I was in Mrs. Cochran’s third grade room at the old Royalton Rd School. I don’t recall what time it was. I think we were in reading class. Mrs. Gold, the school principal turned on the school PA system and announced that school was ending early because; “ President Kennedy has been assassinated.” Mrs. Cochran had to define assassination for some of us. As she did you could hear gasps from around the room and other classrooms. Some of the girls started crying. Our teacher herded us quietly to the door and led us to our respective busses. On the bus the conjecture of conspiracy had already begun. The “older” kids ( 7th & 8th graders) were speculating that the Russians were responsible. Other than that discussion, the bus ride home was silent except for the gentle sobbing of children who didn’t thoroughly understand the ramifications of what had just happened. They understood only that an American hero was gone.
When I arrived home, my mom was crying. Some of the neighborhood mom’s were at our house. They were all crying. Mrs. Trimber said she had the worst headache of her life. She left in silence, as did the other mom’s. The TV was on. Walter Cronkite and CBS News was already narrating the surreal events surrounding this national tragedy. And it was a national tragedy. Like nothing anyone had experienced ( at least in our lifetime )…
They were different times. It was before television was in control of information. ( It was on its way, but not there yet) It was before the Internet or even the dream of an Internet. We still had faith in government. Those who voted for Nixon instead of Kennedy buried the hatchet before inauguration day, and the nation was united in support of the seated President. The position was one that was awarded respect despite the color of your state. Kennedy was young, handsome, and athletic. His wife was poised, beautiful, admired, and loved by a nation that was not yet addicted to celebrities. The White House was affectionately dubbed: Camelot.
Then came Dallas...
Flags were at half-staff, schools closed, businesses shutdown, social activities cancelled. The nation was glued to the TV for days watching and listening to Walter Cronkite describe play by play every event of the day. We watched in real time the transportation of the fallen hero from Dallas to Washington. We saw Jackie follow the casket as it was removed from Air Force 1. We saw his blood still on her dress ( which she refused to change ) . We watched LBJ sworn in as our new President. We watched as Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused killer was himself gunned down outside a Dallas police station. We watched his killer; Jack Ruby arrested. We viewed the casket on display in the Rotunda. We listened to Samuel Barber's "Adagio For Strings" played mournfully as we watched the rider-less horse lead the procession to Arlington. We watched “John-John” salute his father as the casket passed.
The world changed during those days. The questions began to rise regarding the “real” circumstances behind Kennedy’s death. Conspiracy theories about this event led to conspiracy theories about everything else involving our government. The television coverage of the event taught news producers how to cover such a disaster. The ratings of those broadcasts taught broadcasters just how hungry the population was for “instant” news. The media had been born earlier, but it came to age in late November 1963.
Eventually, our schedules went back to normal. Schools re-opened, business began their day-to-day operations again, and people went back to their social calendars. But everything was different... November 22, 1963 was the last day of an age of innocence.
When I arrived home, my mom was crying. Some of the neighborhood mom’s were at our house. They were all crying. Mrs. Trimber said she had the worst headache of her life. She left in silence, as did the other mom’s. The TV was on. Walter Cronkite and CBS News was already narrating the surreal events surrounding this national tragedy. And it was a national tragedy. Like nothing anyone had experienced ( at least in our lifetime )…
They were different times. It was before television was in control of information. ( It was on its way, but not there yet) It was before the Internet or even the dream of an Internet. We still had faith in government. Those who voted for Nixon instead of Kennedy buried the hatchet before inauguration day, and the nation was united in support of the seated President. The position was one that was awarded respect despite the color of your state. Kennedy was young, handsome, and athletic. His wife was poised, beautiful, admired, and loved by a nation that was not yet addicted to celebrities. The White House was affectionately dubbed: Camelot.
Then came Dallas...
Flags were at half-staff, schools closed, businesses shutdown, social activities cancelled. The nation was glued to the TV for days watching and listening to Walter Cronkite describe play by play every event of the day. We watched in real time the transportation of the fallen hero from Dallas to Washington. We saw Jackie follow the casket as it was removed from Air Force 1. We saw his blood still on her dress ( which she refused to change ) . We watched LBJ sworn in as our new President. We watched as Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused killer was himself gunned down outside a Dallas police station. We watched his killer; Jack Ruby arrested. We viewed the casket on display in the Rotunda. We listened to Samuel Barber's "Adagio For Strings" played mournfully as we watched the rider-less horse lead the procession to Arlington. We watched “John-John” salute his father as the casket passed.
The world changed during those days. The questions began to rise regarding the “real” circumstances behind Kennedy’s death. Conspiracy theories about this event led to conspiracy theories about everything else involving our government. The television coverage of the event taught news producers how to cover such a disaster. The ratings of those broadcasts taught broadcasters just how hungry the population was for “instant” news. The media had been born earlier, but it came to age in late November 1963.
Eventually, our schedules went back to normal. Schools re-opened, business began their day-to-day operations again, and people went back to their social calendars. But everything was different... November 22, 1963 was the last day of an age of innocence.
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