The new year started auspiciously when on January 10th, on my way to the Twin Cities for a Synod Social Action meeting, my car's left front brake froze. When I pulled off in Hinckley, the garage man hoisted the front end and the tire fell off!
On a Saturday afternoon in late January, Pam and I attended a youth event – sledding on what was called “Lions' Hill” We were both age 26 but as we watched for awhile, one teenager came up and said to us, “Would you OLD FOLKS like to go down the hill too?” We were so insulted!
Internationally, on February 3rd Yassar Arafat was elected chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). They vowed to actively work against Israel's existence as a nation.
Pam and I were sponsors for the baptism of Pam's cousin Jan and Ted Bents' child in Osceola, WI on February 9th.
I mentioned earlier that I was confident that I could turn the members of the congregation onto support for social action. At a joint Church Council meeting in February, I brought up an issue that the Synod was recommending – to support gun control at the state-wide and Federal level. I talked about the reasons why this issue was important and worthy of the Councils' approval. After a very brief discussion, someone asked that the vote be taken by paper ballot rather than show of hands, and when the result was announced, the motion had been defeated 14-2 (one of the votes was mine!).
After the meeting, 2 things happened. I found out that Elsie, the Grace Council secretary, had voted with me and I thanked her for her support (years later I found out from her that she hadn't been in favor of gun control either, but had voted with me only because she felt so sorry for me standing alone!).
The other occurrence was an Emmanuel Council member named Wesley coming up to me and saying, “Pastor, don't ever try something like that again! We're going to be here long after you're gone!” I may have learned more about church administration and politics that evening than I had during all of my years of seminary and was properly put in my place!
On February 28th Pam and I drove to the Twin Cities to attend a concert of the Dave Brubeck quartet together with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra that featured his 1st choral mass or oratorio, “A Light in the Wilderness”, that he composed with jazz themes, blending instruments and voices to narrate Christ's words about loving God and our enemies (he was later awarded an honorary Doctorate of Sacred Theology for the work).
In mid-March I faced another of my 1st challenges. A family from Emmanuel asked to meet with me. They were not fringe members as the husband Ken was Council president, his wife Peggy was the women's group president, and their daughter Jane was the parish youth group's president! When I arrived at their home they informed me that they were very upset about many of the things I was doing as well as things I believed in, i.e., my chaperoning at the local Youth Center. It was one of the few places in town for kids to go, and while it was not a perfect place, I felt that helping to supervise them was a positive step on my part. After we spent several hours going around and around on their feelings and my justification for what I was doing, they asked that their membership be transferred to the local Evangelical Free Church. It was a difficult experience, but I was pleased that a few days later the Emmanuel Church Council met and backed my participation at the Youth Center, and several members admitted that they had pressured the family to join, when they may have been much happier in the more conservative church setting.
On the world scene, on March 17th Golda Meir became Israel's 1st and only woman Prime Minister. She was the world's 3rd woman prime minister, but the first to hold this office without any family connection. One Israeli politician later described her a the “strong-willed, straight-talking, gray-bunned grandmother of the Jewish people.”
As a welcome and positive sign, 11 new members – 6 adults and 5 children – joined the Emmanuel congregation on March 23rd.
On March 28th we got a new car – a 1969 Chevy Chevelle. We traded in our old car after we and my Mom were almost aphyxiated driving to Rice Lake with a holey exhaust pipe!
We attended a Passover Seder/Communion meal at Werner and Mona Luomas' home in McGregor, together with other seminary classmates on April 7th. It was the 1st time many of us had seen each other since we were ordained.
During the year I officiated at 5 weddings. The one I remember best was a couple where she was a Grace member and her husband was Catholic. His priest and I conducted the ceremony together in a very amicable manner, and we both felt it was a strong witness to our unity as Christians.
I also officiated at 10 funerals during 1969. While most were for elderly members who had long and productive lives, the most moving and difficult for me, the family and friends was for a 4-year-old girl named Tracy who died of leukemia after a year-long struggle. During her illness I visited her and her family at the hospital and her home numerous times. She was a sweetheart who would sit on my lap while I read to her stories from a children's Bible story-book. Her favorite was Jesus' parable of the little lost lamb who was sought and found by a loving shepherd. I shared tears at her service together with everyone else, but I was also happy that she knew that Jesus loved her and had taken her Home.
On May 25th I officiated at a service of Confirmation for 8 teenagers whom I had met with weekly since coming to the parish last year. They were a great group of young people, and the interesting part was that there were 7 boys and one girl in the group.
A week later Pam and I had the youth group over to the parsonage for a picnic and a game of volleyball. Pam was really into the game when she went up against a great kid named Bob Vork at the net, spiked the ball, and following through, broke his arm. As he was the starting quarterback on the high school football team, several people were not too happy!
During mid-June I enjoyed teaching and sharing with kids at a week of Vacation Bible School, but I also broke my left thumb playing softball one afternoon!
During the same week I received news that an article I had written entitled “I Want Kids to Know” had been accepted for publication by our national Church magazine, THE LUTHERAN! It was printed in the magazine's issue of November 5th. Reading it 39 years later, I believe most of the ideas that I expressed are still relevant to youth today. I wrote,
-I want kids to know that Christianity is not a matter of trying to lead a “good” life, but of accepting God's love and sharing that love with others...
-I want kids to know that all of life is sacred, that nothing you do or say is outside or beyond God's concern and love...
-I want kids to know that, as one Christian has put it, “What it means to be a Christian is, wonderfully, just synonymous with what it means to no more and no less than a human being, that the secret of the resurrection of Christ is in fact the acceptance of the gift of life in the midst of the world as it is and that the church of Christ, and the members of the church, are called to serve the world by showing the world how to enjoy the gift of life here and now...
-I want kids to take Christ's life, death and resurrection as a pattern for your own experience, struggling to show God's love in your daily lives, and knowing that God is with you now and after your death...
-I want kids to know that the church is not made up of “perfect” people but of real people who make mistakes and fall flat on their faces and need God's forgiveness...
-I want kids to know that you don't have to be 21 or 50 or 80 to be a member of the church. You became members through baptism, not following 2 or 3 years of confirmation study...
-I want kids to know that your means of worship expression are as valid as the tried-and-tested liturgy of older generations...
-I want kids to know that whatever talents or abilities you have are given you by God, to be used and offered to God for service in this world...
-I want kids to know that being a Christian is more than sitting in the pew on Sunday morning or attending Sunday school, that it also involves what you do and say the other 6 days of the week, in the classroom, in the locker room, on dates, wherever you are and whatever you're doing...
-I want kids to know that you have a place in the church right now, that coupling your enthusiasm and idealism with the stability and experience of older members will provide a broader ministry for the church...
-I want kids to know that honesty is the only policy, that unless we can be
open and sincere with one another, our Christian faith is a sham...
-I want kids to know that Communion is not a sad or dreary experience, but is a joyful celebration of God's acceptance and forgiveness of us as we are, giving us another chance at a new life...
-I want kids to know that Christ was serious when He said, “love your enemies”, “walk the second mile” and “turn the other cheek.”
On June 23rd Warren Burger was appointed by President Nixon as the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court (he was to serve in that position until 1986). Although Burger was a conservative and considered a strict constructionist, under his leadership the Supreme Court delivered a variety of transformative decisions on abortion, capital punishment, religious establishment, and school desegregation. He also worked hard for the adoption of modern management techniques in the nation's judicial system.
From July 1st-30th I had a wonderful trip to Israel with Dr. Richard Reusch and Gene Anderson, his Council president at St. John's Lutheran Church in Stacy. Dr. Reusch had been my advisor during my freshman year at Gustavus Adolphus College, as well as my teacher of Old and New Testament, and I had recently met him again when he was installed at Stacy (at near age 80 it was the 1st congregation he had ever served). When he invited me to go with him and Gene to the Holy Land, I jumped at the chance, and thanks to a financial gift from my Mom we came up with the money. Highlights included:
July 1-2 We flew from Minneapolis to Shannon, Ireland to Paris to Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel on Air France - they were my 1st airplane flights!
July 2 From the airport we took a cab to the Migdal David Hotel in Tel Aviv, 2 blocks from a Mediterranean Sea beach. Dr. Reusch knew the owner but he had already gone home for the night and the staff wouldn't call and bother him. Thus there were no rooms available to us, so we ended up sleeping on cots in a broom closet!
July 4 The next AM I had my 1st taste of a typical Israeli breakfast: strong coffee, orange juice, various cheeses, fresh bread, hummus (a Mediterranean dip made of pureed chick peas), olives, and salad with diced tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers topped with olive oil and lemon juice! After this feast, we toured the city of Jaffa (old Joppa), visiting the home of Simon the Tanner who was converted by Simon Peter (written in Acts 9:36-10:48) . Later I swam in the Mediterranean and relaxed on the beach.
July 5 We rode on a public bus north (the 84-mile trip took 3 hours) through the Galilean countryside and across into Syria (the Israelis had captured the area called the “Golan Heights” in the 6-Day War in 1967). There were many signs of the military campaign there including burned-out tanks, bunkers and mine fields behind barbed-wire fencing. While there we toured the beautiful Banias Falls (site of Caesarea Philippi where Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do YOU say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-20). A local guide we hired taught me that the Hebrew word for orange groves is “peardez” (paradise). We then rode on a bus for 20 miles south to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee where we stayed at a humble but very comfortable hostel run by the Anglicans (Church of Scotland). I remember sleeping like a baby that night!
July 6 The next AM I walked down to a local beach and swam in the Sea of Galilee. One of the local residents told me that it's 18 miles long, 8 ½ miles wide and 350 feet deep.
July 7 While in Tiberias I heard that 130 million trees have been planted in the Upper Galilee region since 1948, when Israel was established (they say that they have “made the desert bloom)”. During the day I became very ill with chills, a high temperature and nausea, so I stayed in bed through the next day.
July 9 Back in Tel Aviv, we flew on Inland Airlines to Abu Rodeis in the Sinai Desert (captured from the Egyptians 2 years earlier). We stayed at an army base the 1st night, then traveled by bus for 6 hours to the traditional site of Mount Sinai where Moses received the 10 Commandments (Exodus 19 and 20). It was a very hot and dusty trip, which was escorted by Israeli soldiers riding with us! The bus was advertised as a “luxury air-conditioned coach” but was actually a very old school bus and the only ventilation was a vent that opened on its top that sucked in hot air and sand! When we arrived at the foot of the mountain, we toured St. Catherine's Monastery, with some of the oldest Biblical manuscripts anywhere, and with one room full of the bones and skulls of former monks who have lived there. We got a room at the Monastery where the hospitality and accommodations were surprising good.
July 10 Because of the extreme heat later in the day, we began climbing Mount Sinai at 3 AM. It was a very rocky path with some steps carved out of the rocks. It took us 2 hours to go up and 1½ hours to come down. I remember that there was a young lady in our climbing group who had inexplicably worn sandals to climb. Very early on she was going to have to turn back, but Dr. Reusch picked her up and carried her the rest of the top to the summit! (he was in incredible physical condition for any age, much less in his late 70's! Often in the AM we would be awakened with his doing push- ups and sit-ups on the floor next to the beds!). The view from the top was spectacular as the sun had just risen. We visited a cave there where tradition says Moses stayed for the 40 days he was receiving the Law. Back on the bus, we stopped at an oasis. the only spot of green in all the tan of the desert. Later that day I swam in the Gulf of Suez, before we returned to Abu Rodeis and again slept in the army barracks.
July 11 We were awakened at 5 AM, and traveled east by bus to the city of Sharm el Sheikh where I swam in Solomon's Bay. From there we sailed by small ship up the Gulf of Aqaba through the night.
July 12 We arrived at the city of Eilat in mid-morning. I shopped for stones and polished rocks which are found there, and bought various pieces with the brilliant aqua color. In the late afternoon, we took a bus back to Jerusalem across the Negev Desert. It had been an incredible and busy few days!
July 13 We toured the Shrine of the Book, the building that contains some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as the outstanding Israel National Museum. Later in the day we visited the area of the nearby Greek Orthodox Church of the Cross, where tradition says the wood for Jesus' cross came from.
