JFK 60 Years Later

Fayette County Remembers Fateful Day in History: Nov. 22, 1963 When JFK Was Shot and Killed

‘Nation Mourns JFK’s Death’ read the prominent black headline on the front page of the Tuesday, Nov. 26, 1963, issue of The Fayette County Record. Below photos of President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, the editor stated, “Shocked beyond expression, we are unable to say how the assassination of our president saddened us as well as all decent Americans.”

Several Fayette County people share their recollections of that significant date in history 60 years ago.

Sally Reynolds

“I was in my high school English class in Hawaii when a note was delivered to our teacher. He stopped the class and said, “The President is dead.” My first thought was, ‘The president of what?’For a second, I couldn’t consider it was the President of the United States. It was unbelievable something like that could happen in our country.

“Because we were in Hawaii at a time before satellites, the reel-to-reel films for our TV news were flown to the islands from the mainland each day. While the radio kept the news current, we had no TV. We didn’t see anything on television about the assassination until 24 hours later.”

Susan LaBrose

“1963 was the first year I attended boarding school at San Marcos Academy. A high school junior, I had celebrated my 16th birthday on, Nov. 21st.

“After lunch and before our afternoon classes, the following day, Nov. 22nd, some friends and I were sitting on our dorm’s entry stairway. We were listening to a radio program transmitted from the site of the presidential parade in Dallas. The speaker was describing the parade and the approaching motorcade when we suddenly heard screaming and felt a sense of panic.

“It was obvious from the chaotic sounds that something awful was happening. Soon, it was announced that President Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally, Jr. had been shot and had been taken to a local hospital. We never moved from the steps as we waited for confirmation of what had happened.

“Thirty minutes or so later, it was reported that President Kennedy had died from a gunshot wound to the head. Our shock and concern became tears and hugs. We did not believe this could happen. This was our President! He was being honored in Texas! Who would do this? How was this possible?

“Classes were canceled and I am sure there must have been programs given that afternoon to calm the students, but I do not remember. I do know this worldwide news event became a date in history that I will always remember.”

Carol Johnson

“I was sitting in my car at a traffic light at 8th and Colorado in downtown Austin, when I heard the news on the radio that President Kennedy had been shot. I wondered if I had heard correctly. I quickly parked my car and went into the coffee shop at my workplace.

“Some of my co-workers were sitting there staring at the TV. All had disbelief on their faces; some had tears in their eyes. We sat there stunned and silent. The remainder of that day is a blur.”

James Johnson

“I was stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin on Nov. 22, 1963. We were preparing to change from our civilian clothes to Class A uniforms to meet President Kennedy when his plane landed in Austin that afternoon.

“We had just entered the barracks when we were informed that the President had been shot. All orders were canceled and we returned to our normal duties.

Robert Svrcek

“I was nine years old and attending Sacred Heart School in La Grange when President Kennedy was assassinated. Father Harry Mazurkiewicz went from classroom to classroom letting the nuns who taught us know the tragic news. Then they told us kids.

“President Kennedy was the first Catholic president up until that time, which made him even more special to us.

“Back then, I rode the Sacred Heart school bus. When I got off that afternoon, Mom was hanging clothes on the clothesline in the backyard. She was crying. That’s how upset she was, although she didn’t say much. The image of seeing her in tears has always stuck with me.

“I remember seeing Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald on live TV. He just came out of the crowd and shot him. I’ll never forget seeing that either.”

Carol Svrcek

“Nov. 22, 1963, was such a sad day. I was in the sixth grade at La Grange ISD when our teacher, Carlyn December, made the announce-ment

to our class. Everything got so quiet and we were all shocked.

“I still believe President John F. Kennedy was an awesome president. His family seemed to have a black cloud over them with tragedies following John, Bobby and Ted, and later John Jr.”

Don Carpenter

“I had graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, earlier that year and was having lunch at a sandwich shop in Manhattan, New York City, with some AT&T coworkers on Nov. 22, 1963. One of my group, who was standing at our booth listening to local news on a hand-held radio, suddenly gasped, “They shot the President!” Everyone was silent for a moment and he said it again.

“He used ‘they’ I suppose, since it must have been inconceivable to him that a single person could have killed the President of the United States. We rushed back to our offices and watched the news on television.

“At such times, you hear people say the news weighed heavily on them. And that is literally how it felt, a heaviness that just hung on. Any death presses its permanence on those left behind, but this one seemed so sudden and shocking that it was accompanied by a haunting feeling that there was some other door through which we could pass and it would all be erased. Then that weight would be lifted, but it never was.

“For our generation, the assassination of President Kennedy was another Pearl Harbor.”

Wanda Brown

“On the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, our beautiful 8-pound 4-ounce baby boy, who had been born five days earlier, and I were released from the Houston hospital where he had been born. On the drive home, a news flash on the radio announced that President Kennedy had been shot and was being rushed to a hospital in Dallas, Texas.

“I don’t remember how long it was before the announcement came on that the President passed away. A happy day for Wally and me had turned very sad.

“A mother, wife, children and a nation had lost their beloved President!

“The next days were filled with chaos for the nation and our family. We followed the newscasts on television and watched the flag-draped, horse-drawn casket with Jackie Kennedy and her children Caroline and John Jr. walking behind. I’ll never forget it.”