History and Memories

Forty-five years ago, President John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. I remember where I was that day when I heard what had happened. I was 8 years old and in the 3rd grade. When I returned from the restroom, Miss Macedo, my teacher, had the map down showing the class where Dallas was located. She was telling us that the President had been shot and was in the hospital. I knew that this was a sad solemn happening.

I went home for lunch, as usual, and my mother was upset. She seemed preoccupied and was glued to the TV. While I was home they said the President was dead. I was confused about what that all meant. No one in my family had died in my lifetime and I knew they went to heaven but it all seemed very confusing to me.

When I returned to school after lunch, Miss Macedo told us the President had died and that we were dismissed for the day. That day was a Friday so there was no mention of whether we would have school on Monday.

The TV news was on all the time. I learned that we had a new President - Lyndon Johnson. I remember watching the plane land with President Kennedy's body and hearing them talk about telling Caroline and John. I thought about how sad it would be for them to have their father die.

Saturday morning I was upset to find there were no cartoons. At this time there was only cartoons on TV on Saturday mornings and usually for an hour each weekday afternoon. I knew the President was important but as a child I thought cartoons were important too.

Sunday morning we were watching the news when Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby. That confused me even more. I couldn't understand why someone would want to shoot this man while it was on TV for the country to see. Monday was the funeral. The nation had a day of mourning so we had no school. I watched the riderless horse and the caisson carrying the flag draped coffin. I remember watching John salute his father's coffin. His father had taught him to salute the flag. I later learned that day was his third birthday and Caroline's birthday was around the same time. All of this left an impression on me and I will never forget the happenings of that day.

I believe we need to record our experiences with days like this for our children and future descendants. We need them to know that history is not just what is written in history books. History is about people and what happened to them. What happened the day President Kennedy was assassinated forever changed this nation. It was about people and affected people. We need to also record for our descendents the important things that happeded in our family. History and memories are what binds us together.

Veterans and the Military

I took a vacation day on Veterans' Day so I could go to the parade in Albany to see my grandaughter march with her Brownie troop. As I watched the parade and the groups of veterans and current military pass by, I thought first of my father and how proud he was on Veterans' Day. He fought in Korea and had some horrendous experiences. He often felt we didn't give our veterans enough help and respect.

I also thought about my husband's and my ancestors who served their country whether it was in the Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, Texas War from Mexico, WWII, etc. I thought how much their families sacrificed. John Wilson and Nathan Bryan (Bryant) fought in the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Franklin Bryant fought at the Battle of San Jacinto which ended Texas's War with Mexico. My husband and I both had several ancestors who fought in the Civil War, most for the Confederacy but some on the Union side.

One of David's ancestor cousins, Elijah Shettles, in his book "Recollections of a Long Life" wrote much about the life in Pontotoc County Mississippi during the War. Some family members were killed, all suffered. His grandfather, David Shettles (Shettlesworth) took care of a large number of women and children during the war. He was too old to go to war but he organized the women and children to make clothing and grow cotton. Elijah describes going with his brother past Confederate lines to get to New Orleans to sell cotton to the Union Army for gold because his grandfather knew that the Confederate money was going to be worthless.

We know life is difficult right now, with the recession, etc. but we have a lot to be grateful for. We need to be grateful for those of our ancestry who fought to create this nation so we could all have freedom. We were recently able to vote for who we wanted because of their sacrifices. We need to remember all these veterans have given us.