The day that President Kennedy was assassinated is one that has never, ever, faded from mymemory.

It was lunch time and those of us who "walked to town" for lunch at Perry's Drugstore had gotten back just in time for our first class after lunch. (I remember we had tuna fish sandwiches and vanilla Pepsi, lol). We heard a little something about it when we were coming back into the old high school but no real facts, just that the President had been shot.

I was in Mrs. Clennie Sue Rector's ninth grade English-Lit class. The principal's office was right next to class and Mrs. Rector asked Rhonda Reynolds (Jones) to go next to door to see what she could find out. Her dad, R.D. Reynolds, was our principal. A few moments later, it was just after 1 o'clock when Rhonda returned. As she closed the door behind her, the glass in the top half quivered quickly back and forth as she leaned against it and with her hand to her mouth, she gasped, "OH ya'll!! He's dead." (Those were her EXACT words!) I think I was in shock as I was mesmerized by that glass in the door quivering. I could NOT for the life of me comprehend what it meant.

We had new transfers from the Catholic school and those in the class started to cry, crossed themselves and started to pray. Mrs. Rector, God bless her, wasn't quite sure what to do. She said something like, "This is a terrible tragedy, but I guess we must go on with class."

The rest of the day moved quickly as we were dismissed to the gym for more news.. and all sat there crying, some silently, some NOT. I thought this could not be true. The Smiths were a big Democratic family and I could not believe our President was not only dead, but shot to death by a 24-year-old man!

Since it was Friday, a lot of teenagers went to the local Teen Town... and I remember no one felt much like dancing or anything, but listening to the juke box... Jay and the Americans' song "Only in America" was played over and over.. (although this hit record, at that time, was more about ''..wake up a pauper and go to sleep a millionaire"—nothing about bad things that happened in America.)

I remember the day of his funeral, it was warm and as we watched TV some, Mother would tell us "go outside for a while" as she watched and cried. I put on black shorts and reversed my black and gold RHS Panther sweatshirt to solid black and went out and raked leaves. To this day, although I KNOW it DID happen, still seems like a dream to me, that something this terrible could happen to the United States and to our President...and that I was a WITNESS via TV and the news.