On this date, in 1968, President Lyndon Johnson addressed the nation on television. He had requested the airtime beginning at 9 pm ET for an address on Vietnam peace efforts. Those days, all . . . that is, all three . . . TV networks would show such an address.

I remember sitting in the living room of our apartment in Brookline watching the President’s talk, anticipating not much more than routine announcements. He said he was making additional efforts to bring North Vietnam to the negotiating table. Unilaterally and at once, he said, the US would reduce combat actions against North Vietnam. There would be no air or sea-based attacks on the North, except for the area just north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where, LBJ said, there was an ongoing and continuing North Vietnamese buildup that posed a threat to US and South Vietnamese forces on the other side of the DMZ.

Blah, blah, blah. Then there was a change in tone. The “speech,” at least the text of which had been made public beforehand, was over. The next few minutes were riveting and stunning. In an effort to restore national unity, rent asunder by conflict about the Vietnam War, and more, he said, “. . . I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office, the Presidency of your country.”

Pause.

“Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”

Whaaa! Holy crap! I called out to my roommates to come see what had happened. I was not a fan of Johnson. At the time, I was more attuned to the opposition to the war represented, at least in presidential terms, by Sen. Eugene McCarthy and Sen. Robert Kennedy. But Johnson’s announcement was seismic.

Classmate Kevin O’Malley recalls this night 50 years ago: “I was doing my last event of a four-year gig as the announcer/emcee for the BC Marching/Concert Band in an auditorium in Quincy. They had a meet-and-greet for us afterward in the adjacent lounge, and we all saw the speech live on TV (including probably 25 senior boys who had been 1-A since November). We were stunned, then thoughtful, and then ultimately jubilant on the ride all the way home. We thought maybe the war would be over soon. Little did we know what the balance of 1968 would bring to this still-young republic.”

You can see the last, most relevant, minute of the speech below.

What do you remember? Were you happy? Worried?

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, as you know. There was just about no mention of it in The Heights during our time at BC. Maybe that was because it was also Rector’s Day and it was a day off from school. (The Rector was the priest who oversaw the Jesuit Community. At BC at the time, the Rector and President were the same priest — Michael Walsh, SJ.)

Lining them up at the “Tam.” Classmate Carmine Sarno at right. Sub Turri photo

There were, however, probably quite a few lifted in honor of the Rector . . . and St. Patrick . . . on those days at the Tam O’Shanter Lounge, Beacon Street, Brookline. That was back before craft beer. Indeed, it was before “light” beer, which wasn’t even invented until 1967, let alone popularized.

What was your beer of choice? Carling, Miller, Schlitz, Rheingold, Narragansett? Did you go for foreign, such as Löwenbräu? Looks like it’s Bud in the photo.

School of Ed skit 1968

Spring semesters were in full swing in March, and winter sports were wrapping up their seasons, often in post-season tournaments. Here’s some of what happened on campus . . . and in the outside world . . . in March each of the years we were at BC. (My apologies for this post not appearing earlier. My daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters arrived late February from New Hampshire for a visit and my schedule was pleasantly discombobulated. They are here an extra two days because the current New England storm resulted in cancellation of their original flight. :) )

On campus

1965

A member of the Kaydette court and a ROTC cadet exchange admiring glances at the 1965 Military Ball.

The March 12 edition of The Heights had a page one article reporting that the Campus Council had approved a “University Activities Fee” of $5 . . . per year. Our classmates on the basketball and hockey teams finished their seasons. Heights reported the frosh hoop team went 20-0, while the freshman hockey team finished with a 14-4 slate. The March 19 edition led with the news that two contingents of BC students had arrived in Alabama to participate in activities sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLS), headed by Dr. Martin Luther King.

1966
In the March 4 edition, The Heights celebrated the national collegiate record for consecutive hours broadcasting on radio set by “Jerry Reynolds,” otherwise known to the registrar as classmate Bill McTague, CBA, the Sunday before on WVBC. “Reynolds” spent three days on the air. The chair of the Committee on Day Student Affairs sent a letter to The Heights complaining about that classes were held the previous Friday during a snow storm that produced “treacherous driving conditions.” “No Go in Snow” said BC had shown “a disregard for the interests of the two-thirds of BC students who commuted.

