47 Years Ago Today....

[Steamtrains]

47 years ago, and at right about this time, John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, was assasinated, and America lost its innocence...

It was a grand time to be alive....Until that day.

R.I.P.

[ezdays]

It doesn't seem that long ago, but I do remember, as if it was yesterday, exactly what I was doing when I heard the news. A sad day for all Americans and another reason, in a long list of reasons since then, why every one of us don't have the ability to move about as freely as we did before that day.

[Brakie]

Yeah,I recall that day as well..

I was in High School when the principal announced President Kennedy had been assassinated...I recall the shock silence followed by a prayer for our country leaders and somebody started singing "God Bless America".

[Steamtrains]

I also was in school (10th Grade), in History class (ironies of Life), the Principal knocked at the door, came in, and whispered something to our teacher, then he left. The teacher turned to us and said..."The President has been shot. He's dead." I immediately thought he was referring to the Student Council president, who was a friend of mine. Then he said..."It happened in Dallas..." That's when I knew he was referring to JFK. The classroom was deathly silent. Our teacher sat down at his desk and put his head down. Shortly after classes were cancelled, and we all headed home. Aboard the school bus, no one said a word....

[P5se Camelback]

I, too, was in high school ... eleventh grade, I think. The same stuff ... a P.A. announcement, "May I have your attention please ..." Within a half-hour, classes were cancelled and we went home.

My brother and I were wondering what would happen next, but at the same time, we were excited! School normally let out at three. The banks close at three. But on this day, we were able to get to the bank before it closed and we each withdrew $50 from our savings accounts. We then had out Dad drive us to North Wayne, on the other side of the PRR four-track mine line heading west out of Philadelphia, to the home of this little old lady who was divesting herself of much of her belongings before moving to Arizona for her health. We handed her the $100 and she handed us the title to a pale green 1949 Ford Tudor Sedan. It had 36 thousand miles on it. She had only ever driven it to the Presbyterian Church on Sunday, the Acme Supermarket on Wednesdays, and the Lancaster County Farmers Market Satellite in our business district there in Wayne, PA, for fresh produce on Saturday. The speedometer needle had never seen the north side of thirty-five.

Looking back I suppose our actions and our excitement may have been somewhat disrespectful, I don't know. But for two young, car-crazy boys, access to money in the bank and the opportunity to acquire our first car almost overshadowed the seriousness of the day's happenings. To this day, I cannot think of one without thinking of the other.

[ezdays]

You know BIL, your story kind of got my memory juices flowing and I too now remember a connection. As I said, I do remember where I was when I hear this news. I was working for a large company in Phoenix and we were in the cafeteria eating lunch. There was a TV set there and the news didn't seem to phase several others around me, they just continued their conversation and kept eating, as if nothing significant had happened. I was somewhat taken back by their attitude, but that was all I remembered until your story. I now remember that I did get a call that we should not go to work, and since there was nothing else on TV but that (no cable TV, just a few network channels), I bought an HO kit to build, just to keep busy. That, I guess, was my first introduction to model railroading. I remember taking the structure with me when we moved, but I can't remember what ever happened to it past that since it was many years later before I actually started on a layout.

[scubadude]

Being only 50 yrs young, I was only a toddler in Nov 63...but having spent the majority of my life here in the Dallas metroplex, there are connections all around me. I went to High School with Abraham Zapruder's grandson and have met Mr. Zapruder several times. He was the guy who shot the famous footage of the event. My Father worked with Oswald's brother at the time. He said cops came and got him within a couple hours of the shooting. My Dad has always thought that was strange. I also have a colleague who was driving a truck down the street from where Oswald shot JD Tippet and witnessed the whole thing. I have seen him on several documentaries describing the event. He told me the hardest thing was to watch Oswald walk around his patrol car and deliberately stand over him and shoot him in the head after he had already shot him. He said all he could think about was to put his truck in reverse, duck behind the wheel and go backward as fast as he could. Lastly, my Uncle, who was a wild party-er in his youth knew Ruby from his bar the Carrousel Club and has a couple of pictures of them drinking and playing pool........small world, isn't it???

[Sumpter250]

Wilmington Delaware, Greyhound Bus terminal, en route from Norfolk, Va., to Manhattan, to be home for the weekend. The trip from that point on, was anything but quiet.