Sister Maureen Regina’s sixth grade class. Sister Elizabeth Ann came on the PA and announced that Kennedy had been shot. You could hear little girls screaming all over the school.
Sister Mary Reginald’s 8th grade class in Christ the King Elementary School, in Queens, NY. The Mother Superior, Sister Columbo, came on the PA and announced that shots had been fired at JFK’s motorcade in Dallas. We had animated discussions, then she came on again and announced that JFK was dead. Somber atmosphere. Shortly afterwards, she announced that school was canceled. I walked about two blocks home, and told my father who was home that day, and he shot bolt upright and turned on the TV.
I saw Oswald killed on live TV a couple of days later. I was stunned. I was young and impressionable. I adored JFK, war hero, first Catholic president, “progressive”. I remember I felt strongly about civil rights at the time (and still do). When I was growing up there were still segregated public accommodations in South, and school integration was just starting. Of course, the legitimate cause of civil rights has been distorted until it is no longer recognizable.