BC students and others honored basketball great John Austin at his last home game on February 25. Classmate Reid Oslin wrote an appreciation of Austin in The Heights that day. Austin’s final home game was somewhat typical. The Eagles trounced Seton Hall 122-77. John left the game with 10+ minutes left, an ankle injury, and 31 points. Senior captain Ed Hockenbury was also honored. Classmate Ed Hattauer was instrumental in making the arrangements for the ceremonies. Concerns about the food in McElroy? Nah. The March 25 edition of The Heights carried a report that allayed all concerns. According to the head of the Newton Board of Health, McElroy operated “one of the finest kitchens in Newton.” So there. The headline says much: “Local Paper Cites Wild Off-Campus BC Parties.” Where?!

1967
A page 6 article in the March 3 Heights analyses the current situation about “Girls in A&S.” President Walsh had said it would take four years to make it happen. He was just about correct. Same issue carried a feature on the fraternities in CBA. Classmate Phil DiBelardino did a review of the School of Ed skits.

1968
Lead article in the March 5 edition of The Heights reported that BC, “in an effort to cut across racial lines in it selection of students,” had set aside $100,000 as a recruitment and scholarship fund “primarily for Negroes (sic) of the Greater Boston area.” A brief item in the March 12 edition says BC fans will have something new to cheer about at football games — “lithe, lovely majorettes.”

Once again, classmate Phil DiBelardino reports on the School of Ed skits and a sweep honors by the Senior class. That’s us! In signs that “the end is near,” an article in the March 19 edition lays out the plan for “Senior Week activities for the class of 1968.” The same issue provided a feature on “A man of quiet protest” — Francis Sweeney, SJ. Another person “of protest,” but perhaps not so quiet, is referenced in an article about Theology Professor Mary Daly’s book The Church and The Second Sex. Women athletes make the sports page of The Heights with an article on the “Eaglettes'” win in basketball over Jackson College, 45-16. The team was captained by classmate Judy Young. The March 26 Heights announced the upcoming “Day of Conscience” on campus to address issues of war and racism.

The outside world

1965
Operation Rolling Thunder, the daily bombing of North Vietnam by US and allied forces, began March 2. The movie The Sound of Music had its premiere on the same day. Sunday, March 7, saw the implementation of various changes in the Roman Catholic Mass brought about by the Vatican Council. On that same Sunday, members of the Alabama Highway Patrol violently broke up a demonstration by civil rights protestors in Selma, Ala. It was the American civil rights movement’s “Bloody Sunday.” The 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, with 1,400 men, came ashore in Da Nang on March 8, becoming the first American military combat troops in South Vietnam. The first “T.G.I. Friday” restaurant opened in New York City on March 15. On March 20, President Lyndon Johnson federalized the Alabama National Guard and authorized the use of US Army troops to protect civil rights marchers between Selma and Montgomery, Ala. Martin Luther King Jr. and 25,000+ civil rights marchers successfully ended their march to Montgomery, Ala., on March 25. The peaceful nature of the events ended tragically later that same day, when participant Viola Luzzo, a mother of five, was shot dead by a sniper.

1966
In an interview published on March 4, Beatle John Lennon was quoted as saying, “We’re more popular than Jesus now.” That statement later led to protests in the US and the burning of Beatles records. Stephen Martin, a baseball player at Tulane, became the first African-American to play a varsity sport in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) when he took the field on March 7. It was also Tulane’s last season as a member of the SEC. On March 19, the Texas Western University Miners, featuring a starting lineup of five African-Americans, defeated the all-white and #1-ranked Kentucky Wildcats, 72-65, to win the NCAA basketball championship. Protestors in dozens of American cities marched against the Vietnam War on March 26.