July 15 We took a bus back to Tel Aviv, where I again swam and sun-tanned at the beach. I lost my thyroid pills ( later found them below the bed headboard) and arranged to get a prescription ($2.60) from a Dr. Friedlander whose office was near the hotel.
July 16 We took another public bus and toured Nablus, Jericho and the Dead Sea. In Jericho, we saw the Mount of Temptation (commemorating Jesus' 40 days of testing in the Judean wilderness after He was baptized). There I also had my picture taken posing on a camel.
July 17 We headed south and visited the city of Hebron and the Tombs of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives). Enjoying an Arab custom of hospitality, we had a free bottle of pop at Bethlehem, the birth place of both King David and Jesus. There we toured the Church of the Nativity, the oldest church in the world, dating from AD 330. While there we also visited the Tomb of Rachel.
July 19-21 We next traveled in the Negev Desert. At Eilat, we sailed on a glass-bottomed boat in the Gulf of Aqaba and saw beautiful fish and coral reefs!). I also swam in the Red Sea, before we flew back to Tel Aviv on Arkia Airlines (a 55-minute flight).
July 22 I made arrangements for our flight home on the 29th. The cost was $930 ($395 higher than expected!)
July 23 We again went by public bus (Egged) to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. The Church of Scotland hostel was full, so we ended up with a room at a Class “D” hotel! It was very hot and dry (105 degrees with a 30 mph wind). We took a local bus to the hot springs and Kibbutz Degania. People there were very kind and offered us a tour and free soda water from the tap.
July 24 In the AM we tried to get a bus to nearby Capernaum, but the driver mumbled something and left without us! We were able to get a room at the Church of Scotland hostel where I spent an hour resting and eating grapes in their beautiful garden. I also got a haircut (very cheap!). In the afternoon, we climbed to the top of the Mount of Beatitudes to visit the chapel. It was a steep climb but worth it for the great view of the Sea of Galilee! Back in Tiberias, I later again swam in the Sea.
July 25 We returned to Jerusalem by bus, and got a “room” at the Church of Scotland hostel on the edge of town (we ended up sleeping on the floor in the vestry of the sanctuary!). We hired a wonderful guide named Jimmy who took us on a tour of the Old City – the Via Dolorosa (the traditional way that Jesus was brought to the Cross), the field where Judas hung himself, the Pool of Siloam (where Jesus healed a blind man), Gordon's Tomb (a beautiful garden area where some people believe Jesus was crucified and buried prior to His resurrection), and the Garden of Gethsemane (where Jesus prayed prior to His arrest).
July 26 I had been reading a novel “Mila 18” about the World War II resistance of Jews during the persecutions in Warsaw, Poland. (It was so compelling that I could hardly put it down). I had a cheese sandwich at the “Y” for dinner, then shopped in the East Jerusalem market which was very crowded. I then walked from the bus station back to the hotel.
July 28 I ate delicious Hungarian goulash one more time (we've eaten it often when we've been in Tel Aviv).
July 29-30 We flew back to Minnesota from Tel Aviv via Paris and New York. I owed Gene Anderson $395 that he lent me so that I could return. It had been an exciting and eye-opening experience, but it was good to be back home!
We couldn't afford for both of us to go. I told Pam I'd bring her back a dishwasher, but unfortunately she wouldn't get on the plane! Incidentally, I lost 25 pounds during the trip from all the walking and exercise I did in the heat. I had grown a beard while there and Pam had cut her hair real short, but we were both happy to be together again!
While I was in Israel, the following events occurred:
July 8 The 1st US troops were withdrawn from Vietnam
July 18 Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy drove his car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick Island, MA, and passenger Mary Jo Kopechne drowned under mysterious circumstances!
July 20 Neil Armstrong became the 1st person to walk on the moon! He was soon joined by fellow astronaut, “Buzz” Aldrin. I brought back that day's JERUSALEM POST with an article and pictures of the historic event!
From August 15th-18th the “Woodstock” festival was held in upstate New York, drawing 300,000 people for 3 days of “peace and music” (also heavy drug and alcohol use).
On September 14th, two of the 13 baptisms at which I officiated during the year was a 35-year-old father and his new-born daughter.
I organized a “Youth Ministry Sunday” on September 28th. One of the adult members, Lee Dybvig, and one of our youth, Mike Gaede, joined me in a dialogue sermon. Lee was to interrupt me about a minute into my sermon with the line, “Wait a minute, pastor!” but he was nervous, jumped up and shouted the words, scaring the wits out of everyone including me! My folks were with us that Sunday, and my Mom thought that a madman had gone berserk!
For our 5th wedding anniversary on October 10th Pam and I had supper at the Normandy Hotel in downtown Minneapolis (where we also stayed) and then attended a play at the Guthrie Theatre - we believe we saw “The Homecoming” by Harold Pinter.
On October 26th 250 people attended a smorgasbord at Grace, followed by my showing slides of my trip to Israel. They were very well-received.
In early December we welcomed a wonderful group of new members – 13 adults and 21 children at Grace, and 2 adults and 2 children at Emmanuel. Both churches were very happy about this growth, as was I!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
BEGINNING OF MY MINISTRY IN 1968
Before I talk about the happenings of 1968, I wanted to back up to add an experience from 1965 that I just recalled:
When Pam and I moved to Elgin, IL for my intern year as a chaplain at the state hospital there, our friends Bob and Sue Okerstrom kindly helped us pack up our relatively meager belongings. Everything fit into a small Econoline van we rented, except for our mattress and box spring. We very carefully tied one on top of the van and the other on our car and left for IL about 12:30 AM. At about 2 AM, somewhere in WI, the ropes let go and we saw the box spring fell off! We were blessed that it fell to the side of the highway, bounced and came to rest (appropriate for a mattress!) Amazingly there was only a small scrape on the corner of the box spring and no other damage, so we tied it back on the top of the van again and drove the rest of the way!
Now 1968. My senior year of seminary flew by as there were so many exciting things going on!
On January 21, I began preaching at Epiphany Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis after our friend Pastor Ralph Kempski resigned to begin serving a church in Fern Creek, Kentucky (that sounded like the end of the world but was actually a growing suburb of Louisville). A few weeks later the Synod President asked me not to consider a Call to the church, since he had a different plan for me (he didn’t say what at the time!)
On the 25th I picked out and bought the items I would need to wear to lead worship – a long black cassock, a shorter white surplice and a series of stoles (bands of green, red, purple and white cloth draped around the neck) at Lohman's, a Catholic church supply store in St. Paul. My folks kindly bought all these as a graduation gift. I thought I looked pretty spiffy!
In February Pam and I bought new living room furniture in anticipation of moving into our 1st parsonage after graduation. Almost all of that furniture is still in our living room today (we bought some pretty solid stuff!)
On the evening of February 17th Dr. Melvin Hammarberg, Minnesota Synod President, and his wife took Pam and me out to supper at the Normandy Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. During dessert Dr. Hammarberg introduced us to the location of our first Call by asking me, “Do you like to hunt and fish?” I answered honestly, “Not really!” But he then told us that we were assigned to go to the Grace and Emmanuel parish in Sandstone (90 miles north of the Twin Cities on the way to Duluth). I had really been hoping to stay in the Twin Cities “where the action was.” Remember that this was 1968 – the Vietnam War was bitterly dividing the country, civil rights were being debated and fought over, and I was on the Social Action Committee of the Synod. A parish in a small town and conservative part of MN would not have been my 1st choice!
Pam and I drove up and spent an enjoyable evening getting to meet the Grace and Emmanuel members on March 10th. They seemed very nice and anxious for me to come to be their new pastor. With the brashness and foolish confidence that only a 25-year-old can exhibit, I soon began looking forward to the opportunity of shaping them all into fellow social activists!
I took time out of my studies, and on March 27th spent the day in River Falls, WI campaigned for Senator Eugene McCarthy (who was running for the Democratic Party nomination against Lyndon Johnson). While there I met actor Paul Newman who stopped during the day (I led him through the crowd when he was going to give a speech) and afterward told people that I was his body guard)!
On March 31st Grace and Emmanuel Churches voted to officially call me as their pastor.
Four days later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN, the day after giving his “I've Been to the Mountaintop” speech. The country was thrown into grief, anger and confusion.
From April 25th-28th Pam was hospitalized after an early miscarriage. We were very grieved with the loss, but knew that it was not the end of the possibilities for us to have a healthy child.
May 9th was the last day of classes at Northwestern Seminary, and graduation was held at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in St. Paul on May 17th.
On May 21st we spent the day at Sandstone to meet with the Property Committee chairman, Sig Swanson, about painting the parsonage interior (he had one shade of blue and one of green for us to choose from!). He later relented and allowed us to select from a wider array.
May 28th was my Day of Ordination at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter during the Minnesota Synod Convention! I was honored that Pastor Ralph Kempski came up from Kentucky to be my sponsor.
The following Sunday, June 2nd, a “Recognition Sunday” was held at my home church (Trinity in Stillwater) with Dr. Hammarberg “re-enacting” the Ordination of Ray Larson, Gary Langness and myself, unique in that all 3of us were from that congregation and had graduated together.
June 5th was another devastating day when Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator Robert Kennedy, was shot in Los Angeles and died the next day! Again, chaos broke out all across the US.
My first baptism was my niece, Amy Dollerschell, at First Presbyterian Church in Rochester, MN on June 9th. The Stillwater Gazette described the event as “the Rev.’s 1st baptism”!
On June 25th Pam and I moved into the parsonage at Sandstone, where my installation service was held on Friday, June 28th at Grace Church. My folks, Pam's folks, Grandma Knudson, and Norm and Margaret Knudson from Arizona were with us.
My first Sunday preaching and leading worship at Grace and Emmanuel was on June 30th. The only glitch was that I forgot to bring the bulletins with me to Emmanuel when I came out to the country for the 10:45 service!
The next day I toured the community with retired pastor, P. G. Carlstedt. He was a wise and kind old man who wanted me to “get off on the right foot”.
On Sunday evening, July 14th, Emmanuel Church held its monthly “Family Night” and we were welcomed with a corsage for Pam and a cake with our names on it!
On July 20th I officiated at my first wedding – Danny Laun and Bonnie Jorivac at Grace Church! Before the wedding, I met with them 3 times for pre-marital counseling, probably more for my sake than theirs!
From July 22nd-28th Pam’s nieces, Lori and Kim Bents (ages 8 and 6), stayed with us. We had a lot of fun with them!
My first baptisms in the parish were Carol Ann Lundorff (from Grace) and Kari Gustafson (from Emmanuel).
We held an “Open House” at the parsonage from 2-5 PM on August 4th. Many of the members from both congregations attended, and again we were made to feel very welcome and appreciated.
My first funeral since the summer of 1965 was on August 6th for Marvin Anderson, a 21-year-old member of Grace who was killed in a car accident just before he was to leave for Vietnam! It was extremely traumatic for all of us.
On August 25th we received 14 adults and 7 children as new members at Grace, including Pam and me. I was pleased that the church was already growing!
The Democratic National Convention convened from August 26th-29th in Chicago, IL and was the scene of massive demonstrations protesting the Vietnam War which was at its height. 1000’s of people showed up with signs and banners, music, dancing and poetry. Initially, there was a “carnival” atmosphere, but the police were edgy. Some people responded to a night-time curfew announcement with rock-throwing. Police used tear gas and beat people with batons, and arrests were made. In the aftermath of what was later characterized as a “police riot”, a grand jury indicted 8 demonstrators and 8 police officers. 7 of the demonstrators became known as the “Chicago 7” and were charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot and other charges. They included Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale (a “Black Panther”).
At Emmanuel’s “Family Night” on September 1st Dr. Richard Reusch was the guest speaker. He was a former missionary in Tanganyika (now Tanzania), East Africa, was my college advisor for one year at Gustavus Adolphus, and was now serving at St. John's in Stacy. He was a fascinating old man in his late 70’s with whom I shared a wonderful adventure during the coming year!
On September 17th I had 2 funerals – one was for Wade Grundmeier, a 9-month-old member and the other an 80-year-old non-member! The service for Wade was very difficult for me as well as for everyone else who knew him and his family.
