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November 22, 1963: The Day the President Died

© Mary M. Alward

It was a morning like any other. I got up early, did my farm chores, got ready for school and waited for the school bus to arrive, which it did at the regular time of 8:10 am EST. Once at school the day went the same as all others - that is, until the bell rang at 1 pm, putting an end to the lunch hour.

When we filed into the room, things appeared normal and we got out our books to settle down to a history lesson. Little did we know that on that day at 12:30 pm, history had been made.

About 1:10, the phone in the principal's office rang. Since the principal was our grade 8 teacher, a student answered the phone during school hours. That day, I was the student closest to the office door when the phone rang. Mrs. Smith nodded her head to let me know I was to take the call. I went into the office and answered, "Onondaga Central School, student speaking."

The voice on the other end of the phone was one that I didn't recognize, but I could tell the person was very upset. She asked for Mrs. Smith and I went into the classroom and let the teacher know that the call was for her. She walked through the room and closed the office door behind her.

We could all feel the tension in the room and for some reason knew that the usual whispering and talking that went on when Mrs. Smith was out of the room was not appropriate on this day. The room was eerily silent. Then, Mrs. Smith reappeared, a handkerchief in her hand and her eyes red. She went to the front of the room and announced that John F. Kennedy, President of the United States had been shot. For the time being, there was no word on whether he was alive or dead.

By 2pm, we knew. President Kennedy had been assassinated. Though we were Canadians, we were all in shock. Some wept softly, but for the most part the room was silent - too silent. How could this have happened? Why would this have happened? To this day, we don't know exactly why President Kennedy was killed. We do know that Lee Harvey Oswald was the man who pulled the trigger. There is still much speculation as to whether or not he worked alone. I suspect not, but that is only my opinion.

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