1967
The week ending March 4 was the bloodiest for US troops in Vietnam since the war began. A total of 232 men were killed and 1,381 wounded. CBS Reports broadcast on March 7 “The Homosexuals,” becoming the first national television show to report on issues related to gays and lesbians. That same day, Alice B. Toklas, partner of Gertrude Stein, died in Paris. The first demonstration of “slow motion instant replay,” showing ski racers, took place on ABC Wide World of Sports on March 18. Despite his request to stay, noting that “prison had become my home,” Charles Manson was released from prison in California. Florida became the first two-party state in the South after elections on March 28. Republicans, for the first time, gained more than 1/3 of legislative seats, preventing Democrats from vetoing actions of the Republican governor. Jimi Hendrix set fire to his guitar for the first time in a March 31 performance. He was taken to the hospital with burns on his hands. He got better at that facet of his performance.

1968
The final episode of Lost in Space aired on March 6. Rock music promotor Bill Graham opened Fillmore East on March 8. President Lyndon Johnson won, but failed to win a majority of the vote in the March 12 New Hampshire Democratic primary for president. US Sen. Eugene McCarthy, who opposed the Vietnam War, received 42 percent of the vote. The “child-proof” cap for medicine containers made its debut on March 14. Though not known publicly until more than a year later, the My Lai Massacre occurred on March 16. US troops killed 504 women, children, and elderly men. Also that day, US Senator Robert F. Kennedy entered the race for president. It was announced on March 22 that US Army General William Westmoreland, who had headed US operations in Vietnam since 1964, would be withdrawn from that post, effective July 2. About 150 students at Columbia University seized an administration building on March 27 and occupied it briefly, in protest of university links to the US military. In a nationwide address on March 31, President Lyndon Johnson announced he would not run for re-election.

Lower Campus, 1967 (Sub Turri photo)

Second semester. In the busiest stretches of basketball and hockey seasons. Beanpot. Winter Weekend. Still cold. Here’s a sampling of what was going on at BC and in the world in Februarys, 1965-68

1965

Ad, The Heights, February 12, 1965

Lots of attention to the Peace Corps. The Heights of February 12 ran a page one story on Peace Corps recruiters coming to campus and a two-page feature — “If You Would Like to Change the World” — on the Kennedy administration initiative. Broadcasting to hundreds over the campus phone lines, WVBC, subject of a page-long feature in the February 19 Heights, was “The Voice of Boston College.”

1966

The campus residential community was gripped by “the grippe” in mid-February. Campus officials were forceful in declaring that the vomiting and severe stomach cramps were not connected to food served on campus. (Why would anyone think food in McElroy might have been the cause?) We’ll expand on the topic later, but the February 18 Heights devoted its editorial pages to the living conditions BC resident women endured at the time. An editorial chastised the administration for providing only “lip-service and sympathy” rather than long-promised action. An article reported the history of women’s housing and another described “The Present Situation.”

Scene from sophomore (1968) skit, “Days of Wine and Robes”

The Heights of February 25 reported on a meeting of the “Food Committee” of the Council of Resident Men with “Mr. Coughlin,” director of food services. The Food Committee provided Mr. Coughlin (no first name mentioned in article) with a list of 14 recommendations and Mr. Coughlin did approve the request for different kinds of ice cream. There was a two-page spread in the same edition on “The Ed Skits,” the popular competition among classes in the School of Education. More on those also to come.

1967
Citing the “nature, aims, and tactics” of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the February 10 Heights reported, the Campus Council, governing body for BC students, rejected SDS’s application to be recognized officially as a BC student organization. Page 2 of the same edition featured a large ad for an organization most often pretty secretive. The National Security Agency was looking for “Mathematicians with Versatility & Imagination.” Starting salaries of $7,729-$12,873 were offered, with the promise that “increases follow swiftly.” There was also another feature article on Middle Earth, featuring a photo of classmate Bill Dalton. The February 24 edition carried the announcement that BC had accepted an invitation to the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

1968
Our final semester at BC started off with the announcement in the February 2 Heights of the resignation of President Michael P. Walsh, SJ, effective June 30. He had been president since 1958 and also said his successor would be a Jesuit. Two articles in the same edition reflected something of the political turbulence and uncertainty of the time — growing national student support for the presidential candidacy of Sen. Eugene McCarthy and a report that draft deferments to attend graduate school were in doubt.