I officiated at the wedding of Karl Olesen and Patricia Anderson on October 5th (she was the sister of Marvin who was killed in August).
During the late summer Pam and I, together with several other church and community members, had begun volunteering our time at a delinquent boys' camp east of town. One of the volunteers was a wonderful 50-year-old Catholic priest named Father Lutar. He and I worked together very well and bonded quickly, and I was devastated when he died suddenly. Pam and I attended his funeral on October 21st.
On November 5th Richard Nixon was elected US President by a very narrow margin over Minnesota Senator, Hubert Humphrey, as he promised to end the war in Vietnam. That day Shirley Chisholm of New York became the first African-American woman elected to the US Congress.
Pam and I attended the funeral of Maurice Del Mas in Stillwater on November 9th (he and his wife Hazel had hired me to cut their grass, one of my 1st part-time jobs).
On December 2nd Pam took the train into Minneapolis with members, Zelda Sandwick (our Grace organist) and Shirley Peterson (our church secretary).
On slow nights, we would go down to the depot and watch one of the trains arrive. Remember, Sandstone was listed as having only 2,500 residents, and it didn’t really look that big. We found out that that number included 1,000 inmates at the local Federal Correctional Institution (a minimum-security facility where many of our members worked).
From December 21st-22nd Nathaniel Inyama from Biafra/Nigeria who was studying at the seminary in St. Paul was with us for a caroling party to raise money for his war-torn country and to preach. We had a very heavy snowfall overnight, and barely made it out to Emmanuel where very few members were in attendance. He was very upset when we couldn’t get him back to the Twin Cities after the services, so to try to vent his anger, we arranged for him to ride a snowmobile for the 1st time, and he also played my drum set with great vigor!
After the services on December 24-25 (Grace’s was at 11 PM on Christmas Eve and Emmanuel’s was at 6 AM Christmas Day, I was very moved when members presented us with many bags of groceries, canned goods and fresh meat! Unfortunately, Pam was sick and unable to attend.
We ended the year with a Holy Communion service on New Year’s Eve. Pam’s folks were with us as we also celebrated their wedding anniversary.
It had been a very eventful year for us as well as for the country and the world. Our journey in ministry had begun!
When Pam and I moved to Elgin, IL for my intern year as a chaplain at the state hospital there, our friends Bob and Sue Okerstrom kindly helped us pack up our relatively meager belongings. Everything fit into a small Econoline van we rented, except for our mattress and box spring. We very carefully tied one on top of the van and the other on our car and left for IL about 12:30 AM. At about 2 AM, somewhere in WI, the ropes let go and we saw the box spring fell off! We were blessed that it fell to the side of the highway, bounced and came to rest (appropriate for a mattress!) Amazingly there was only a small scrape on the corner of the box spring and no other damage, so we tied it back on the top of the van again and drove the rest of the way!
Now 1968. My senior year of seminary flew by as there were so many exciting things going on!
On January 21, I began preaching at Epiphany Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis after our friend Pastor Ralph Kempski resigned to begin serving a church in Fern Creek, Kentucky (that sounded like the end of the world but was actually a growing suburb of Louisville). A few weeks later the Synod President asked me not to consider a Call to the church, since he had a different plan for me (he didn’t say what at the time!)
On the 25th I picked out and bought the items I would need to wear to lead worship – a long black cassock, a shorter white surplice and a series of stoles (bands of green, red, purple and white cloth draped around the neck) at Lohman's, a Catholic church supply store in St. Paul. My folks kindly bought all these as a graduation gift. I thought I looked pretty spiffy!
In February Pam and I bought new living room furniture in anticipation of moving into our 1st parsonage after graduation. Almost all of that furniture is still in our living room today (we bought some pretty solid stuff!)
On the evening of February 17th Dr. Melvin Hammarberg, Minnesota Synod President, and his wife took Pam and me out to supper at the Normandy Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. During dessert Dr. Hammarberg introduced us to the location of our first Call by asking me, “Do you like to hunt and fish?” I answered honestly, “Not really!” But he then told us that we were assigned to go to the Grace and Emmanuel parish in Sandstone (90 miles north of the Twin Cities on the way to Duluth). I had really been hoping to stay in the Twin Cities “where the action was.” Remember that this was 1968 – the Vietnam War was bitterly dividing the country, civil rights were being debated and fought over, and I was on the Social Action Committee of the Synod. A parish in a small town and conservative part of MN would not have been my 1st choice!
Pam and I drove up and spent an enjoyable evening getting to meet the Grace and Emmanuel members on March 10th. They seemed very nice and anxious for me to come to be their new pastor. With the brashness and foolish confidence that only a 25-year-old can exhibit, I soon began looking forward to the opportunity of shaping them all into fellow social activists!
I took time out of my studies, and on March 27th spent the day in River Falls, WI campaigned for Senator Eugene McCarthy (who was running for the Democratic Party nomination against Lyndon Johnson). While there I met actor Paul Newman who stopped during the day (I led him through the crowd when he was going to give a speech) and afterward told people that I was his body guard)!
On March 31st Grace and Emmanuel Churches voted to officially call me as their pastor.
Four days later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN, the day after giving his “I've Been to the Mountaintop” speech. The country was thrown into grief, anger and confusion.
From April 25th-28th Pam was hospitalized after an early miscarriage. We were very grieved with the loss, but knew that it was not the end of the possibilities for us to have a healthy child.
May 9th was the last day of classes at Northwestern Seminary, and graduation was held at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in St. Paul on May 17th.
On May 21st we spent the day at Sandstone to meet with the Property Committee chairman, Sig Swanson, about painting the parsonage interior (he had one shade of blue and one of green for us to choose from!). He later relented and allowed us to select from a wider array.
May 28th was my Day of Ordination at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter during the Minnesota Synod Convention! I was honored that Pastor Ralph Kempski came up from Kentucky to be my sponsor.
The following Sunday, June 2nd, a “Recognition Sunday” was held at my home church (Trinity in Stillwater) with Dr. Hammarberg “re-enacting” the Ordination of Ray Larson, Gary Langness and myself, unique in that all 3of us were from that congregation and had graduated together.
June 5th was another devastating day when Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator Robert Kennedy, was shot in Los Angeles and died the next day! Again, chaos broke out all across the US.
My first baptism was my niece, Amy Dollerschell, at First Presbyterian Church in Rochester, MN on June 9th. The Stillwater Gazette described the event as “the Rev.’s 1st baptism”!
On June 25th Pam and I moved into the parsonage at Sandstone, where my installation service was held on Friday, June 28th at Grace Church. My folks, Pam's folks, Grandma Knudson, and Norm and Margaret Knudson from Arizona were with us.
My first Sunday preaching and leading worship at Grace and Emmanuel was on June 30th. The only glitch was that I forgot to bring the bulletins with me to Emmanuel when I came out to the country for the 10:45 service!
The next day I toured the community with retired pastor, P. G. Carlstedt. He was a wise and kind old man who wanted me to “get off on the right foot”.
On Sunday evening, July 14th, Emmanuel Church held its monthly “Family Night” and we were welcomed with a corsage for Pam and a cake with our names on it!
On July 20th I officiated at my first wedding – Danny Laun and Bonnie Jorivac at Grace Church! Before the wedding, I met with them 3 times for pre-marital counseling, probably more for my sake than theirs!
From July 22nd-28th Pam’s nieces, Lori and Kim Bents (ages 8 and 6), stayed with us. We had a lot of fun with them!
My first baptisms in the parish were Carol Ann Lundorff (from Grace) and Kari Gustafson (from Emmanuel).
We held an “Open House” at the parsonage from 2-5 PM on August 4th. Many of the members from both congregations attended, and again we were made to feel very welcome and appreciated.
My first funeral since the summer of 1965 was on August 6th for Marvin Anderson, a 21-year-old member of Grace who was killed in a car accident just before he was to leave for Vietnam! It was extremely traumatic for all of us.
On August 25th we received 14 adults and 7 children as new members at Grace, including Pam and me. I was pleased that the church was already growing!
The Democratic National Convention convened from August 26th-29th in Chicago, IL and was the scene of massive demonstrations protesting the Vietnam War which was at its height. 1000’s of people showed up with signs and banners, music, dancing and poetry. Initially, there was a “carnival” atmosphere, but the police were edgy. Some people responded to a night-time curfew announcement with rock-throwing. Police used tear gas and beat people with batons, and arrests were made. In the aftermath of what was later characterized as a “police riot”, a grand jury indicted 8 demonstrators and 8 police officers. 7 of the demonstrators became known as the “Chicago 7” and were charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot and other charges. They included Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale (a “Black Panther”).
At Emmanuel’s “Family Night” on September 1st Dr. Richard Reusch was the guest speaker. He was a former missionary in Tanganyika (now Tanzania), East Africa, was my college advisor for one year at Gustavus Adolphus, and was now serving at St. John's in Stacy. He was a fascinating old man in his late 70’s with whom I shared a wonderful adventure during the coming year!
On September 17th I had 2 funerals – one was for Wade Grundmeier, a 9-month-old member and the other an 80-year-old non-member! The service for Wade was very difficult for me as well as for everyone else who knew him and his family.
I officiated at the wedding of Karl Olesen and Patricia Anderson on October 5th (she was the sister of Marvin who was killed in August).
During the late summer Pam and I, together with several other church and community members, had begun volunteering our time at a delinquent boys' camp east of town. One of the volunteers was a wonderful 50-year-old Catholic priest named Father Lutar. He and I worked together very well and bonded quickly, and I was devastated when he died suddenly. Pam and I attended his funeral on October 21st.
On November 5th Richard Nixon was elected US President by a very narrow margin over Minnesota Senator, Hubert Humphrey, as he promised to end the war in Vietnam. That day Shirley Chisholm of New York became the first African-American woman elected to the US Congress.
Pam and I attended the funeral of Maurice Del Mas in Stillwater on November 9th (he and his wife Hazel had hired me to cut their grass, one of my 1st part-time jobs).
On December 2nd Pam took the train into Minneapolis with members, Zelda Sandwick (our Grace organist) and Shirley Peterson (our church secretary).
On slow nights, we would go down to the depot and watch one of the trains arrive. Remember, Sandstone was listed as having only 2,500 residents, and it didn’t really look that big. We found out that that number included 1,000 inmates at the local Federal Correctional Institution (a minimum-security facility where many of our members worked).
From December 21st-22nd Nathaniel Inyama from Biafra/Nigeria who was studying at the seminary in St. Paul was with us for a caroling party to raise money for his war-torn country and to preach. We had a very heavy snowfall overnight, and barely made it out to Emmanuel where very few members were in attendance. He was very upset when we couldn’t get him back to the Twin Cities after the services, so to try to vent his anger, we arranged for him to ride a snowmobile for the 1st time, and he also played my drum set with great vigor!
After the services on December 24-25 (Grace’s was at 11 PM on Christmas Eve and Emmanuel’s was at 6 AM Christmas Day, I was very moved when members presented us with many bags of groceries, canned goods and fresh meat! Unfortunately, Pam was sick and unable to attend.
We ended the year with a Holy Communion service on New Year’s Eve. Pam’s folks were with us as we also celebrated their wedding anniversary.
It had been a very eventful year for us as well as for the country and the world. Our journey in ministry had begun!
