slater,Butler Township
For almost 4 hours we stood in lineHere are my memories of that tragic moment in our country’s history.As I was driving home from Kroger’s the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963, I heard on the car radio that President Kennedy had been killed. I was in shock.When World War II ended in 1945, I was going on six years of age. Since then, I had grown up in a victorious and stable United States. How could this have happened?I ran up the steps to our second floor apartment in Penn Hills to turn on the TV, repeating to myself: no! no! no!I’d been a bit skeptical about Kennedy when I saw the formal top hats he had the men wear for his inauguration. A bit hoity-toity for our American democracy, I had thought. But now I realized how much I did like our young president.On Sunday the 24th, my husband Dick and I took our 2-year-old son Richie up to my mother-in-law’s home in Somerset. We drove on from there to Washington, D.C. We wanted to be there.I have no recollection where we parked the car. We walked blocks past shop windows displaying portraits of the president, their frames draped in black bunting. We stood with crowds of people suddenly hushed, except for muffled sobs, as a horse-drawn caisson carried the coffin by, followed by the riderless horse. Some young men had climbed up lamp posts for a better view.The Kennedy family drove behind in two long black limousines. I recognized Eunice Kennedy Shriver looking out at the crowds intently. Suddenly a man with a transistor radio shouted that Oswald had been shot. There were no cell phones in those days. News and rumors spread from person to person.For almost four hours we stood in line with thousands of fellow Americans trying to reach the Capitol, brilliantly illuminated against the evening sky, to pass the coffin lying in state. But as we got nearer, our line was divided and we were shunted far to the right.Exhausted and chilled to the bone, we reluctantly decided to return to the car and drive home.We never regretted taking that opportunity to pay our respects. It was a privilege to be there, experiencing events first-hand and also, I now understand, to be a part of our country’s history.
Eleanor Gard,Cabot
They put their heads in their hands I remember that day well. At the time, I was employed at Gaylords in the Greater Butler Shopping Center.Nov. 22 was just a normal busy day when the music suddenly stopped. Within seconds a male voice announced that President Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas.I can still hear some of the people as they put their heads in their hands and started to sob as they knew a great and loved president was taken away from us.
D.L. Straley,Butler
FLASH President Kennedy was shotI was stationed aboard the Navy destroyer William C. Lawe (DD763) as a radioman and was on duty the early hours of Nov. 22, 1963, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.Our primary form of printed instant communication was our teletype machine in the radio shack where I was. I heard it printing and took notice of the FLASH FLASH FLASH. PRESIDENT JOHN KENNEDY WAS SHOT AS HE RODE IN MOTORCADE IN DALLAS TEXAS AND HAS BEEN RUSHED TO A LOCAL HOSPITAL, ETC ETC ETC.I tore off the paper from the machine and rushed it to my sleeping supervisor who in turn notified the ship’s commander and the rest is history.Later, when I had time to myself that week, I recalled before I joined the Navy, I had witnessed Sen. John F, Kennedy standing on the Butler Courthouse steps giving a campaign speech for president of the United States. We then moved down to the Willard Hotel where he visited inside and when he came out to leave, I prodded my brother Jack to go up and shake his hand, which he did before JFK boarded his convertible and headed out of Butler.Memories are part of one’s life and being part of the life and death of such a great man will forever last in my heart and mind.
Leo P. Cyphert,Butler
She blurted out the horrific newsIt has often been said that you will always remember where you were when you heard that JFK had been killed. Oh, how true that is!I was in 11th grade history class at Northwood High School in Montgomery County, Md., when a student returned from the school office in a complete state of hysteria. When our teacher inquired, she blurted out the horrific news.Since it was late in the day, school finished as normal but the emotions shared by all were tearful and sad.As a native Washingtonian, I had been privileged to see the president campaigning at a mall and watched as he escorted astronauts in parades in Washington. My parents were both Democrats who had voted for Kennedy and loved the new Frontier he promised.It was a grim Friday evening as we gathered around the television to watch the news brought to us by Walter Cronkite and others.It was non-stop coverage, continuing into Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Sunday evening, my parents, sister and I dressed up to drive to the Capitol to pay our respects as our President lay in state. It felt very important that we do this.As we approached, I remember the huge Capitol building being flooded in lights. We made several attempts to find parking to no avail. We would not be able to get in to the Capitol.Monday was somber as we watched every minute of the coverage. I still remember the profound sense of sadness that prevailed not only in our family, but with everyone I saw.I will have these memories of our beloved President forever.
Karen Faust,Penn Township
