It was lunch break, shortly after 12:00 on November 22, 1963. I was standing to the right of these doors in my high school (Washington High~Portland, Oregon). The Principal came over the intercom and announced to the student body and teachers, that President Kennedy had been assassinated. It was a stunning moment. Perhaps innocence was kicked in the teeth that day for me and for many others I’m sure. I can think of few other tragedies that has had such an impact. So, when something revives a recollection of the Kennedy Assassination, for ever three things pop into my head: the President and wife sitting in the back of the limousine…the somber funeral procession…and where I was standing by the school doors in the hallway when the announcement came over the loudspeaker. 

hallway doors-WHS-Kennedy Assassination-memory-SwittersB

Last night, we had occasion to view the refurbishment of the old Washington High School. It will now be a commercial/events venue. The second I saw those doors in the hallway that odd moment in life popped into my mind. One of those “I remember where I was when I heard about…”