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Scanning Around with Gene: A Normal Day in Dallas Turns Tragic
It was 45 years ago November 22 that an assassin's bullet brought America to a standstill. For those who lived through that event, the images are both stark and unforgettable.
Written by Gene Gable on November 20, 2008
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I’m sure for those who weren’t born when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, hearing about that day seems no more vivid or emotional than hearing about the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, or about what it was like to live during the Great Depression. Yes, we comprehend the importance of past events and may, thanks to photographs, stories, or art, even make an emotional connection to them. But unless you were there, it’s hard to fully understand the drama of events such as the Kennedy assassination. That drama is usually captured in relatively small details: a mother’s silent tears while preparing dinner, an eerie quiet as you drove down Main Street, the clinking of rosary beads against a wooden pew.
November 22 marks the forty-fifth anniversary of that day, and this year, thanks in part to the Obama election, it seems particularly relevant. Lots of comparisons have been made between President-Elect Obama and Kennedy, not the least of which is a mostly unspoken concern for his safety. It seems that popular charismatic leaders bring out both the best and the worst in people. I certainly don’t envy the Secret Service right now, and I admire the incredible job they continue to do.
Many of the images in this week's blog post are from the book The Way We Were, 1963 the Year Kennedy was Shot by Robert McNeil; from various issues of Life, Look, and Saturday Evening Post magazines; and from the Library of Congress.
Below are a couple of pictures from the early days of the Kennedy administration, when enthusiasm for a young family in the White House was particularly high.
Click on any image for a larger version.
Like the Obamas, the Kennedys had two young children, and the perception at the time was that this was a happy, attractive couple with family values Americans could relate to. Kennedy didn’t win office with as much of a margin as Barack Obama, but in many ways the election was similar: old-school Republic vs. new-generation Democrat. Many pundits referred to those early years as “Camelot.”
By November 1963, a bit of the luster had worn off, but Kennedy made it through the Cuban Missile Crisis and was sympathetic to the growing civil rights movement. He was popular, as was his wife Jackie and daughter Caroline and son John-John.
On the morning of November 22, Kennedy and his wife, vice-president Lyndon Johnson and his wife, and Texas Governor John Connally began the day at a breakfast in Fort Worth, Texas. In these images, the Kennedys arrive in Dallas, where a motorcade was to take them through a pre-determined path through the city.
Waiting in the upstairs window of the Texas School Book Depository, a non-descript government building, was Lee Harvey Oswald, holding a gun he bought through mail order from this ad. Below that ad is Oswald as a soldier and as a two-year-old.
I don’t want to dwell on the shooting part, but as you can see from these photos, it was dramatic and swift. Kennedy was killed and Connally severely injured.
And this is when the story really begins for most Americans. Word quickly spread that the president had been shot. I was in second grade and the principal came to the door, whispered to Sister Mary Eugene, our teacher, and she stood silently at the door for a few minutes before coming back in, fighting tears. I think most people of my generation remember the assassination from school, since it happened fairly early in the day. Here is a picture of New Yorkers gathered around a radio store listening to news reports, a Harvard student crying on the steps of Memorial Church, and two women outside the Parkland Hospital, where Kennedy was taken.
This shooting was one of the first truly historical events to unfold live, on television. My most vivid memories are of adults gathered around the black-and-white TV. I wasn’t really engaged in what was happening, but I could see it was serious, and if you dared to interrupt the broadcasts you were met with a loud “SHHHHHUSHHH!” The nation watched as Vice President Johnson was sworn in as the new president and as Lee Harvey Oswald was himself shot and killed.
And ultimately, we all watched the somber funeral march past the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington Cemetery. There were many tragic photos of the young widow and her children.
America was in mourning and everyone seemed to be part of the sadness. Things weren’t as partisan back then and there was no Fox News to fan the flames of hate. Stores closed, churches overflowed, and the world was part of the sorrow.
One of the photos I find most sad is this one, taken the day after the assassination as White House staff moved out one president and moved the other in to the Oval Office. Kennedy sat in rocking chairs because of a bad back.
