November 22, 1963
- Old Brooksville
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
How Brooksville Lived
The Day JFK Was Assassinated
How Brooksville Lived. This Day In History. In this issue we feature how the city lived during that pivotal day in history ... November 22, 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Included are its pop culture, prices, graduates and students, politicians and news events. Where were you when it happened?
Thank you to the following who contributed to this issue:
John White
CBS News Archives
Lou Charity
Hernando Heritage Museum
Hernando High School
Hazel Land
Stories by Robert Martinez
The actual TV programming with Bulletin as Seen on WTVT (CBS) Channel 13 in Tampa
Friday, November 22 1963 at 1:00 pm Brooksville time (EST) - 12 Noon Dallas (CST)
Sound: Up with organ music
Announcer: And now ...for the next thirty minutes...As the World Turns, brought to you by Instant Niagara and New Niagara Spray Starch ...
Fine foods from Best Foods.
(We move into the program about five minutes later at 1:05 pm Tampa time)
Grandpa: Did you ask him why he invited her?
Nancy: He said something about not wanting her to have Thanksgiving dinner alone...and to make up.
Grandpa: That was very nice of the boy.
Nancy: And I thought about it...and I gave it a great deal of thought, Grandpa... THUMP...THUMP
Walter Cronkite: HERE IS A BULLETIN FROM CBS NEWS!!
Cronkite: In Dallas, Texas...Three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting...More details just arrived...President Kennedy shot today just as his motorcade left downtown Dallas...Mrs. Kennedy jumped up and grabbed Mr. Kennedy...she called Oh No!...The motorcade sped on. United Press International says that the wounds for President Kennedy perhaps could be fatal...Repeating President Kennedy has been shot by a would-be assassin in Dallas, Texas...Stay tuned to CBS News for further details.
"It takes more than an instant to make a real cup of coffee. That's why Nescafe has come up with a new...(THUMP)
Cronkite: More from CBS News...A priest was seen entering Parkland General Hospital...the early report from some leaving the hospital say that the president is dead...this is not official...(And so it went on until the official notice was announced by Waler Cronkite at approximately 1:30 pm Tampa time.
The word...apparently official...President Kennedy died at 1:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time...Some 28 minutes ago...(Pause - looks at clock - chokes up a bit) Ahem...Folks will remember...what they were doing...when they heard the news...
***
"An eerie silence in the air"
Where were you when you heard the news?
Max Register, Owner Register Chevrolet and RV Center
"We were at the old dealership on Broad Street. I was standing in the middle of the showroom when a bulletin came over the radio. Everyone was shocked."
William Eppley, Attorney
"I was a senior at Hernando High and was walking to Mrs. Pekovsky's class when someone ran up the hall yelling 'The President has been shot!!!' It was utter chaos, shock and disbelief after that."
Mark Browning, Browning Insurance
"I was attending elementary school and a class had just let out when someone yelled across the street to me 'Did you hear? ... They shot the President!' I ran home and stayed in front of the TV all weekend."
Bill Whitehead III, Attorney
"I was at Harvard Law School when two young ladies rushed by screaming 'Oh My God! The President has been shot.' I quickly went to the Commons Room where they had a TV and we all sat around stunned as the news unfolded."
Robert Martinez, Publisher, Old Brooksville In Photos and Stories
"I was a freshman at the old Central Florida Jr. College in Ocala and just walked out of a class when a young lady ran up to my roommate and I and yelled 'Did you hear? They shot the President. They say he might be dead!' We ran to the campus hangout. There must have been 100 people in front of an elevated TV. There was shock and an eerie silence in the air, everywhere."
Joe Mason, Attorney
"I was in a political science class at the University of Florida when a graduate assistant walked up and whispered into Professor Ernest Bartley's ear. He then walked to the window, stared out and slam kicked a metal filing cabinet as his eyes filled with tears of rage and he said 'The President has been assassinated'.
Allan Halliday, Owner of Bypass Garage
"I was at home sick with the chickenpox and just sitting there staring at the TV and heard the news. I was only five years old but remember people crying and yelling. A day you'll never forget."
***
The following morning, this was the headline Brooksville residents saw.
