The first major news story I can remember living through as a child was The Columbus Day Storm, October 12, 1962. The Columbus Day Storm had cyclone force winds and rain. It hit the pacific northwest from British Columbia to Northern California. Winds were clocked at 115 mph, the highest gust was 179 mph. I was 13 years old, it was a Friday and I had been invited to go home from school and spend the night at my friend Cindy’s house. She lived 3 or 4 miles outside of Toledo, Oregon on the Old Hwy 20, at the bottom of Pioneer Mountain. There were lots of trees and land with no houses around. Cindy and I were excited. When we got to Cindy’s house we went outside to play. I remember running around with the wind. It was so fun, feeling the rain and the wind. We could really feel the energy of the storm. We started hearing trees crack and fall down, so exciting. About that time Cindy’s Dad came home. He told us to get in the house and so we did. The next morning Cindy and I walked around surveying the damage. We were walking up Old Hwy 20 and the power lines were down and across the road. I was curious and reached out to pick them up. I was excited to see what they’d feel like. I’d never been able to touch them before and I thought this was my opportunity to find out. Cindy noticed what I was about to do and yelled at me not to touch the wires. Thank goodness, I hadn’t even thought about the electricity that was in them. I feel I owe my life to Cindy, probably to her Dad, too. We keep in touch. I send her our yearly Christmas letters and once in a while I hear from her. Her sister lives in Astoria and we’ve gotten together in Gearhart. She lives in Salem, Oregon.
There was lots of destruction everywhere. Lots of trees were blown over and roads and homes collapsed. Hwy 20 below, our house, sank as did the parking lot across the street and down the hill a little bit from our house. Our house was fine. I don’t remember anything about the highway being repaired, but it was a major road to the east from the coast before they put in the bypass around Toledo. I’m very glad I survived!
Mary Lou
The first news I remember paying attention to was the Eisenhower/Stevenson presidential race in 1956. I was six years old during the campaign and attending Kindergarten. I proudly wore an “I Like Ike” button. My dad was a strong supporter, and I took on his enthusiasm for the election. I followed each presidential election since then. In the 1964 election, I was 14 during the campaign. I researched the candidates during the primaries for a school project. I decided I liked William Scranton, but Barry Goldwater won the nomination. I couldn’t support Barry Goldwater, because I felt he was too radical and was too hawkish in foreign affairs for my taste. It was around this time that my Republican upbringing and support began to fade.
The first news story that affected me deeply was the assassination of President Kennedy. I was a freshman in high school. I was just finishing my lunch break and getting ready to go to my algebra class, when I noticed that the radio that normally played music over the intercom during lunch break had news instead. It was covering the shooting of the president. By the time algebra class started, Kennedy was dead, and we were all in shock. I delivered newspapers each afternoon after school. I was so amazed that each and every TV set was turned on and tuned to the coverage of the assassination. My memory is of the funeral procession with the carriage that carried President Kennedy being lead by a very beautiful and spirited horse. The same beating of the drums and the same images were being shown in each house as I delivered my papers. This had never happened before then, and it seemed very eerie to me.
Brian
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