WHAT IN THE WORLD? 1942-1967
One day I sat down and started to think of all the many events and advancements in the US and around the world between my birth and the beginning of my ministry. In my compulsive way, I decided to make a listing of some of the most significant:
1942
The US declared war on Japan following that country's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941
Japanese forces invaded the Aleutian Islands (the 1st invasion of American soil in 128 years)
The US began interning Japanese-American citizens and seizing their property
Sugar, gasoline and coffee rationing began in the US
Germany, under Adolf Hitler, sank 400 American ships
The murder of millions of European Jews in Nazi gas chambers began
Physicist, Enrico Fermi, led a team at the University of Chicago in splitting the atom and produced the 1st nuclear chain reaction (part of the “Manhattan Project”)
Day-light savings time went into effect in the US
Mahatma Gandhi demanded independence for India and was arrested
The 1st “electronic brain” or automatic computer was developed in the US
Bell Aircraft tested the 1st US jet plane
Magnetic recording tape was invented
C. S. Lewis wrote “The Screwtape Letters”
The Disney movie “Bambi” and the film “Casablanca” came out, and Irving Berlin released “White Christmas” (sung by Bing Crosby)
DDT was 1st used as a pesticide
1943
Penicillin was successfully used in the treatment of chronic diseases for the 1st time
An infantile paralysis (polio) epidemic killed almost 1,200 and crippled thousands more in the US
A “pay-as-you-go” income tax system (where taxes are withheld from each paycheck and sent to the government) was instituted in the US
Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill held their “Casablanca Conference” (he became the 1st US President to travel by airplane while in office)
US General Dwight D. Eisenhower became the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe
Navy Lt. John F. Kennedy's PT-109 boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer (his actions to save his surviving crew after the sinking of the boat both solidified his "war hero" status in his political career and may have contributed to his long-term back problems)
Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin meet in Tehran to discuss war strategy (during the meetings they established an agreement concerning a planned June 1944 invasion of Europe)
A massacre occurred in the Warsaw, Poland ghetto
The US Army and Allies invaded Italy
Edward R. Murrow delivered his classic "Orchestrated Hell" broadcast over CBS Radio, describing a Royal Air Force night-time bombing raid on Berlin
Chiang Kai-shek took the oath of office as President of China
Shoe rationing began in the US, followed by rationing of meat, cheese, and all canned foods
The “Great Depression” officially ended in the US. With unemployment figures falling fast due to World War II-related employment, President Roosevelt closed the “Works Progress Administration” (WPA)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical play, “Oklahoma!”, opened on Broadway and became an instanteous stage classic (it went on to become Broadway's longest-running musical up to that time – 2,248 consecutive performances)
1944
The US Army and Allies invaded France with “D-Day” landings in Normandy on June 6th (155,000 Allied troops, over 700 ships and 4,000 landing craft were involved)
The “Battle of the Bulge” began (it was the bloodiest of the battles that US forces experienced in World War II, with 19,000 Americans killed)
Brigadier General, Anthony C. McAuliffe, commander of the US forces defending Bastogne, Belgium during the “Battle of the Bulge”, refused to accept demands for surrender by sending a one-word reply, "Nuts!", to the German commander
Franklin Roosevelt was elected to a 4th term as the US President
IBM dedicated the 1st "Automatic Sequence Controlled" Calculator
The 1st non-stop flight went from London to Canada
The US Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council released posters featuring “Smokey the Bear” for the 1st time
The radio show, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet”, debuted
1945
The Yalta Conference was held between Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin in the USSR
The Battle of Iwo Jima, a Japanese island, was fought when about 30,000 US Marines landed there. During the battle, a group of Marines reached the top of Mount Suribachi and were photographed raising the American flag. The photo, taken by Joe Rosenthal, later won a Pulitzer Prize (the picture became the iconic image of the battle, and the most reproduced photograph of all time)
Adolf Hitler committed suicide in a Berlin bunker on April 30th
“VE Day” (May 8th) ended the war in Europe
After the war, Germany was divided into 4 zones, and 3-power occupation of Berlin took effect
Harry Truman became the US President after the death of Franklin Roosevelt
50 nations signed the United Nations Charter in a conference held in San Francisco
The last World War II battle in Europe was fought at Poljana, Slovenia
Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and 120 members of his team surrendered to US forces (they later helped start the US space program)
The US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6th and on Nagasaki on August 9th
Japan surrendered on August 14th (V-J Day), ending World War II (the number of war dead was estimated at 35 million plus 10 million in Nazi concentration camps)
Harry Truman, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin held the Potsdam Conference, the last summit of the war
African-American, John H. Johnson, published the 1st issue of his magazine, “Ebony”
At Gimbel's Department Store in New York City, the 1st ball point pens went on sale for $12.50
Assembly of the world's 1st general purpose electronic computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), was completed (it covered 1,800 feet of floor space)
The “Nag Hammadi” scriptures (popularly known as “The Gnostic Gospels”), a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts, was discovered in Egypt
At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN streptomycin was 1st used to treat TB
Percy Spencer accidentally discovered that microwaves can heat food (the invention of the microwave oven soon followed)
Grand Rapids, Michigan and Newburgh, New York became the 1st US cities to add fluoride to drinking water
1946
New York City was declared the permanent UN headquarters, as the General Assembly held its 1st session in London
Guilty verdicts in the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals were handed down
Winston Churchill gave a speech in Fulton, Missouri in which he introduced the phrase "Iron Curtain" to describe the division between Western powers and the area controlled by the Soviet Union (as such, the speech marked the onset of the “Cold War”)
The South Pole expedition of Admiral Robert Byrd began
George Kennan, a career Foreign Service Officer, formulated the policy of “containment,” the basic US strategy for fighting the “Cold War” (1947-1989) with the Soviet Union (he argued that the Soviet regime was inherently expansionist and that its influence had to be “contained” in areas of vital strategic importance to the US)
India's Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, appeals to the US and the Soviet Union to end nuclear testing and to start nuclear disarmament, stating that such an action would "save humanity from the ultimate disaster"
UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund) was founded
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis did their 1st show as a comedy team
“Tupperware” was first sold in department and hardware stores
1947
India proclaimed independence and was partitioned into India and Pakistan
The US House Un-American Activities Committee investigated Communist connections among movie personnel in Hollywood
In an effort to fight the spread of Communism, President Truman signed an act implementing the “Truman Doctrine”. The act granted $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created
A US airplane 1st flew at supersonic speeds
Bell Lab scientists invented the transistor
Jackie Robinson became the 1st African-American professional baseball player of the modern era. His Major League debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers ended approximately 80 years of baseball segregation, known as the “baseball color line”
Edwin Land demonstrated the 1st "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera
Al Capone, US gangster, died (popularly known as “Scarface”, he led a crime syndicate dedicated to the illegal trafficking of alcoholic beverages during the time of Prohibition – the 1920s-1930s)
Princess Elizabeth, heir to the English throne, married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London
In California, designer Howard Hughes performed the maiden flight of the “Spruce Goose”, the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built (the flight lasted only 8 minutes)
American test pilot, Captain Chuck Yeager, flew a Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound for the 1st time
In a cave near Wadi Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, several tall pottery jars containing leather scrolls were discovered, which later became known as the “Dead Sea Scrolls” (Old Testament scriptures and other documents, dating from 22 BC to AD 100)
The “Diary of Anne Frank”, chronicling her life from June 12, 1942 (in hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam) until August 1, 1944 (when she and her family were arrested), was published. It was eventually translated from its original Dutch into many languages and became one of the world's most widely-read books. Through her writing, Frank became one of the most well-known Holocaust victims after her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Thor Heyerdahl sailed on a balsa wood raft, the “Kon Tiki”, from Peru to Polynesia (a 4,300 mile journey across the Pacific Ocean) in 101 days, proving that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America
Walter Frederick Morrison invented the “Frisbee”
A downed UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) was allegedly found near Roswell, New Mexico
1948
The US Congress passed the “Marshall Plan” (named for US General George Marshall) providing $5 billion in economic aid to 16 European countries
The Jewish state of Israel came into existence on May 14th with David Ben-Gurion as its 1st Prime Minister. The next day an Arab-Israeli war began, with Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia attacking Israel
The World Council of Churches was established
The World Health Organization was established by the UN with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
President Truman issued the 2nd peacetime military draft in the US amid increasing tensions with the Soviet Union (the 1st peacetime draft occurred in 1940 under President Roosevelt)
President Truman signed an Executive Order, ending racial segregation in the US Armed Forces
The long-playing (LP) record was invented
Babe Ruth died, and Joe Louis retired after fighting 25 heavyweight title bouts since 1937
Indian civil rights advocate, Mahatma Gandhi, was assassinated
Harry Truman was elected President of the US, defeating Thomas Dewey (newspapers were so sure of the outcome that they prematurely printed the headline, "Dewey Beats Truman")
Alfred Kinsey wrote his landmark study, “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male”
1949
In China, the Communist People's Republic was proclaimed under Mao Tse-Tung
Israel was admitted to the UN as its 59th member, and its capital was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
Apartheid (official and systematic racial segregation) was established in South Africa
The 1st Volkswagen “Beetle” (a 1948 model) arrived in the US. It was brought over to New York by Dutch businessman, Ben Pon. Unable to interest dealers or importers in the Volkswagen, Pon sold the sample car to pay his travel expenses. Only two 1949 models were sold in America, convincing the Volkswagen chairman that the car had no future in the US (the “Beetle” went on to become the greatest automobile phenomenon in American history)
The B-50 “Lucky Lady II”, under Captain James Gallagher, landed in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the 1st non-stop around-the-world airplane flight (it was refueled in flight 4 times)
Eire left the British Commonwealth and became the Republic of Ireland
The North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington, DC, creating the NATO defense alliance
The Vatican announced that bones uncovered in its subterranean catacombs could be the apostle St. Peter (19 years later, Pope Paul VI announced confirmation that the bones did belong to this 1st saint)
1950
US Senator, Joseph McCarthy, advised President Truman that the State Department was riddled with Communists
North Korean forces invaded South Korea and captured Seoul, opening the “Korean War”
President Truman ordered the US Atomic Energy Commission to develop a hydrogen bomb in response to the detonation of the Soviet Union's 1st atomic bomb in 1949
Florence Chadwick swam across the English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes
The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China signed a mutual defense treaty
Robert Schuman presented his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations (this proposal, known as the "Schuman Declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union)
L. Ron Hubbard published "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health", leading to the founding of the pseudo-religion, Scientology
The Korean War began with North Korea capturing the South Korean capital of Seoul (Americans at home began hoarding supplies in case of rationing and shortages)
In his encyclical, “Humani Generis”, Pope Pius XII declared that evolution was a serious hypothesis that did not contradict essential Catholic teachings
The game show, “Truth or Consequences”, debuted on television
The comic strip, “Peanuts” by Charles Schulz was 1st published in 7 US newspapers
There were 1.5 million TV sets in the US (the number rose to 15 million the next year)
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued the 1st license to broadcast TV in color to CBS, but RCA successfully disputed and blocked the license from taking effect
The 1st TV remote control, Zenith Radio's “Lazy Bones”, was marketed
Sister Mary Teresa began her charity work in Calcutta, India (became known as Mother Teresa)
Pope Pius XII defines a new dogma of Roman Catholicism: that God assumed Mary's body into Heaven after her death
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA was founded
Paula Ackerman became the 1st woman in the US to serve a congregation as a Rabbi, a few weeks after the death of her husband
Antihistamines became popular remedies for colds and allergies
The US population went over 150 million
Total world population was over 2.5 billion (55% in Asia)
In the “Great Brinks Robbery”, 11 thieves stole more than $2 million from an armored car in Boston, MA
1951
The United Nations headquarters officially opened in New York City
Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flats, northwest of Las Vegas
The UN General Assembly declared that China is the aggressor in the Korean War
The 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution, limiting Presidents to 2 terms, was ratified
A heart-lung machine was devised for heart operations
The Broadway play “Gigi” opened, starring a little-known actress, Audrey Hepburn, playing the lead character
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, American Communists, received international attention when they were executed for passing nuclear weapons secrets to the Soviet Union
Chinese Communist forces moved into Lhasa, the capital of Tibet
Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service began in the US
Gian-Carlo Menotti's 45-minute opera, “Amahl and the Night Visitors”, premiered live on NBC, becoming the 1st opera written especially for television (it is a great success and is repeated annually every year for the next 14 years)
MGM's Technicolor film version of “Show Boat”, starring Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner and Howard Keel premiered at Radio City Music Hall. The film received mixed reviews, but became a box office smash. It introduced bass-baritone William Warfield (singing “Ol' Man River”) to movie audiences and made him nationally famous overnight
One of the greatest moments in Major League baseball history occurred when the New York Giants Bobby Thomson hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 9th inning off of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, to win the National League pennant after being down 14 games (it came to be known as “the Shot Heard 'Round the World")
The TV show, “I Love Lucy”, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, debuted on CBS
The “Dennis the Menace” comic strip appeared in newspapers across the US for the 1st time
Color TV was 1st introduced in the US
In Stockholm, an 18-year-old sailor was fined for kissing in public. The court called his actions “obnoxious behavior repulsive to the public morals”
1952
General Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected US President, defeating Adlai Stevenson
US President-elect, Dwight Eisenhower fulfilled a political campaign promise by traveling to Korea to find out what can be done to end the war there
Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the US
During August 16,000 people escaped from East to West Berlin
The 1st hydrogen bomb was exploded in the Pacific Ocean
The USSR Communist Party Congress met
Dr. C. Walton Lillehei and Dr. F. John Lewis performed the 1st open-heart surgery (at the University of Minnesota)
The “New York Daily News” carried a front page story announcing that Christine Jorgensen, a transsexual woman in Denmark became the recipient of the 1st successful “sexual reassignment” operation
3,300 died of polio in the US, and 57,000 children were paralyzed
A "killer fog" descended on London, causing 4,000 fatalities (in the process the word "smog" was coined from "smoke" and "fog")
“Cheez Whiz” was introduced by Kraft Foods
Rocket scientist, Wernher von Braun, talked about a manned flight to Mars
1953
The US, People's Republic of China, North Korea and South Korea signed an armistice agreement, ending the Korean War
Sir Edmund Hillary and his Nepalese Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay performed the 1st successful ascent to the summit of Mount Everest
Lung cancer was reported attributable to cigarette smoking
The 1st 3-D movie, “Bwana Devil”, opened in the US
Drs. James Watson and Francis Crick announced that they had discovered the structure of the DNA molecule
Joseph Stalin died after 26 years of ruling the Soviet Union, and soon afterward, Nikita Khruschev was selected as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist party and then head of the Soviet Central Committee
Dag Hammarskjold was elected Secretary General of the UN
At Rogers Dry Lake, California Jackie Cochran became the 1st woman to break the sound barrier (she flew in a F-86 Sabrejet at an average speed of 652.337 miles-per-hour)
The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was held at Westminster Abbey in London
Authorities at the British Natural History Museum announced that the skull of the "Piltdown Man", one of the most famous fossil skulls in the world, was a hoax
Dr. Albert Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
1954
The US Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in “Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas”, ruling that segregation by color in public schools was a violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (this victory paved the way for integration and the Civil Rights movement)
Senator Joseph McCarthy's continued “witch-hunting activities” culminated in a nationally televised hearing seeking to prove Communist infiltration into the US Army. Soon afterward, the Senate voted 67 to 22 to censure and condemn him for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute"
There was concern in Europe and the US about fallout and disposal of radioactive waste
Dr. Jonas Salk developed anti-polio serum, and mass vaccination of schoolchildren helped to save innumerable lives
Roger Bannister of England ran the 1st “4-minute mile”
President Eisenhower warned against US intervention in Vietnam
RCA began selling the 1st first color television sets (the screens were 12” and sold for about $1,175 each)
President Eisenhower gave his “domino theory” speech during a news conference (it was a foreign policy that speculated if one land in a region came under the influence of Communism, then the surrounding countries would follow using the analogy to a falling row of dominoes standing on end)
On Flag Day in the US, the words "under God" were added to the Pledge of Allegiance
The world's 1st atomic power station opened at Obninsk, near Moscow
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.27 points, or 0.86%, closing at an all-time high of 382.74 (more significantly, it was the 1st time the Dow had surpassed its 1929 peak level reached just before that year's crash)
The 1st kidney transplants were done in Boston and also in Paris
Bill Haley and His Comets recorded “Rock Around the Clock”
Emilie, one of the Dionne Quintuplets, died following an epileptic seizure at Sainte Agathe, Quebec
Volume 1, Issue 1 of “Sports Illustrated” was published
The last new episode of “The Lone Ranger” was aired on radio after 2,956 episodes over a period of 21 years
Texas Instruments announced the 1st worldwide transistor radio
Stop signs were changed from black-on-yellow to white-on-red
The “TV Dinner” was introduced
1955
Rosa Parks, an African-American seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and was arrested. Days later the Montgomery Improvement Association was formed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Black ministers to coordinate a Black boycott of segregated city buses
Marian Anderson is the 1st African-American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City
The Pentagon announced plans to develop ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) armed with nuclear weapons
President Eisenhower sent the 1st US advisors to South Vietnam
The Broadway musical version of “Peter Pan”, starring Mary Martin, was presented on television for the 1st time by NBC. It also marked the 1st time that a stage musical was presented in its entirety on TV exactly as performed onstage
“Blackboard Jungle” featuring the song “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets opened in movie theaters, thus propelling Rock and Roll as a musical genre (teenagers jumped from their seats to dance to the song)
The western TV show, “Gunsmoke”, debuted on CBS
Actor James Dean was killed at the age of 24 when his Porsche collided with another automobile in California (his status as a cultural icon was best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, “Rebel Without a Cause”, in which he starred as troubled high school rebel, Jim Stark)
Atomic-generated electric power was 1st sold commercially in the US
1956
Dwight Eisenhower was re-elected President, with Richard Nixon as Vice-President
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged as the leader of the campaign for desegregation
Transatlantic cable telephone service was inaugurated
Dr. Albert Sabin developed an oral vaccine against polio
Fidel Castro landed in Cuba with a small armed force to overthrow the dictator, Fulgencio Batista
Elvis Presley entered the US music charts for the 1st time, with his song “Heartbreak Hotel"
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 500 for the 1st time
Pakistan became the 1st Islamic republic
Videotape was 1st demonstrated at a convention in Chicago by Ampex (it was a demonstration of the 1st practical and commercially successful videotape format)
Actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco
General Electric/Telechron introduced the 1st snooze alarm clock
President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act, creating the Interstate Highway System
A Joint Resolution of the US Congress was signed by President Eisenhower, authorizing “In God We Trust” as the US national motto
Don Larsen of the New York Yankees threw the first and only perfect game in World Series history in Game 5 against the Brooklyn Dodgers (Yogi Berra was the catcher)
13-year-old Bobby Fischer beat Grand Master Donald Byrne in the NY Rosenwald chess tournament (it came to be called “the game of the century”)
MGM's screen classic, “The Wizard of Oz”, was shown on television for the 1st time on NBC
Bob Barker made his TV debut as host of the game show, “Truth or Consequences”
1957
The Teamsters union was expelled from the AFL-CIO when Jimmy Hoffa refused to expel criminals from his union
The USSR launched the 1st earth satellites, “Sputnik I and II”
“Beat” and “beatnik” emerged as words to describe a new generation (much of Beat culture represented a negative view of society, and was driven by a vague feeling of cultural and emotional displacement, dissatisfaction and yearning). Its leading proponents were writers Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs
Dr. Seuss' “The Cat in the Hat” was published
Bringing together 2 United Kingdom colonies, Gold Coast and British Pogoland, Ghana became the 1st country in colonial Africa to gain independence
US Marine Major, John Glenn, flew a supersonic jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds, setting a new transcontinental speed record
Senator Strom Thurmond (D-South Carolina) set the record for the longest filibuster with his 24-hour, 18-minute speech railing against a civil rights bill
Orville Faubus, governor of Arkansas, called out the US National Guard to prevent African-American students from enrolling in Central High School in Little Rock. 3 weeks later, President Eisenhower sent Federal troops there to provide safe passage for the “Little Rock Nine”
The Ford Motor Company introduced the “Edsel” (it became best known as the most spectacular failure in the history of the US automobile industry)
1958
Tension grew in the US as desegregation of schools was attempted in the South. Governor Faubus defied the US Supreme Court by closing schools in Little Rock and reopening them as private, segregated schools
Stereophonic recordings came into use
The US Congress established NASA to administer scientific exploration of space
The 1st successful American satellite, “Explorer I”, is launched into orbit
Nikita Khrushchev became Premier of the Soviet Union
Van Cliburn won the International Tchaikovsky Competition for pianists, in the USSR, breaking cold-war tensions
1959
Alaska became the 49th US state, and several months later, Hawaii became the 50th US state
US Postmaster General Summerfield banned D. H. Lawrence's “Lady Chatterley's Lover” from the mails on grounds of obscenity
Pope John XXIII announced the calling of the First Ecumenical Council (Vatican II) since 1870. It resulted in many sweeping changes in the Roman Catholic Church
The “Barbie” doll debuted
In Cuba, rebel troops led by Che Guevara entered the city of Havana, followed by others led by Fidel Castro who became the Cuban Premier the next month
A chartered plane transporting pioneer rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly (“Peggy Sue”), Ritchie Valens (“La Bamba”) and “The Big Bopper” (J. P. Richardson/”Chantilly Lace”) went down in an Iowa snowstorm, killing all 4 occupants on board. The tragedy is later termed “The Day the Music Died", popularized in Don McLean's song, “American Pie”
Busch Gardens was dedicated and opened its gates in Tampa, Florida
The Dalai Lama left Tibet
NASA announced its selection of 7 military pilots to become the 1st US astronauts – Malcolm Carpenter, Leroy Cooper, John Glenn, Jr., Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald “Deke” Slayton. They were called the “Mercury 7” and it was the only astronaut group with members that flew on all NASA manned spacecraft of the 20th century
Charles Ovnand and Dale Buis became the 1st Americans killed in action in Vietnam
At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, US Vice President Richard Nixon and USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev had an impromptu “kitchen debate” (for the event, an entire house was built that the American exhibitors claimed anyone in America could afford. It was filled with labor-saving and recreational devices meant to represent the fruits of the capitalist American consumer market. The debate took place in the house's kitchen as the 2 leaders discussed the merits of each of their economic systems, capitalism vs. communism)
The US launched “Explorer 6” from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida (it sent back the 1st picture of Earth from space)
Rod Serling's anthology series, “The Twlight Zone”, premiered on TV
In New York City, the Guggenheim Museum opened to the public. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who had died 5 months earlier
"Pantyhose" was invented
The 1st known human with HIV died in the Congo
1960
An optical laser was introduced by Dr. Theodore Maiman at Hughes Rewsearch Laboratories (a laser is a device that emits light through a specific mechanism for which the term “laser” is an acronym: light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation)
The 1st US weather satellite was launched
In Washington, DC, the National Association of Broadcasters reacted to the “Payola” scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accepted money for playing particular records
In Greensboro, North Carolina, 4 African-American students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University began a sit-in at a segregated “Woolworth” lunch counter. Although they were refused service, they were allowed to stay at the counter. The event triggered many similar non-violent protests throughout the Southern US, and 6 months later the original 4 protesters are served lunch at the same counter
Joanne Woodward received the 1st star on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame”
The US announced that 3,500 American soldiers would be sent to Vietnam
Total world population was over 3 million (56% in Asia)
A Soviet missile shot down an American Lockheed U2 spy plane, and its pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was captured
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of the birth control pill (oral contraceptive)
President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960 into law (it established Federal inspection of local voter registration polls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote or actually vote; despite the law, only an extra 3% African-American voters were added to the electoral roll for the 1960 elections)
US presidential candidate, John F. Kennedy, 1st suggests the idea for the “Peace Corps”
The 1st televised debates were held between the Presidential candidates, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon (Kennedy did a much better job of expressing himself)
In a close race, John F. Kennedy was elected US President over Richard Nixon, becoming at age 43 the youngest man ever elected to that office
Nikita Khrushchev pounded his shoe on a table at a UN General Assembly meeting, to protest discussion of Soviet Union policy toward Eastern Europe
When entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. married Swedish actress May Britt, interracial marriage was still illegal in 31 US states out of 50