The 1963 Hernando High Graduates
Ann O'Hara
Alvin Edris
Roger Aiken
Wayne Martin
Kitty Brickey
Suzette Cofer
Sharon Pearson
Freddie Varn
Pam Kinnear
Murray Ramsey
Alvin Mazourek
Bob Martinez
John Hlavac
Ronnie Peterson
Charlotte Batten
Susan Johnson
Larry Daniel
Helen Fiala
Dianne Clark
Leonard Polansky
Judy Pelham
Vera Wooten
Jean Hedick
Danny Hardy
Beth Thomas
Billy Maxson
Patricia Maddox
Rochelle Inman
Walter Townsend
Alan Underwood
Renette Receiver
Dwight Allen
Mary Rich
David Ray
Jerry Kimball
Duane Schell
Pat Brayton
John Brayton
Billy Bates
Elaine Crum
Eddie Jones
Fred Blackburn
Linda Allen
Georges Lones
Steve Hill
Alex Roberts
Ronnie Daniel
Sue Mott
Sandra Mock
Barbara Moses
Tommy Eagan
Ann Royal
Connie Slifko
Stanley Chorvat
Bonnie Erickson
Sandra Mountain
Virginia Young
Jimmy Machmer
Joe Westover
Marty Rankin
Harry Fehrman
Edward Grant
Jean Warkentin
Ann Martin
Mary McAnnally
Wayne Dukes
Chuck Hice
Johnny Eanes
Joe Stone
Arthur Borde
Paul Pitman
David Cooper
1963 Moton High Graduates
Robert Brown
Robert Bryant
Tom Burse
Nathaniel Chester
Deamus DeRamus
Angelina Edwards
Thomas Floyd
Arthur Gates
Alberta Hall
Bettye Jean Harrington
Princess Hicks
Mable Holloway
Alice Mae Hudson
Daniel Johnson
Gloria Jean Johnson
Richardo Love
Cubie Dean Moore
Laverne Redding
Estelle Marie Thomas
Mae Delores Thompson
Willie Lee Waddy
Ned Warren
Josephine Woods
Jacqueline Wright
Front row: Frank Springstead, Terry Owens, Roger Hanlon, Charles Barnett, Louis Vyhnnek, Tim Brown, Robert Draper, Donny Brown, Buddy Hancock, Lynn Thompson, Max Barnes, Skipper Hancock, Alan Bell, Dean Sharp, Billy Sellers
Back Row: Bob Barnett, Richard Bishop, Hale McKethan, Gene McCall, Bill Eppley, Jesse Cano, Alvin Thompson, Tommy Gant, John Townsend, Ronnie List, Tom Darby, James Meade, Charles Nation, Frank Vohun, Jerry Jones, Robert Gregg
The 1963 Hernando High School football team played their game that night. Due to scheduling conflicts and prior commitments, it was decided it was too late to cancel the game. The Hernando Leopards beat Mulberry that night 21-19. Although the game was played, a moment of silence was held during the game for President Kennedy and the flag was lowered at half staff.
Front: Robert Draper, Bob Martinez, Barry Stewart, Donnie Brown, Lynn Thompson
Center: Bruce Snow, Freddy Varn, Alex Herrera, Mike McCormick, Charles Coles, Fred Blackburn
Back: L. Varn (Mgr), Jack Coppedge, Victor Lord, B. Wardlow, John Townsend, Tim Harrington, Duane Mountain, Coach Hubbard
Fred Blackburn would receive a scholarship to the University of Miami as a miler
L to R: Elaine Crum, Ann O'Hara, Carol Epply, Marty Rankin, Kitty Brickey, Donna Emerson, Judy Machmer, Dianne Clark, Margie Varn
1963 Maillis Grocery ad. Located on East Broad Street
***
Brooksville's Most Popular Top 10 Lists
Brooksville's Top 10 - November 22, 1963
Top 10 Songs
I'm Leaving It All Up to You - Dale & Grace
Deep Purple - Nino Temple & April Stevens
Louis Louie - The Kingsmen
Mean Woman Blues - Roy Orbison
Sugar Shack - Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs
It's All Right - The Impressions
Donna the Prima Donna - Dion
Be True to Your School - The Beach Boys
Bossa Nova Baby - Elvis Presley
Walking the Dog - Rufus Thomas
Movies
Hitchcock's The Birds
From Russia With Love
Pink Panther
McClintock
The Great Escape
The Nutty Professor
Hud
It's a Mad Mad World
Charade
Irma La Douce
TV Shows
Beverly Hillbillies
Bonanza
Dick Van Dyke
Petticoat Junction
The Andy Griffith Show
The Lucy Show
Candid Camera
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Danny Thomas Show
My Favorite Martian
***
Brickey's Gulf Station in 1963 showed gas at 29 cents a gallon.
Brickey's was located across the street from the old Hilltop Lounge on East Broad.
On November 22, 1963, this was the cover of the Tampa edition of TV Guide that Brooksville used
Mermaids pose at Weeki Wachee, a top Florida attraction in 1963
***
1963 Hernando County Public Officials
State of Florida - Legislature
John Law Ayers
State of Florida - Senate
James E. Connor
County Commissioners
Guy Harris
A. Leroy Snow
James Griffin
Tommy Dawson
L. T. Patrick
Clerk of Circuit Court
Leamon Q. Varn
Hernando County Judge
Monroe W. Treiman
Supervisor of Registration
Agnes Goethe
Tax Assessor
Sidney Dick
Tax Collector
Irene Kilpatrick
Sheriff
Sim Lowman
School Board
Ed Cook
Frank W. Springstead
B.A. Crum
Fred G. Lewis
Pierce Kimbrough
Supervisor of Public Schools
John W. Hull
***
After JFK: A Turning Point in History?
Was it just a coincidence or did the death of JFK forever change the American attitude? Before JFK, life was an extension of the Pleasant Valley 1950s idyllic post-war lifestyle that baby boomers grew up with. Eisenhower was your parent's president, but JFK was cool, hip and fit the "New Frontier." Yet it seemed as if everything changed after JFK's death. Civil rights unrest exploded with riots in major cities and continued atrocities in the South. The Viet Nam War divided the country with student protests and sent many young men to their deaths over what seemed like an aimless goal to many. A new culture in music and styles brought us the British Invasion with The Beatles, Rolling Stones and countless other groups and an introduction to a drug culture. There was a new cynical attitude toward politics and establishment customs.
A new society of youth calling themselves "hippies" dropped out of the mainstream with their own philosophies. The Viet Nam War would drag on and further divide this country. Mohammed Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title for four years because he rejected being drafted. Assassinations of Malcolm X, Bobby Kennedy, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King left us dazed and confused.
The decade ended on a positive note with our Man on the Moon mission and Woodstock, but it all came crashing down at Altamont and Kent State. We sought escape from the continued madness. We were tired of being angry and disillusioned, and a new attitude emerged during the early 1970s of inner peace and a longing for simplicity. Did JFKs death have an influence on our psyches? The Beach Boys dreams of 1963 became the introspection of Bob Dylan by the end of the decade.
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