This Friday will mark 50 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. I have some lingering memories of November 22, 1963, mostly from my mother talking about that fateful day, and from the memories of being about five years old at the time.

Dallas, Texas, is over 600 miles from Mill Grove, Missouri, which is where I was living on that November day in 1963. Mill Grove was a very small town – a one general store type of town, with the post office at that time in the corner of the general store.

My mother was an avid “As the World Turns” viewer. She watched it until her death. She was watching the show that day when a bulletin came on TV with Walter Cronkite announcing that President Kennedy had been shot. I was playing in my room, and I could hear her crying and could tell she was really upset. She started making some phone calls to friends and family.

Back then we had “party lines” so it was common to have three or four people talking with each other over the phone – especially when there was some major news to talk about. Sometimes people just listened in on your phone calls to get the latest news and rumors.  Continue reading →