It’s been 45 years since Kennedy’s assassination
November 22nd, 2008 at 08:00am Anna Derocher
On Nov. 22, 1963, 45 years ago today, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I wasn’t alive then. But my mother was 6 years old when the media reported three bullets had hit our president and killed him. She remembers her parents glued in front of the TV that evening. Her mother saved all the front pages of the newspapers from that week, and now I have them.
We marked the anniversary of Kennedy’s death with an online package that included a historic gallery of photos and front pages, archive stories and video of with area residents recalling where they were that day. You’ll also find a link to other historical packages we’ve put together.
By the way, the photo above was published in the Rockford Register-Republic on Oct. 26, 1960. Kennedy was in Rockford for a Democratic presidential rally at the Coronado Theatre. He’s heading west on East State Street. You can see the News Tower in the background.
Entry Filed under: Remember When, John F. Kennedy, Uncategorized
1 Comment Add your own
1. Helen | November 22nd, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I remember it well and I will never forget it. The election of 1960 was my first time voting. I stayed up all night to watch the election returns on TV and then went to work.
I remember exactly what I was doing when I heard of the shooting of the President. My mother phoned me at work to let me know and I remember telling her that everything would be ok. Then she called me back and told me that the president had died.
The funeral was on a workday and I worked at a bank at the time. We were all waiting for the Federal Reserve Bank to make the decision whether the banking industry would be closed for the day. The night before the funeral the decision was made to keep the banks open.
The day of the funeral the streets were empty, the bank employees were working but the customers stayed home. So, we watched the funeral on television. You could have heard a pin drop and there was not a dry eye in the group.
Thanksgiving that year was the saddest one of my entire life. Words cannot describe the heartache..
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