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Geoffrey Francis Fisher, talked with Pope John XXIII for about an hour in the Vatican. It is the 1st time in more than 500 years that a head of the Anglican Church had visited the Pope
1961
Cuban exiled rebels, trained and supplied by the US, attempted an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs (a week later, President Kennedy acknowledges his full responsibility for the fiasco)
The Berlin Wall, separating east from west, was constructed (movement remains restricted for the next 28 years, until November 9, 1989)
Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, orbited the earth in a 6-ton satellite and became the 1st human in space
Alan Shepard made the 1st US space flight
“Freedom Riders”, 13 African-American and white students with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) left Washington, DC on 2 buses, to test integration laws in bus stations throughout the deep South. One bus was fire-bombed by white citizens in Alabama and the civil rights workers were attacked and beaten by an angry mob
“Mad Magazine” pointed out on its cover for the March 1961 issue, this was the 1st “upside-up" year - i.e., one in which the numerals that form the year look the same as when the numerals are rotated upside down – since 1881 and the last until 6009
President Eisenhower gave his final “State of the Union” address to Congress. In a Farewell Address the same day, he warned of the increasing power of a “military-industrial complex”
In Washington, DC John F. Kennedy delivered the 1st live presidential news conference
In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declared he is a Marxist-Leninist, and that Cuba will adopt Communism
President Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress his goal to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade, beginning the “Apollo” program of US manned spaceflight
Baseball player, Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his 61st home run in the last game of the season, breaking the 34-year-old record held by Babe Ruth
President Kennedy sent 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam
Tanganyika gains independence and declares itself a republic, with Julius Nyerere as its 1st President (it re-named itself Tanzania)
The Vietnam War officially began, as the 1st American helicopters arrived in Saigon along with 400 US personnel
"Barbie" gets a boyfriend when the "Ken" doll is introduced
1962
First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, took television viewers on a tour of the White House
While aboard “Friendship 7”, John Glenn became the 1st American to orbit the Earth (three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes)
Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA basketball game
In Engel v. Vitale, the US Supreme Court ruled that mandatory prayers in public schools are unconstitutional
Film actress and sex icon Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home, after apparently overdosing on sleeping pills (it remains one of the most mysterious deaths of all time)
The South African government arrested Nelson Mandela and charged him with incitement to rebellion
Rachel Carson's book, “Silent Spring”, was released, giving rise to the modern environmentalist and ecological movement
James Meredith, the 1st African-American student to register at the University of Mississippi, was denied admission by Governor Barnett. Meredith was escorted by Federal Marshals, and 3,000 soldiers suppressed riots when he arrived on campus to begin classes
Pope John XXIII convened the 1st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years
The Cuban Missile Crisis began as a U-2 flight over Cuba took photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed. A stand-off then ensued the next day between the US and the Soviet Union, threatening the world with nuclear war. A week later, in a televised address, President Kennedy announced to the nation the existence of the Soviet missiles. Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev then announced that he had ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases from Cuba
The term “personal computer” was 1st mentioned by the media
After a trip to Vietnam at the request of President Kennedy, US Senate Majority Leader, Mike Mansfield, became the 1st American official to make an pessimistic public comment on the war's progress
1963
The Coca-Cola Company debuts “TaB”, its 1st diet cola
The Organization of African Unity was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
George Wallace became governor of Alabama. In his inaugural speech, he defiantly proclaims "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!" 5 months later, he stood in the door of the University of Alabama to protest integration, before stepping aside and allowing African-Americans, James Hood and Vivian Malone, to enroll
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Abernathy and others were arrested in Birmingham, Alabama after a peaceful protest against segregation for "parading without a permit". Several days later, Dr. King issued his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. The letter was a response to a statement made by 8 white Alabama clergymen titled “A Call For Unity” which agreed that social injustices were taking place but expressed the belief that the battle against racial segregation should be fought solely in the courts and not taken onto the streets. King responded that, without forceful, direct actions such as his, true civil rights could never be achieved. As he put it, "This 'wait' has almost always meant 'never.' " He asserted not only that civil disobedience was justified in the face of unjust laws, but also that "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”
Thousands of African-Americans, many of them children, were arrested while protesting segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. Sheriff Eugene “Bull” Connor later unleashed fire hoses and police dogs on the demonstrators
An African-American civil rights activist, Medgar Evers, was murdered in Jackson, Mississippi (his killer was finally convicted in 1994). Mourned nationally, Evers was buried in Arlington National Cemetery and received full military honors in front of a crowd of more than 3,000 people. Byron De La Beckwith, a fertilizer salesman and member of the Ku Klux Klan, was arrested for Evers' murder. In 1964, all-white juries twice deadlocked on his guilt, thus allowing him to escape justice. The murder and subsequent miscarriage of justice caused a social uproar
Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) succeeds Pope John XXIII as the 262nd pope
ZIP Codes for addresses were introduced in the US
The US, Great Britain and Soviet Union signed a nuclear test ban treaty (it prohibited all test detonations of nuclear weapons except underground. It was developed both to slow the arms race (nuclear testing was necessary for continued nuclear weapon advancements), and to stop the excessive release of nuclear fallout into the planet's atmosphere
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have A Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to an audience of at least 250,000 during the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” (in it, he spoke eloquently of his desire for a future where African-Americans and whites would coexist harmoniously as equals)
In the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, 4 girls - Addie Mae Collins (aged 14), Denise McNair (11), Carole Robertson (14), and Cynthia Wesley (14) - were killed in the blast and 22 others were injured. The attack was intended to instill fear in those supporting equal civil rights without regard to race. Instead, it caused public outrage and spurred the civil-rights movement to further success
On November 22nd, PresidentJohn F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, Governor John Connally was seriously wounded, and Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President. Kennedy was fatally wounded by gunshots while riding with his wife Jacqueline in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza (I was working in my room in a
house near Augsburg College when I heard the tragic news)
Alleged assassin of John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, was shot dead by Jack Ruby in Dallas on live national television
New President, Lyndon B. Johnson, confirmed that the US intended to continue supporting South Vietnam militarily and economically
President Johnson established the “Warren Commission” to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy
Kenya became independent from Great Britain, with Jomo Kenyatta as prime minister
The 1st patented artificial heart was invented by Paul Winchell who subsequently assigned the patent to the University of Utah, where Robert Jarvik ultimately used it as the model for his Jarvik-7. Jarvik's designs improved the device, but his patients died after brief trials
“I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There” were released in the US, which was the beginning of “Beatlemania” and forever changed the way rock-and-roll music sounds
Harvey Ball invented the ubiquitous “smiley face” symbol
1964
In the 1st meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the 15th century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I met in Jerusalem
In his 1st “State of the Union” address, President Johnson declared a “War on Poverty” (the Office of Economic Opportunity became the agency responsible for administering the programs created, including VISTA, Job Corps and Head Start)
US Surgeon General Luther Terry reported that smoking may be hazardous to one's heath (the 1st such statement from the US government)
John Glenn, the 1st American to orbit the earth, resigned from the space program and announced the next day that he would seek the Democratic nomination for US Senator from Ohio
The Beatles arrived from England at New York City's JFK Airport, receiving a tumultuous reception from a throng of screaming fans. Two days later, they appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show”, marking their 1st live performance on American television. Seen by an estimated 73 million viewers, the appearance became the catalyst for the mid-1960s “British Invasion” of American popular music
In a notorious incident, 38 of her neighbors in Queens, New York City failed to respond to the cries of Kitty Genovese, age 28, as she is being stabbed to death
US Defense Secretary Robert McNamara delivered an address that reiterates American determination to give South Vietnam increased military and economic aid, in its war against the Communist insurgency
Merv Griffin's game show “Jeopardy!” debuted on NBC, with Art Fleming as its first host
In April, The Beatles held the top 5 positions in the Billboard Top 40 singles in America, an unprecedented achievement (due mostly to the explosive growth, fragmentation, and marketing of popular music since, this was certain to never happen again)
The Rolling Stones released their debut album
President Johnson in New York, and Soviet Premier Khrushchev in Moscow, announced simultaneously plans to cut back production of materials for making nuclear weapons
Nelson Mandela made his "I Am Prepared to Die" speech (it became a classic of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa). A few weeks later, he and 7 others were sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to the Robben Island prison
The US State Department said that more than 40 hidden microphones had been found embedded in the walls of the US Embassy in Moscow
Somewhere around 1,000 students marched through Times Square in New York City and another 700 in San Francisco, in the 1st major student demonstration against the Vietnam War (smaller marches also occur in Boston, Seattle, and Madison, Wisconsin)
At the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, US presidential nominee Barry Goldwater declared that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice", and "moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue"
The US sent 5,000 more military advisers to South Vietnam, bringing the total number of US forces in Vietnam to 21,000
The US Congress passed the “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution”, giving President Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on US forces
“Ranger 7”, launched from Cape Kennedy, sent back the 1st close-up photographs of the moon's surface (images are 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from Earth-bound telescopes)
The “Good Friday earthquake”, the most powerful earthquake in US history at a magnitude of 9.2, struck Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage of $500 million to the city of Anchorage
Race riots erupted in Harlem, New York City and in many other US cities as reaction against enforcement of civil rights laws
Police arrested over 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following their takeover and massive sit-in at the administration building, protesting the University of California Regents' decision to forbid Vietnam War protests on the campus property
The “Warren Commission”, appointed by President Johnson under Chief Justice Earl Warren, published their report, the 1st official investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy. They found that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, was responsible for the President's death. This conclusion initially met with widespread support among the American public, but polls since, show a majority of the public held beliefs contrary to the Commission's findings, most around the theory that Oswald was part of a conspiracy
At age 35, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading non-violent resistance to end racial prejudice in the US
Nikita Khrushchev was deposed as leader of the Soviet Union, as Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin assumed power
Campaigning at Madison Square Garden in New York City, President Johnson pledged the creation of “the Great Society”, a set of domestic programs with 2 main goals of social reform: the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. New major spending programs that addressed education, medical care, urban problems, and transportation were also proposed
4 days later, incumbent President Johnson defeated Republican challenger, Barry Goldwater with over 60% of the popular vote
A TV special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, premiered on NBC. It became a beloved Christmas tradition, shown on television every year
Comedian Lenny Bruce was sentenced to 4 months in prison, concluding a six-month obscenity trial
The Watusi, Frug, Monkey, Funky Chicken, and other varieties of the Twist drove many people to discotheques, where “go-go girls” performed
1965
Malcolm X, a Black Muslim minister and spokesman for the Nation of Islam, was assassinated in New York City. During his life, Malcolm went from being a drug dealer and burglar to one of the most prominent Black nationalist leaders in the US. As a militant leader, he advocated “Black pride”, “Black power”, and economic self-reliance
Following outbreaks of violence in Selma, Alabama, during which some 200 Alabama State Troopers attacked 525 men, women and children, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. headed a procession of 4,000 civil rights demonstrators from Selma to Montgomery
Severe race riots in the Watts district of Los Angeles resulted in 35 dead, 4,000 arrested, and $40 million in property damage
3,500 US Marines arrived in South Vietnam, becoming the 1st American combat troops in Vietnam
Momentum grew for anti-pollution laws on a national scale in the US
When a relay switch in Ontario malfunctioned, the entire northeastern US and parts of Canada lost electrical power (the blackout affected 30 million people and resulted in a noticeable increase in the birth rate 9 months later!)
