From the Fall of 1963 to the Fall of 1964 was a hell of a year. In the Autumn of 1960 a young senator from Massachusetts was running for the Presidency of the United States. He was young, good looking, Irish and Catholic. The students and faculty, the Sisters of St Joseph, of St. Ann’s elementary school were beside themselves with a frenetic enthusiasm never before experienced by a parochial school. Local Democratic party representatives would visit the school and hand out buttons, stickers, bumper stickers, hats everything and anything you could put the name “Kennedy” on. The students, unduly influenced by their parents and the Sisters of St. Joseph, were wildly supportive of the young man from Massachusetts. The fact that we couldn’t vote made no difference at all. In the Fall of 1963 that excitement turned into shock, disbelief, sadness and a deep sense of loss when we had heard that the young man from Massachusetts was murdered in his car on the streets of Dallas Texas. A pall settled over the nation that hadn’t been experienced since the murder of Abraham Lincoln. Ten weeks later we again sat in disbelief as we watch four young guys from England on the Ed Sullivan show who sang Rock n Roll and wore their hair longer than what was considered “normal.” Four months after that this picture was taken. The 8th grade graduating class of 1964 from St. Ann’s elementary school. We spent the following summer on the beach, on the boardwalk, “under” the boardwalk, and in the Starlight Ballroom. All the while contemplating out entrance into High School in the coming Fall. Yeah…..the Autumn of 63 to the Autumn of 64 was one hell of a year.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 16:42:48 +0000