Outside world

1965
Police in Selma, Ala., began the month by arresting over two days more than 1,200 civil rights protestors. An editorial in the February 9 edition of the Washington Post about a series of joint US-South Vietnam air attacks on North Vietnam, said, “. . . withdrawal from South Vietnam would not gain peace, but only lead to another war,” and added, “The United States Government has taken the only course available to it, if it does not wish to surrender.” The home of Malcolm X in Queens, New York, was firebombed on the night of February 13. He, his wife, and four children inside are unharmed. A Canadian flag featuring a red and white maple leaf design made its debut February 15. On February 21, Malcolm X was assassinated by rival Black Muslims as he prepared to give a speech to the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He was 39 years old.

1966
The board of governors of the National Hockey League voted February 9 to double the size of the NHL, to 12 teams. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann goes on sale February 10 and quickly rises to the top of the best-seller list. The first observance of “Festivus” takes place February 12. The Soviet Union launched two dogs aboard a satellite into orbit on February 22. They orbited the earth for 22 days and returned safely.

1967
The month began with an increase in the federal minimum wage from $1.25 to $1.40. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour made its debut February 5 on CBS. The Beatles released on February 13 a “double A-side” 45-rpm record containing Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. The Pontiac Firebird made its first appearance on February 25.

1968
Former Vice-President Richard Nixon announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President on February 1. Federal minimum wage went from $1.40 to $1.60. Planet of the Apes premiered February 8. The first active demonstration of a 9-1-1 emergency call was made February 16. That same day, the US Selective Service announced the removal of draft deferments for most graduate students seeking master’s degrees. On February 24, Fleetwood Mac released its eponymous debut album. The South Vietnam city of Hue was declared secure and rid of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops February 26, bringing defeat to their Tet Offensive. On February 27, CBS news announcer Walter Cronkite opined on a national broadcast that it was “now more certain than ever” that the war in Vietnam would end in stalemate and urged negotiation.

Januarys for us at BC began in the doldrums, as we returned to dorms and/or classes from the holiday break, and quickly became busy, as term papers and final exams loomed ahead.

Only six editions of The Heights were published in the four Januarys — two each in 1965 and 1966, one each in 1967 and 1968 — indicative of the attention directed elsewhere. Here’s some of what was going on at BC and in the outside world in Januarys 1965-68.

On campus

1965
That year’s editors expressed what some, many, all of us felt in their editorial “Angst and January” (January 8). After suggesting that the month be simply eliminated, the editors point to the dual burdens of term papers and finals, along with the external cold. (Though this year’s cold has been historic.) They conclude with the unsurprisingly androcentric view that the only positive aspect of it all is that “. . . beards can grow in freedom . . . .” The January 15 edition included a feature article about the freshmen basketball team, i.e., our classmates.

1966
Not much. Januarys were busy in the winter sports — basketball and hockey — but we’ll try to talk about those separately.

1967
Classmates Len Sienko and Bob Abruzzo were part of a trio of students who represented the “Ad Hoc Committee to Oppose the Tuition and Room Increase” in meeting with University officials. The article in the January 13 Heights said Fr. Dorr had agreed to an open forum to “explain” the increases. An ad in the same issue provided a coupon to BC students that would entitle them to half-price at the nearby Burger King on Brighton Avenue. That would certainly alleviate the burden of such “regular” prices as $.19 for a hamburger and $.29 for a giant shake.

1968
Joe Yukica was announced as the new coach of the BC football team. The January 12 Heights carried an interview with Coach Yukica by classmate Reid Oslin. In it, Yukica said something that seems today very anachronistic, but was relevant at the time. Just several days earlier, in late 1967 and early 1968, 16 major college football teams played in 8 bowl games. Comparing BC to those football powerhouses, Yukica said, “Boston College doesn’t belong in bowl games. We don’t give out those 50 scholarships each year, and we are not the type of school to let in every football player that wants to come here.” Saying his teams would be solid, aggressive, and tough, he added, “Let the wins and losses fall where they may.”