Eventually, Kennedy’s presidential desk was put on display in Boston, and is shown here.
Find more images and memories on page 2.
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45 Years Ago
Gosh Gene, You just could not complete the article with out that dig at Fox News. Guess seeing both sides of an issue is hate to you? Sounds like you are the one with the hate issue. What would you call MSNBC, CNN, ABC....... factual? Please! Otherwise, nice article.
D.Miller
I can't agree with D. Miller
I can't agree with D. Miller more. Gene, your obnoxious comment about Fox News was unnecessary. Through numerous polls of viewers of all persuasions, Fox News has been proven to be more politically balanced than any other news outlet. "Hate" is what is spewed from you and other left-wingers who can not ever seem to see the positive in ANYTHING. Your darling Obama won the election and rather than being appreciative and appropriate your side must rudely rub the victory in the opposing side's face or continue to attack Palin, Fox News, etc. You REALLY must learn about etiquette and civility! This will be my last reading of your articles.
Hate?
I really have enjoyed your articles, but the comment about how much less partisan things were back in a day and how Fox news fans the flames of hatred was inappropriate. I watch Fox news so that I can get another point of view. Not just the clone news. I was raised by parents who came here as refugees of an oppressive government where there was only one news channel and it was the state approved news. I say yeah for partisanship. If there is no one left to descent then we would be living in an dictatorship, no? How immature it is to accuse those who disagree with you of "hate." I am a former high school English teacher and whenever my students didn't like something, such as doing their homework, or being rebuked for farting in class, they would accuse me of being mean. Then their parents would call and tell me that I hated their kids. I guess "hate" is the adult version of "your mean." Others are allowed to have an opinion, others are allowed to disagree.
I am thankful that I still have the freedom to say this.
Violet
Check the Nielsen Ratings, Gene
What an absolutely ignorant comment to make, pal. And how dare you show such insensitivity as to politicize one of the saddest and most heartrending moments in American history? So you think Fox News fans the flames of hate? Then why does Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Greta Van Susteren and all those other “hate mongers” at Fox consistently get higher ratings than any other mainstream network? Could it be that viewers are sick and tired of the one-sided, pro-liberal bias they are bombarded with constantly? And speaking of hate, Mr Gable, tune in Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow over at the Obama network, MSNBC. You’ll get an earful.
It's different now.
Living close enough to Dallas that I watch Dallas-based news on TV, there's always a lot of talk about the Kennedy assassination this time of year. One thing I find truly intriguing about much of the images of "regular Americans" is their very emotional responses to the event. If this were to happen to a President today (no matter which side), I really doubt there would be so many tears or even ans much somber demeanor. Yes, we'd all be glued to our TV's like we were Sept. 11th, but I really don't see housewives quietly crying while preparing dinner or college students weeping on campus, etc.
It's like how the WWII vets came home to parades and flag-waving. Viet Nam vets came home to ridicule and flag-burning. Gulf War vets just came home.
Kennedy slain in Dallas
As a fledgling courthouse reporter for a metropolitan Ohio newspaper, I was sandwiched into a small courtroom with an overflow crowd attending a public hearing called by the three-member county commission. The topic involved the local monetary share of a major sanitary-sewer project. (At that time, the federal government underwrote a lot of sewer projects in what our Washington correspondent called "the politics of s***." As one of the speakers droned on, a court functionary gestured excitedly from an anteroom to the chairman of the county commissioners. Puzzled -- and perturbed by the interruption -- the chairman arose, excused himself and left the courtroom. In a minute or so, he re-emerged, ashen-faced, and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States has just been shot! This hearing is adjourned." There was scarcely a murmur from the crowd. People looked at one another, as if to wonder if the commissioner had taken leave of his senses. I don't remember the three-block sprint to my office, but I remembered a certain dentist in town, a World War II veteran who had served with President Kennedy on PT 109. That interview earned a shavetail reporter a by-line in one of the most important issues of his 47-year newspaper career.
Timing of article?