“Students for a Democratic Society” (SDS) organized the 1st teach-in against the Vietnam War, with 2,500 participants, at the University of Michigan. Three weeks later, the SDS led 25,000 students in a demonstration in Washington, DC against US bombing of North Vietnam
The 1st draft card burnings took place at U of C, Berkeley
On Palm Sunday, an estimated 51 tornadoes (47 confirmed) strike in 6 Midwestern states, killing over 260 people and injuring some 1,500 more
On “Gemini 4”, astronaut Edward White made the 1st US space walk
US spacecraft “Mariner 4” flew by Mars, becoming the 1st spacecraft to return images from the “Red Planet”
Singer and composer, Bob Dylan, elicited controversy among folk purists by "going electric" at the Newport Folk Festival
President Johnson announced his order to increase the number of US troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000, and to double the number of men drafted per month from 17,000 to 35,000
President Johnson signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare (a health insurance program administered by the US government, covering people who are either age 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria) and Medicaid (a US health insurance program for individuals and families with low incomes and resources, jointly funded by the states and Federal government, and managed by the states
In November the Pentagon told President Johnson that if planned major sweep operations to neutralize Viet Cong forces during the next year are to succeed, the number of American troops in Vietnam will have to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000
“A Charlie Brown Christmas”, the 1st “Peanuts” TV special, debuted on CBS, becoming one of the great Christmas television specials and an annual tradition
Tokyo became the largest city of the world, taking the lead from New York City
1966
President Johnson stated that the US should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended
About 8,000 US soldiers land in South Vietnam (US troops now total 190,000)
Robert C. Weaver became the 1st African-American member of the Cabinet, by being appointed US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Indira Gandhi was elected Prime Minister of India
US spacecraft “Surveyor I” made a soft landing on the moon and transmitted more than 11,000 TV images of the terrain
Soviet space probe “Venera 3” crashed on Venus, becoming the 1st spacecraft to land on another planet's surface
In an interview published in The London “Evening Standard”, John Lennon of the Beatles commented, "We're more popular than Jesus now," which sparked a controversy in the US. 5 months later, the Beatles held a press conference in Chicago, during which John Lennon apologizes for his remark, saying, "I didn't mean it as a lousy anti-religious thing"
The Texas Western “Miners” defeated the Kentucky “Wildcats” with 5 African-American starters, ushering in desegregation in athletic recruiting
In New York City, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his 1st public speech against the Vietnam War
In “Miranda v. Arizona”, the US Supreme Court ruled that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded in Washington, DC
President Johnson signed the “Freedom of Information Act” (this act allowed for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the US Government)
Richard Speck systematically murdered 8 student nurses in their dormitory at South Chicago Community Hospital (Pam and I were living at nearly Elgin, Illinois at the time)
Mao Tse-tung launches a “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” to purge and reorganize China's Communist Party (the struggle for power within the Party manifested into wide-scale social, political, and economic chaos, which grew to include large sections of Chinese society and eventually brought the entire country to the brink of civil war)
“Miniskirts” came into fashion
“Star Trek”, the classic science fiction television series, debuted with its 1st episode
Bobby Seale and Huey Newton founded the “Black Panther Party” (the organization initially espoused a doctrine calling for armed resistance to societal oppression in the interest of African-American justice, though its objectives and philosophy changed radically throughout the party's existence)
Former Massachusetts Attorney General, Edward Brooke, became the 1st African-American elected to the US Senate since “Reconstruction” (following the Civil War)
Actor Ronald Reagan, a Republican, was elected Governor of California
A 48-hour truce was observed in Vietnam at Christmas
A spectacular meteor shower passed over Arizona, at the rate of 2,300 a minute for 20 minutes
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, a TV special narrated by Boris Karloff, was shown for the 1st time on CBS (it became an annual Christmas tradition, and the best-loved film ever based on a Dr. Seuss book)
1967
700,000 people marched down 5th Avenue in New York City in support of US soldiers fighting in Vietnam
In the “6-Day War”, Israel defeated its Arab neighbors, resulting in their occupying the West Bank of Jordan, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Desert, the Golan Heights of Syria and capturing the old city of Jerusalem, which was then proclaimed a united city under Israeli rule
50,000 people demonstrated against the Vietnam War at the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, DC
President Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall as the 1st African-American on the US Supreme Court
US manned space flights were suspended after the death of 3 US astronauts – Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee – when fire erupted in their Apollo spacecraft during a launch pad test at Cape Kennedy
Dr. Christiaan Barnard of South Africa performed the world's 1st human heart transplant operation
Segregationist Lester Maddox was sworn in as Governor of Georgia
The “New York Times” reported that the US Army was conducting secret germ warfare experiments
Louis Leakey announced that he has found prehuman fossils in Kenya
Alberto DeSalvo, known as the “Boston Strangler”, was convicted of unrelated crimes of robbery and sexual offenses and sentenced to life in prison (between June 1962 and January 1964, 11 single women between the ages of 19 and 75 were murdered in the Boston area. All 11 women were sexually assaulted in their apartments and murdered. Without any sign of forced entry into their dwellings, the women were assumed to either know their assailant or have voluntarily allowed him into their homes. While the police were not convinced that all of these murders were the work of a single individual, much of the public believed they were)
The R & B single, “Respect” was released by Aretha Franklin
Joseph Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva, defected to the US
In Houston, Texas, boxer Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay) refused military service
Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu were married in Las Vegas
The Soviet Union ratified a treaty with the US and the United Kingdom, banning nuclear weapons from outer space
Biafra (in eastern Nigeria) announced its independence
The US Supreme Court declared all US state laws prohibiting interracial marriage to be unconstitutional
Pope Paul VI ordained 276 new cardinals (one of them was Karol Wojtyla who became Pope John Paul II in 1978)
President Johnson met with Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin in New Jersey for the 3-day “Glassboro Summit Conference” (the atmosphere of the summit was generally amicable, although the leaders failed to reach agreement on limiting anti-ballistic missile systems)
The town of Winneconne, Wisconsin announced secession from the US because it was not included in the official maps and declares war. Secession is repealed the next day
In Detroit, Michigan, one of the worst riots in US history began on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city (43 killed, 342 injured and 1,400 buildings burned)
Jim Morrison and “The Doors” defied CBS censors on “The Ed Sullivan Show”, when Morrison sings the word "higher" from their #1 hit “Light My Fire”, despite having been asked not to
“Love Is a Many Splendored Thing” debuted on US daytime television and is the 1st soap opera to deal with an interracial relationship. CBS censors find it too controversial and ask for it to be stopped, causing show creator, Irna Phillips, to quit
US Secretary of State Dean Rusk stated during a news conference that proposals by the US Congress for peace initiatives were futile, because of North Vietnam's opposition
The musical, “Hair”, premiered off-Broadway
Montreal's “Expo 67” closed in October with over 50 million attendees (it was considered the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century and Pam and I enjoyed our time there)
Carl Stokes was elected mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the 1st African- American mayor of a major US city
“LSD” was declared an illegal drug by the US government
US Senator Eugene McCarthy (D-MN) announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, challenging incumbent President Johnson over the Vietnam War
Acting on optimistic reports on Vietnam he had been given, President Johnson told the nation that, while much remained to be done, "we are inflicting greater losses than we're taking... we are making progress" (2 months later the “Tet Offensive” would make him regret his words)
“ The Summer of Love” occurred in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where thousands of young people loosely and freely united for a new social experience. As a result, the “hippie counterculture” movement came into public awareness (during the early '60s, tensions developed along generational lines regarding experimentation with drugs, race relations, sexual morals and women's rights. New cultural norms emerged. The “hippies” became the largest countercultural movement in the US fighting for more openness within main stream culture in civil rights especially drugs and the escalating involvement and conflict in Vietnam. They often expressed their views through the new “psychedelic rock” genre of music)
Other significant national and international events
and advancements in the years from 1968 on
will be included in the continuing narrative!
1942
The US declared war on Japan following that country's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941
Japanese forces invaded the Aleutian Islands (the 1st invasion of American soil in 128 years)
The US began interning Japanese-American citizens and seizing their property
Sugar, gasoline and coffee rationing began in the US
Germany, under Adolf Hitler, sank 400 American ships
The murder of millions of European Jews in Nazi gas chambers began
Physicist, Enrico Fermi, led a team at the University of Chicago in splitting the atom and produced the 1st nuclear chain reaction (part of the “Manhattan Project”)
Day-light savings time went into effect in the US
Mahatma Gandhi demanded independence for India and was arrested
The 1st “electronic brain” or automatic computer was developed in the US
Bell Aircraft tested the 1st US jet plane
Magnetic recording tape was invented
C. S. Lewis wrote “The Screwtape Letters”
The Disney movie “Bambi” and the film “Casablanca” came out, and Irving Berlin released “White Christmas” (sung by Bing Crosby)
DDT was 1st used as a pesticide
1943
Penicillin was successfully used in the treatment of chronic diseases for the 1st time
An infantile paralysis (polio) epidemic killed almost 1,200 and crippled thousands more in the US
A “pay-as-you-go” income tax system (where taxes are withheld from each paycheck and sent to the government) was instituted in the US
Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill held their “Casablanca Conference” (he became the 1st US President to travel by airplane while in office)
US General Dwight D. Eisenhower became the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe
Navy Lt. John F. Kennedy's PT-109 boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer (his actions to save his surviving crew after the sinking of the boat both solidified his "war hero" status in his political career and may have contributed to his long-term back problems)
Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin meet in Tehran to discuss war strategy (during the meetings they established an agreement concerning a planned June 1944 invasion of Europe)
A massacre occurred in the Warsaw, Poland ghetto
The US Army and Allies invaded Italy
Edward R. Murrow delivered his classic "Orchestrated Hell" broadcast over CBS Radio, describing a Royal Air Force night-time bombing raid on Berlin
Chiang Kai-shek took the oath of office as President of China
Shoe rationing began in the US, followed by rationing of meat, cheese, and all canned foods
The “Great Depression” officially ended in the US. With unemployment figures falling fast due to World War II-related employment, President Roosevelt closed the “Works Progress Administration” (WPA)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical play, “Oklahoma!”, opened on Broadway and became an instanteous stage classic (it went on to become Broadway's longest-running musical up to that time – 2,248 consecutive performances)
1944
The US Army and Allies invaded France with “D-Day” landings in Normandy on June 6th (155,000 Allied troops, over 700 ships and 4,000 landing craft were involved)
The “Battle of the Bulge” began (it was the bloodiest of the battles that US forces experienced in World War II, with 19,000 Americans killed)
Brigadier General, Anthony C. McAuliffe, commander of the US forces defending Bastogne, Belgium during the “Battle of the Bulge”, refused to accept demands for surrender by sending a one-word reply, "Nuts!", to the German commander
Franklin Roosevelt was elected to a 4th term as the US President
IBM dedicated the 1st "Automatic Sequence Controlled" Calculator
The 1st non-stop flight went from London to Canada
The US Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council released posters featuring “Smokey the Bear” for the 1st time
The radio show, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet”, debuted
1945
The Yalta Conference was held between Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin in the USSR
The Battle of Iwo Jima, a Japanese island, was fought when about 30,000 US Marines landed there. During the battle, a group of Marines reached the top of Mount Suribachi and were photographed raising the American flag. The photo, taken by Joe Rosenthal, later won a Pulitzer Prize (the picture became the iconic image of the battle, and the most reproduced photograph of all time)
Adolf Hitler committed suicide in a Berlin bunker on April 30th
“VE Day” (May 8th) ended the war in Europe
After the war, Germany was divided into 4 zones, and 3-power occupation of Berlin took effect
Harry Truman became the US President after the death of Franklin Roosevelt
50 nations signed the United Nations Charter in a conference held in San Francisco
The last World War II battle in Europe was fought at Poljana, Slovenia
Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and 120 members of his team surrendered to US forces (they later helped start the US space program)
The US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6th and on Nagasaki on August 9th
Japan surrendered on August 14th (V-J Day), ending World War II (the number of war dead was estimated at 35 million plus 10 million in Nazi concentration camps)
Harry Truman, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin held the Potsdam Conference, the last summit of the war
African-American, John H. Johnson, published the 1st issue of his magazine, “Ebony”
At Gimbel's Department Store in New York City, the 1st ball point pens went on sale for $12.50
Assembly of the world's 1st general purpose electronic computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), was completed (it covered 1,800 feet of floor space)
The “Nag Hammadi” scriptures (popularly known as “The Gnostic Gospels”), a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts, was discovered in Egypt
At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN streptomycin was 1st used to treat TB
Percy Spencer accidentally discovered that microwaves can heat food (the invention of the microwave oven soon followed)
Grand Rapids, Michigan and Newburgh, New York became the 1st US cities to add fluoride to drinking water
1946
New York City was declared the permanent UN headquarters, as the General Assembly held its 1st session in London
Guilty verdicts in the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals were handed down