The outside world

1965
Alabama quarterback Joe Namath signed with the New York Jets for a then-unprecedented $400,000 contract on January 2. US President Lyndon Johnson announced his plans for a “Great Society” in his January 4 State of the Union address. He was inaugurated on January 20 for his first, (spoiler alert) and last, full term as President after succeeding the assassinated JFK in 1963. Sir Winston Churchill, prime minister of England during World War II, died January 24, two weeks after suffering a stroke, at the age of 90.

1966
A group known previously as “The Warlocks” appeared for the first time with its new name, the Grateful Dead, in San Francisco on January 6. Batman, starring Adam West, made its debut January 12 on ABC. Robert Weaver, on becoming the first secretary of Housing and Urban Development, became the first African-American in a US presidential cabinet. The number of US troops in South Vietnam topped 200,000 for the first time. On January 18, the New York Stock Exchange’s Dow Jones Industrial Average exceeded 1,000 for the first time. Bob Knievel of Montana appeared for the first time leading “Evel Knievel and the Motorcycle Daredevils” in Indio, Calif., on January 23.

1967
Ronald Reagan was sworn in as governor of California on January 2. The song Light My Fire by The Doors is released January 3. On the same day as the first “Human Be-In” was held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, Louis Leakey announced on January 14 the discovery of pre-human fossils in Kenya, evidence of the earliest known ancestors of Homo sapiens. In what was then only unofficially known as the Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs on January 15 to win the first AFL-NFL interleague championship. That same night, the Rolling Stones made their second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, but only after agreeing to change the lyrics of their song Let’s Spend the Night Together. Mick Jagger instead sang “Let’s spend some time together.” Albert DeSalvo, convicted as the “Boston Strangler,” accused of the murders of 13 single women in the Boston area, was sentenced January 18 to life in prison. A fire aboard Apollo 1 on its launchpad January 27 killed the three American astronauts inside — Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee.

1968
US Senator Eugene McCarthy (D-Minn.) announced January 3 he would challenge President Johnson for the Democratic Party nomination. Mattel’s “Hot Wheels” toy cars were introduced January 4. The price of mailing a letter in the US increased from 5 to 6 cents on January 7. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) announced January 12 plans for a universal emergency phone number in the US. For various reasons, the best choice seemed to be 9-1-1. Johnny Cash gave a concert January 13, which was recorded, at Folsom State Prison, California. In the first regular season college basketball game to be broadcast on national television, #2 Houston defeated #1 UCLA, 71-69, at the Houston Astrodome on January 20 in the “Game of the Century.” The battle of Khe Sanh began early the morning of January 21 in South Vietnam. Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In made its debut January 22 on NBC. On January 23, North Korean forces seized the USS Pueblo, claiming violation of its waters while spying, and imprisoned its crew of 82. A series of widespread attacks by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces on January 30 began what would be called the “Tet Offensive.”

Two-page spread in Sub Turri. Who was Santa? Anybody know? We know, of course, who the Grinch was. :)

During Christmas break, most of us were home . . . working on term papers and other projects due soon after we were to return in January and preparing for final exams that would occur about the same time. Actually, I was not engaged in such worthy and potentially beneficial activities. Instead, I was enjoying the holidays — Christmas parties, New Year’s Eve, seeing friends, spending time (very little) with family and extended family. I expect nearly all of our class did much the same.

The semester schedule then seemed almost diabolical. The fall semester went past the end of the calendar year and hung around until mid-January. That extended break from school was a font of temptation to procrastinate. Whilst we were frolicking about during the holidays, every once in a while the “nag,” that part of our brains that doesn’t frolic, would send piercing signals. “What about that exam? You didn’t do that great in the midterm, how are you gonna catch up?” “You should really be doing research for that term paper!” It was annoying, but, in my case, at least, grossly unsuccessful. I think I always returned to school after the break with everything still to do and much less time to do it.

Merry Christmas to all! Hope to see you at our reunion in June!

December 11, 1964 Heights

Decembers were a bit truncated . . . and cold. I think most everyone was thinking ahead to Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and a break. Thanksgiving holidays only a short time back whetted our appetites. Here’s some of what happened at BC and in the world in Decembers 1964-67.

