Teaching about the 1960s in class and I emailed my grandparents to ask about their memories of certain events. Here's what I got from Grandma:
What was your first impression of Elvis and Rock and Roll?
I loved the music. It was very romantic in a different (from the 40s) sort of way. Elvis was not controversial in my family although I expect my Mother was more accepting than some. He became popular late in my teen years. When the Beatles became popular we were living in Puerto Rico. I remember another woman and I driving to San Germain to see their first movie. Can't remember the title.
What was your first impression of JFK?
Being an Irish Catholic, I was very impressed with him:) It was an immensely proud time for my family to have an Irish candidate. We were in PR the day he was shot. I was standing on a corner waiting for the car which was bringing your father home from preschool when a friend told me the President had been shot. The Puerto Ricans were stunned. They loved him. We went to an evening Mass in his honor at the local church and when we walked in (we were the only mainland citizens in town) the people made us sit in the front instead of the back of the church (we had 2 children under the age of 5 so we always tried sit in the back of the church and not to be too disruptive). The day he was buried Grandpa went to his lab to listen to the ceremonies over the "wireless". He can tell you more about that experience.
That was the first election that I was eligible to vote. Grandpa and I argued all the way to the polls. He was trying to convince me that my vote was diluted because he was voting for Nixon. As you know he has since changed his philosophy and I still have strong opinions:)
That was the first election that I was eligible to vote. Grandpa and I argued all the way to the polls. He was trying to convince me that my vote was diluted because he was voting for Nixon. As you know he has since changed his philosophy and I still have strong opinions:)
The thing that was so riveting about JFK (and horrible about his death) was the energy that pervaded the country with a young candidate, young family and the promise of new ideas etc. Plus, they were so intelligent and could represent the US with any leader in the world. We had had good Presidents but they were older and the young people of this country really "took to" a younger man.
During the Cubin crisis his presidency was sorely tested because Russia thought he was weak but he proved to be determined.
What was your experience with the Cuban Missile Crisis? (Weren't you in Puerto Rico then?)
We were in PR. The atmosphere was tense. There was a big SAC (Strategic Air Command) base in Arecibo and of course they were on high alert (maybe more). Grandpa will have more details since he was in contact with the Federal office in San Juan. I remember trying to ease my Mother's fears for us by saying that we were safer in PR than she was in NJ, probably not true.
What was it like moving to Raleigh in the middle of the Civil Rights era?
At the time we moved here (1965) NCSU had a wonderful Chancellor (Dr. John Caldwell) who worked with student organizations to keep the atmosphere calm in Raleigh since students were generally the source of the protests. As a result they did protest but not riot. I took David and Mike to Sears to buy school clothes and they got thirsty. The closest water fountain had a sign "Coloreds only". I purposely took them over there to get a drink. Having grown up in the North I was not accustomed to that type of open discrimination although the North was prejudiced in many ways as well. At that time we had two school systems, the county system and the city system. The county schools were more integrated because of the rural nature of the student body. The city schools had black and white schools. As the city got predominantly minority students they came up with a plan to combine the two systems and thereby dilute the minority and poor population and creating high poverty schools which research shows are detrimental to student achievement. It has worked well because they instituted a system of magnet schools which draw white students from the suberbs into inner city schools. Unfortunately the last School Board overturned that plan and we are now struggling with a "choice" plan. We are going back to the 60s.
One of my best feelings about the era was the interest in social justice on the part of many people. Letters to the editor, protest at civic meetings and the role of the Catholic church (Nuns and Priests protesting, sermons with a social justice theme, books and magazine articles.) I wish the churches cared as much about the poor and disadvantaged these days. Fr. Daniel Berrigan's (Priest-author) assistant stayed with us one weekend when we lived in PR and he was there for some reason. We felt a part of the "movement".
Did the Freedom Riders attract a ton of attention in Raleigh or were they ignored?
During the Cubin crisis his presidency was sorely tested because Russia thought he was weak but he proved to be determined.
What was your experience with the Cuban Missile Crisis? (Weren't you in Puerto Rico then?)
We were in PR. The atmosphere was tense. There was a big SAC (Strategic Air Command) base in Arecibo and of course they were on high alert (maybe more). Grandpa will have more details since he was in contact with the Federal office in San Juan. I remember trying to ease my Mother's fears for us by saying that we were safer in PR than she was in NJ, probably not true.
What was it like moving to Raleigh in the middle of the Civil Rights era?
At the time we moved here (1965) NCSU had a wonderful Chancellor (Dr. John Caldwell) who worked with student organizations to keep the atmosphere calm in Raleigh since students were generally the source of the protests. As a result they did protest but not riot. I took David and Mike to Sears to buy school clothes and they got thirsty. The closest water fountain had a sign "Coloreds only". I purposely took them over there to get a drink. Having grown up in the North I was not accustomed to that type of open discrimination although the North was prejudiced in many ways as well. At that time we had two school systems, the county system and the city system. The county schools were more integrated because of the rural nature of the student body. The city schools had black and white schools. As the city got predominantly minority students they came up with a plan to combine the two systems and thereby dilute the minority and poor population and creating high poverty schools which research shows are detrimental to student achievement. It has worked well because they instituted a system of magnet schools which draw white students from the suberbs into inner city schools. Unfortunately the last School Board overturned that plan and we are now struggling with a "choice" plan. We are going back to the 60s.
One of my best feelings about the era was the interest in social justice on the part of many people. Letters to the editor, protest at civic meetings and the role of the Catholic church (Nuns and Priests protesting, sermons with a social justice theme, books and magazine articles.) I wish the churches cared as much about the poor and disadvantaged these days. Fr. Daniel Berrigan's (Priest-author) assistant stayed with us one weekend when we lived in PR and he was there for some reason. We felt a part of the "movement".
Did the Freedom Riders attract a ton of attention in Raleigh or were they ignored?
My memory of the freedom riders is that they did not attract as much attention locally as they did nationally. It could be that the press had a "southern" approach to the issue. I'm not sure about that. An excellent documentary about the period is "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement 1954-1985." Another one is "February One" which discusses the Greensboro sit in. It is about the college students who sat in at the Woolworth counter in Greensboro, NC and might be very relevant to your high school students. We saw these last year.
What was your impression of MLK and the Washington March?
What was your impression of MLK and the Washington March?
I have very little remembrance of the event. it is interesting to note that at that time we were both so busy teaching and raising a family (along with a LOT of school volunteer work) that national action was not on our radar. i try to remember this when I get frustrated that more parents don't speak up at School Board meetings. In general it was a time rich in social protest and we were proud of efforts locally to encourage integration. When I was denied a job teaching at a local church kindergarten because I was a Catholic, I joined a new group called "The Panel of American Women". We gave presentations to a variety of groups (churches, civic organizations etc.) about our experiences with discrimination. As can imagine it was a very interesting group of women.
What was your experience with the Vietnam War? Did it really affect you that much?
What was your experience with the Vietnam War? Did it really affect you that much?
My main connection was in having my brother Bob serving in the Navy on a patrol boat on the rivers. The protests were strong here based I expect on the draft which took a lot of college students.
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