Where Were You When JFK Was Shot?

The Central High Class of 1966 was in its sophomore year 53 years ago when President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas. We probably all remember where we were on one of the most notable days of our lives.

And in the coming days, many of us will relive that time and those days when we see the new movie "Jackie" currently showing in theaters.

It was 12:30 Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963. The country's youngest president was dead within minutes.

Darrylin Nelson (now Hogie) was in Mr. Jones' french class when Principal Willard Ellis interrupted the first afternoon classes with the news.

"Everyone was in shock," she said. "I think that some of us went to a movie later that night and everything was so somber."

Gwen Ryman (Heyd) was in the same class. "I immediately turned to Cassandra Perpignan, a senior seated to my left," Heyd remembers. "Being two years older, I often asked her advice, but she just stared at me, stunned and silent, tears running down her cheeks. ... I knew my idyllic world had changed. Reality and life can be so cruel. But we can still be good. We can still have hope."

Rory King had left Central and was in his lonely first year at St. John's in Collegeville, Minnesota.

"Something in me died with the death of JFK. And nothing in the balance of the 60s — the Vietnam War, the drug culture, the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., the sexual revolution — did much to restore it," King said. "I became something of a cynic. It was only the rediscovery of my Catholic faith, many years later, after getting married and starting to have a family, that restored that hope."

Laurel Dano was in typing class, but she mostly remembers the subsequent days of JFK's funeral. "I have two strong memories: The first was the beautiful black riderless horse wearing it's saddle and two boots placed backwards in the stirrups. The horse followed the caisson carrying President Kennedy's coffin. The second is one I think is etched in everyone's memory. Young John Kennedy Jr. saluting his father's casket as it passed. That was heartbreaking."

Jo Wiederhoff (Davis) was in Mr. Aman's music room, sitting between Bernadette Shaw and Geneva Raymond. "The feeling was more than disbelief, it was a spin cycle of mental pictures of a young smiling man holding his little boy. A daughter on her pony. His wife always looked so regal. Class was unofficially over and so was an era the likes of which we never saw again. The rest of the day I don't remember."

Carole Tonigan was in the same music class. "The class was stunned and remained quiet, not really knowing what to think or feel. I don't recall whether we went home early, but I do remember my mother picking me up and she had been crying. I remember watching television constantly. The nation and world were shocked by the news. I remember feeling a sadness that I had never felt before and remember seeing the sadness in my parents."

Alice Laird (Rapport) was in typing class when the announcement came over the scratchy intercom. She mostly remembers the continuous television coverage. "(It) was a first for the networks, Laird says. "That coverage is considered a turning point, because prior to the assassination, TV was considered primarily an entertainment source and afterward it became a leading news source."

"I also remember seeing Lee Harvey Oswald shot," she said. "I think it still qualifies as the shooting witnessed live by the most people."

Do you remember where you were and how you reacted to the news? Tell us your story in the comments below.