On campus

1964
Apparently not much was going on. The Heights, in its two issues that month, pretty much focused on routine events and activities.

1965
The December 3 edition of The Heights contained announcements of significant academic changes. The Deans Council had decided to change the rules about class attendance. Department chairs also announced that there would be expanded programs and electives in Philosophy and Theology.

Heights features editor Michael Egger had a column about the “Boston College Girl,” in which he took BC to task for how it met its obligations to women students. Mansplaining? Or ally?

The December 17 edition reported on something that would take on more significance in coming months but certainly had its effect at the time. The headline tells the story (as it should): “Drury Commission to Study Christmas Dinner Sickness.” The article notes that resident students were already complaining about the quality of food in McElroy before the December 12 meal. “Hundreds of students complained of stomach cramps, gas pains and diarrhea as a result of the food served at the McElroy banquet,” said The Heights. (I always remember the culprit as “roast beef au jus.”)

1966
BC’s annual gift to students in December was the announcement of a tuition increase. For 1967-68, it was to go up $200 to $1,600. Room and board was to increase $100 to $1,050. The new charges were not out of line with other local schools. But still . . .

The December 14 edition had a small feature on the “coffeehouse,” Middle Earth.

1967
In the December 1 issue, it was reported that BC had added a new computer. The new IBM 360 doubled the number of computers to two. This model IBM offered 128K bytes of storage, and cost $13,000 a month to rent. Yowzah!

Same issue had another article on conditions in the women’s residences, based on a visit by Heights editors and interviews with several residents.

It’s basketball season and the biggest student organization at BC is . . . the Courtside Club, according to The Heights. Fifteen hundred hoop freaks! And why not? The preseason AP poll put the Eagles at #7.

The Heights Review in the December 1 issue included the short story, “Psalm,” by former Stylus editor and classmate Richard Sawaya that resulted in its censorship by the University and his resignation.

No more Jim Miller. The December 15 Heights reported that Miller, not offered an extension of his contract, chose to resign. In an editorial, “Was it only the coach?,” The Heights described Miller as a “gentleman” who had been made “a scapegoat for the many-sided failings of a costly and frustratingly unsuccessful program.”

A feature article celebrated the 20th anniversary of the School of Nursing.

The outside world

1964
Mario Savio stood in Sproul Plaza at the University of California, Berkeley, on December 2, and told the students before him that “you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop.” The Free Speech Movement began. The FBI arrested 19 men on suspicion of their involvement in the killings of three civil rights workers in Mississippi. The US Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a Florida law that prohibited cohabitation by black and white persons of different genders. Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize. Singer Sam Cooke was shot and killed in Los Angeles in what was ruled justifiable homicide. Canada raised its new flag, with a maple leaf design. The James Bond film, Goldfinger, had its US premiere.

1965
The Beatles released the album Rubber Soul. Pope Paul VI proclaimed the end of the Second Vatican Council. A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted on CBS. The Dating Game made its debut on ABC. Doctor Zhivago is released.

1966
Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabar) made his basketball debut with UCLA. Walt Disney died at the age of 65. The destroyer USS O’Brien became the first American ship to be hit by shells from North Vietnamese shore batteries, which killed two sailors and wounded four others.

1967
South African physician Christiaan Barnard and a team of surgeons carried out the first human heart transplant. Otis Redding was killed in the crash of a small plane in Wisconsin, at the age of 26. The Concorde, the world’s first supersonic commercial airliner, made its first appearance in Paris. Evel Knievel crashed his motorcycle after attempting to leap over the fountains at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas.

Norman Rockwell’s iconic vision of Thanksgiving. Was yours like this in the Sixties?

I don’t remember ever not looking forward to Thanksgiving. Especially while a student at BC.

If it wasn’t the first holiday of the fall semester, it was the first multi-day one, giving us a four-day break from classes. After nine weeks or so of school, didn’t we like that!

Resident students, at least most of them, went home for the holidays, and commuters slept in and kicked back. Freshman year, I invited my roommate, who was from San Francisco, to spend the holiday at my family’s home.

