The one thing that sticks in my memory is the day that President Kennedy was shot.  We were not at Alton High yet.  I was in art class at Central Jr. High.  And I remember the announcement and the teacher sitting down at her desk and crying.  Sad day.

         I was in Mrs. Harris's 7th grade math class. Lewis White sat in the back row and had gotten "busted" a couple of time for having his transistor radio in class. All of a sudden Lewis stood up and said that the president had just gotten shot. Mrs. Harris had him turn up the radio and we listened for a few minutes. About that time the principal came over the intercom and confirmed what we had just heard. I remember feeling overwhelming sadness that such an awful thing could happen.