I have always loved your column in past. In fact, they are one of my favorite parts of this website. However, i think it is very poor judgement to publish this while our African-American President Elect is readying to take over. With the many comparisons between Kennedy and Obama, it fans the flames of discord.
While i may not agree with Fox Channel, this is a free society that tolerates other views. Your comment was completely inappropriate. I allow your opinion, however, i don't agree with it.
i don't want your column to be censored, but i'm aghast at how inappropriate the timing and content of this column was considering your past excellent columns with feel-good subjects.
Another button pushed, Gene...
...and all you have to do is glance at many comments so far to see what I mean.
I see comments that label your opinion "obnoxious", "ignorant", "poor judgment", etc. -- typically from voices defending Fox News who find your opinion "inappropriate" or poorly timed.
So let me get this straight: It is OK for Fox News (or NBC, ABC, CBS or whoever) to offer opinions and/or to politicize moral issues, but Gene Gable is a hateful person for availing himself of the same right?
There is plenty of intolerance to go around, on both Left and Right. Those of us who actually live our belief in the Constitution -of any political bent- never deny others the right to their opinions, nor the right to express them. We do, however, take umbrage at those who resort to personal attacks, and especially those who demonstrate their belief in Freedom of Speech extends only to those who agree with them - naysayers be damned.
As usual Gene, I commend your choice of imagery. You help remind us of the power of human events and human emotion in a way that evokes a deep response in many.
Bless you, and keep up the good work.
Freedom of speech is one thing....
Ajasys you are totally missing the point of the other people unhappy with Gene's remark. I completely agree with you about our 1st amendment rights, but this should not be a forum for ones political point of view. I turn on NBC or Fox to watch the news and see how they might spin it, but I certainly don't expect them to rip into a story of fonts and they way we used to use them.
Lighten Up!
All media is bias to some degree, the only difference is how honest they are about it. Fox News would be no more the source of ridicule than MSNBC or any of the "mainstream" media if they didn't make the hilarious claim of being "fair and balanced." This from the network that refused to let go of Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright long after it was established they were not only irrelevant, but not of interest to the American public. And, I believe, this network referred to the gesture of victory between Barack and Michelle Obama as "a terrorist fist bump!"
Anyone who has been reading Gene's columns for a while knows that he has stated many times that he approaches these topics from an admitted left-leaning, west-coast liberal perspective. That's why, I think, his column appears under the heading of "blog" and not news. And just because this Website is focused on a particular skill set doesn't mean the people who come here are immune from public opinion and even a particular bias. We might not be in the mess we are in as a country if more people spoke up, regardless of the forum. If all you want is Photoshop tips and tricks, then visit the Adobe Website and I'm sure it will be cleansed of any human qualities.
Lighten up?
Pretty easy. Start out by writing a tribute piece to JFK and keep out all the other stuff.
Ruby & Oswald
I was in college in Arlington between Ft Worth & Dallas at the time of Kennedy's assassination. Hard moment to forget.
Following events were carefully followed by everyone it seemed.
Interesting note regarding Ruby shooting Oswald as he was escorted out of the Dallas County Jail by Sheriff Duffy: The local news showed this over and over for about 3 days and then a portion of the clip of that shooting seems to have disappeared. It showed Oswald looking straight at Ruby and nodding his head before Ruby stepped out and shot him. Ask others from the area who watched the news at that time and I'm sure you'll get other confirmations of this. I have.
Why would that have ever disappeared? I know there are many, many conspiracy theories having to do with the President's assassination. But, I find it hard to believe that L. B. Johnson was not, somehow, involved. Just my opinion, but it's based on a lot of sentiment toward Johnson in Texas at that time. Let's just say, he was not a highly respected man.
Joe B
fair and balanced link
Interesting comments here. Here is one helpful study on media bias from a nonpartisan think tank, showing how some politicians were covered more favorably than others: http://www.cmpa.com/releases/07_12_21_Election_Study.pdf
Ago
thanks You just could not complete the sohbet article with out that dig at Fox News. Guess seeing both sides of an issue is hate Chat to you?
Large Pet
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Ann
http://largepet.info
Large Pet
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Ann
http://largepet.info