I remember using the break to catch up with old friends from high school, visit some of the high school hangouts. While we were now college students, we weren’t by much and the familiar faces and places were comforting to see.

There’s a lot of talk now about family dynamics at Thanksgiving. What’s the protocol for discussion (perhaps more often argument) about the issues of the day? Should everyone shut up? Avoid politics and cultural issues? Listen to the “old folks” talk about the “old days” or just stick in your earbuds and go on social media?

At least later in our time at BC, e.g., 1966, 1967, I remember things becoming somewhat tense at the Thanksgiving table. It was mostly about Vietnam and ancillary issues, like the draft, draft-dodgers, etc., but also politicians like George Wallace and LBJ. My dad and I sometimes got to the point where my mother and sister would get up and leave us.

Once again, what seems new and distinctive has forerunners.

We wish all our classmates and their families safe travel and a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Interior of the limousine in which JFK and Mrs. Kennedy had ridden.

For a long time, this was the date that stuck in our heads. We weren’t even born when Pearl Harbor was attacked and September 11 wouldn’t happen until the 21st Century. No, our date was November 22, 1963, the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

November 22 was a Friday that year. We were in high school and that’s where nearly all of us first heard the news. Most of us, I expect, then spent the weekend following the assassination with families, glued to the television set, watching the sad and momentous events taking place.

Odd, in a way, but I spent the weekend at Boston College. BC had earlier invited me and several other high school classmates to visit the campus, beginning the evening of November 22. As you might imagine, just about everything we were to do during that visit was canceled. Our arrival was scheduled for only a few hours following news of the assassination, however, and, communication being much slower and more limited those days, we showed up anyhow, not knowing.

We occasionally saw some of the TV coverage that weekend, but mostly moped about in a desultory way. (I did not see, for example, when Jack Ruby shot and killed the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.) We were supposed to attend the BC-BU football game scheduled for November 23 in Fenway Park. It was to have been the last game in the BC-BU series, but it never happened.

That weekend was the first time I was in Boston without my parents. I didn’t want to spend that Saturday night in the dorms. So a few of us took the T into town and went to Kenmore Square. We were underage and most everything was closed down anyway. We ended up in  the Kenmore Square Cinema, where we watched Lord of the Flies. That cheered us up. :)

While we were students at BC, there were memorial Masses for President Kennedy in our freshmen and sophomore years, on Monday, November 23, in 1964 and on Monday, Nov. 22, 1965. There was also an effort then, according to the Heights article “Kennedy Memorial Library Fund Drive in Last Phase,” to raise money for a library to commemorate JFK within the soon-to-be-built Institute for Human Relations building. Alas, the Human Relations building was not built and there is no JFK library on campus. (McGuinn Hall, which houses the Graduate School of Social Work, was under construction while we were at BC and opened in 1968.)

There is a memorial to a Kennedy on campus, but it is in honor of JFK’s older brother, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., who was killed in WWII. The auditorium in Campion Hall was named in Joseph Kennedy’s honor when the building opened in 1955. There is a plaque in Campion honoring the older Kennedy brother.

In April 1963, only seven months before his death, President Kennedy was the main speaker at BC’s Centennial Convocation. As a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, JFK had been the speaker at BC’s 1956 Commencement, where he also received an honorary degree. At the Centennial Convocation, the President opened his address with a quip that generated much laughter. “It is a great pleasure to come back to a city where my accent is considered normal,” he said, “and where they pronounce the words the way they are spelled.”

Here is a video (11:27) from that event:

You can see in the image above, to the right of JFK, BC President Michael Walsh, SJ, and, a little more to the right, recently elected Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy. You can also see the typed speech, with his handmade changes, on the JFK Presidential Library and Museum website. You can also see the printed brochure for the entire Centennial Convocation there, following the speech.

JFK’s appearance on campus was before we got there, but his death was still deeply remembered when we were at BC. It is a sad and somewhat amazing reflection of the times that the assassination of JFK was still a fresh scar when we entered BC and, two days following our graduation in 1968, JFK’s brother, Robert, was fatally shot in California.