Winston Churchill gave a speech in Fulton, Missouri in which he introduced the phrase "Iron Curtain" to describe the division between Western powers and the area controlled by the Soviet Union (as such, the speech marked the onset of the “Cold War”)
The South Pole expedition of Admiral Robert Byrd began
George Kennan, a career Foreign Service Officer, formulated the policy of “containment,” the basic US strategy for fighting the “Cold War” (1947-1989) with the Soviet Union (he argued that the Soviet regime was inherently expansionist and that its influence had to be “contained” in areas of vital strategic importance to the US)
India's Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, appeals to the US and the Soviet Union to end nuclear testing and to start nuclear disarmament, stating that such an action would "save humanity from the ultimate disaster"
UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund) was founded
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis did their 1st show as a comedy team
“Tupperware” was first sold in department and hardware stores
1947
India proclaimed independence and was partitioned into India and Pakistan
The US House Un-American Activities Committee investigated Communist connections among movie personnel in Hollywood
In an effort to fight the spread of Communism, President Truman signed an act implementing the “Truman Doctrine”. The act granted $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created
A US airplane 1st flew at supersonic speeds
Bell Lab scientists invented the transistor
Jackie Robinson became the 1st African-American professional baseball player of the modern era. His Major League debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers ended approximately 80 years of baseball segregation, known as the “baseball color line”
Edwin Land demonstrated the 1st "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera
Al Capone, US gangster, died (popularly known as “Scarface”, he led a crime syndicate dedicated to the illegal trafficking of alcoholic beverages during the time of Prohibition – the 1920s-1930s)
Princess Elizabeth, heir to the English throne, married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London
In California, designer Howard Hughes performed the maiden flight of the “Spruce Goose”, the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built (the flight lasted only 8 minutes)
American test pilot, Captain Chuck Yeager, flew a Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound for the 1st time
In a cave near Wadi Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, several tall pottery jars containing leather scrolls were discovered, which later became known as the “Dead Sea Scrolls” (Old Testament scriptures and other documents, dating from 22 BC to AD 100)
The “Diary of Anne Frank”, chronicling her life from June 12, 1942 (in hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam) until August 1, 1944 (when she and her family were arrested), was published. It was eventually translated from its original Dutch into many languages and became one of the world's most widely-read books. Through her writing, Frank became one of the most well-known Holocaust victims after her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Thor Heyerdahl sailed on a balsa wood raft, the “Kon Tiki”, from Peru to Polynesia (a 4,300 mile journey across the Pacific Ocean) in 101 days, proving that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America
Walter Frederick Morrison invented the “Frisbee”
A downed UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) was allegedly found near Roswell, New Mexico
1948
The US Congress passed the “Marshall Plan” (named for US General George Marshall) providing $5 billion in economic aid to 16 European countries
The Jewish state of Israel came into existence on May 14th with David Ben-Gurion as its 1st Prime Minister. The next day an Arab-Israeli war began, with Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia attacking Israel
The World Council of Churches was established
The World Health Organization was established by the UN with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
President Truman issued the 2nd peacetime military draft in the US amid increasing tensions with the Soviet Union (the 1st peacetime draft occurred in 1940 under President Roosevelt)
President Truman signed an Executive Order, ending racial segregation in the US Armed Forces
The long-playing (LP) record was invented
Babe Ruth died, and Joe Louis retired after fighting 25 heavyweight title bouts since 1937
Indian civil rights advocate, Mahatma Gandhi, was assassinated
Harry Truman was elected President of the US, defeating Thomas Dewey (newspapers were so sure of the outcome that they prematurely printed the headline, "Dewey Beats Truman")
Alfred Kinsey wrote his landmark study, “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male”
1949
In China, the Communist People's Republic was proclaimed under Mao Tse-Tung
Israel was admitted to the UN as its 59th member, and its capital was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
Apartheid (official and systematic racial segregation) was established in South Africa
The 1st Volkswagen “Beetle” (a 1948 model) arrived in the US. It was brought over to New York by Dutch businessman, Ben Pon. Unable to interest dealers or importers in the Volkswagen, Pon sold the sample car to pay his travel expenses. Only two 1949 models were sold in America, convincing the Volkswagen chairman that the car had no future in the US (the “Beetle” went on to become the greatest automobile phenomenon in American history)
The B-50 “Lucky Lady II”, under Captain James Gallagher, landed in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the 1st non-stop around-the-world airplane flight (it was refueled in flight 4 times)
Eire left the British Commonwealth and became the Republic of Ireland
The North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington, DC, creating the NATO defense alliance
The Vatican announced that bones uncovered in its subterranean catacombs could be the apostle St. Peter (19 years later, Pope Paul VI announced confirmation that the bones did belong to this 1st saint)
1950
US Senator, Joseph McCarthy, advised President Truman that the State Department was riddled with Communists
North Korean forces invaded South Korea and captured Seoul, opening the “Korean War”
President Truman ordered the US Atomic Energy Commission to develop a hydrogen bomb in response to the detonation of the Soviet Union's 1st atomic bomb in 1949
Florence Chadwick swam across the English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes
The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China signed a mutual defense treaty
Robert Schuman presented his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations (this proposal, known as the "Schuman Declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union)
L. Ron Hubbard published "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health", leading to the founding of the pseudo-religion, Scientology
The Korean War began with North Korea capturing the South Korean capital of Seoul (Americans at home began hoarding supplies in case of rationing and shortages)
In his encyclical, “Humani Generis”, Pope Pius XII declared that evolution was a serious hypothesis that did not contradict essential Catholic teachings
The game show, “Truth or Consequences”, debuted on television
The comic strip, “Peanuts” by Charles Schulz was 1st published in 7 US newspapers
There were 1.5 million TV sets in the US (the number rose to 15 million the next year)
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued the 1st license to broadcast TV in color to CBS, but RCA successfully disputed and blocked the license from taking effect
The 1st TV remote control, Zenith Radio's “Lazy Bones”, was marketed
Sister Mary Teresa began her charity work in Calcutta, India (became known as Mother Teresa)
Pope Pius XII defines a new dogma of Roman Catholicism: that God assumed Mary's body into Heaven after her death
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA was founded
Paula Ackerman became the 1st woman in the US to serve a congregation as a Rabbi, a few weeks after the death of her husband
Antihistamines became popular remedies for colds and allergies
The US population went over 150 million
Total world population was over 2.5 billion (55% in Asia)
In the “Great Brinks Robbery”, 11 thieves stole more than $2 million from an armored car in Boston, MA
1951
The United Nations headquarters officially opened in New York City
Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flats, northwest of Las Vegas
The UN General Assembly declared that China is the aggressor in the Korean War
The 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution, limiting Presidents to 2 terms, was ratified
A heart-lung machine was devised for heart operations
The Broadway play “Gigi” opened, starring a little-known actress, Audrey Hepburn, playing the lead character
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, American Communists, received international attention when they were executed for passing nuclear weapons secrets to the Soviet Union
Chinese Communist forces moved into Lhasa, the capital of Tibet
Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service began in the US
Gian-Carlo Menotti's 45-minute opera, “Amahl and the Night Visitors”, premiered live on NBC, becoming the 1st opera written especially for television (it is a great success and is repeated annually every year for the next 14 years)
MGM's Technicolor film version of “Show Boat”, starring Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner and Howard Keel premiered at Radio City Music Hall. The film received mixed reviews, but became a box office smash. It introduced bass-baritone William Warfield (singing “Ol' Man River”) to movie audiences and made him nationally famous overnight
One of the greatest moments in Major League baseball history occurred when the New York Giants Bobby Thomson hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 9th inning off of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, to win the National League pennant after being down 14 games (it came to be known as “the Shot Heard 'Round the World")
The TV show, “I Love Lucy”, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, debuted on CBS
The “Dennis the Menace” comic strip appeared in newspapers across the US for the 1st time
Color TV was 1st introduced in the US
In Stockholm, an 18-year-old sailor was fined for kissing in public. The court called his actions “obnoxious behavior repulsive to the public morals”
1952
General Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected US President, defeating Adlai Stevenson
US President-elect, Dwight Eisenhower fulfilled a political campaign promise by traveling to Korea to find out what can be done to end the war there
Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the US
During August 16,000 people escaped from East to West Berlin
The 1st hydrogen bomb was exploded in the Pacific Ocean
The USSR Communist Party Congress met
Dr. C. Walton Lillehei and Dr. F. John Lewis performed the 1st open-heart surgery (at the University of Minnesota)
The “New York Daily News” carried a front page story announcing that Christine Jorgensen, a transsexual woman in Denmark became the recipient of the 1st successful “sexual reassignment” operation
3,300 died of polio in the US, and 57,000 children were paralyzed
A "killer fog" descended on London, causing 4,000 fatalities (in the process the word "smog" was coined from "smoke" and "fog")
“Cheez Whiz” was introduced by Kraft Foods
Rocket scientist, Wernher von Braun, talked about a manned flight to Mars
1953
The US, People's Republic of China, North Korea and South Korea signed an armistice agreement, ending the Korean War
Sir Edmund Hillary and his Nepalese Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay performed the 1st successful ascent to the summit of Mount Everest
Lung cancer was reported attributable to cigarette smoking
The 1st 3-D movie, “Bwana Devil”, opened in the US
Drs. James Watson and Francis Crick announced that they had discovered the structure of the DNA molecule
Joseph Stalin died after 26 years of ruling the Soviet Union, and soon afterward, Nikita Khruschev was selected as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist party and then head of the Soviet Central Committee
Dag Hammarskjold was elected Secretary General of the UN
At Rogers Dry Lake, California Jackie Cochran became the 1st woman to break the sound barrier (she flew in a F-86 Sabrejet at an average speed of 652.337 miles-per-hour)
The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was held at Westminster Abbey in London
Authorities at the British Natural History Museum announced that the skull of the "Piltdown Man", one of the most famous fossil skulls in the world, was a hoax
Dr. Albert Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
1954
The US Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in “Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas”, ruling that segregation by color in public schools was a violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (this victory paved the way for integration and the Civil Rights movement)
Senator Joseph McCarthy's continued “witch-hunting activities” culminated in a nationally televised hearing seeking to prove Communist infiltration into the US Army. Soon afterward, the Senate voted 67 to 22 to censure and condemn him for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute"
There was concern in Europe and the US about fallout and disposal of radioactive waste
Dr. Jonas Salk developed anti-polio serum, and mass vaccination of schoolchildren helped to save innumerable lives
Roger Bannister of England ran the 1st “4-minute mile”
President Eisenhower warned against US intervention in Vietnam
RCA began selling the 1st first color television sets (the screens were 12” and sold for about $1,175 each)
President Eisenhower gave his “domino theory” speech during a news conference (it was a foreign policy that speculated if one land in a region came under the influence of Communism, then the surrounding countries would follow using the analogy to a falling row of dominoes standing on end)
On Flag Day in the US, the words "under God" were added to the Pledge of Allegiance
The world's 1st atomic power station opened at Obninsk, near Moscow
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.27 points, or 0.86%, closing at an all-time high of 382.74 (more significantly, it was the 1st time the Dow had surpassed its 1929 peak level reached just before that year's crash)
The 1st kidney transplants were done in Boston and also in Paris
Bill Haley and His Comets recorded “Rock Around the Clock”
Emilie, one of the Dionne Quintuplets, died following an epileptic seizure at Sainte Agathe, Quebec
Volume 1, Issue 1 of “Sports Illustrated” was published
The last new episode of “The Lone Ranger” was aired on radio after 2,956 episodes over a period of 21 years
Texas Instruments announced the 1st worldwide transistor radio
Stop signs were changed from black-on-yellow to white-on-red
The “TV Dinner” was introduced
1955
Rosa Parks, an African-American seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and was arrested. Days later the Montgomery Improvement Association was formed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Black ministers to coordinate a Black boycott of segregated city buses
Marian Anderson is the 1st African-American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City
The Pentagon announced plans to develop ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) armed with nuclear weapons
President Eisenhower sent the 1st US advisors to South Vietnam
The Broadway musical version of “Peter Pan”, starring Mary Martin, was presented on television for the 1st time by NBC. It also marked the 1st time that a stage musical was presented in its entirety on TV exactly as performed onstage
“Blackboard Jungle” featuring the song “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets opened in movie theaters, thus propelling Rock and Roll as a musical genre (teenagers jumped from their seats to dance to the song)
The western TV show, “Gunsmoke”, debuted on CBS
Actor James Dean was killed at the age of 24 when his Porsche collided with another automobile in California (his status as a cultural icon was best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, “Rebel Without a Cause”, in which he starred as troubled high school rebel, Jim Stark)
Atomic-generated electric power was 1st sold commercially in the US
1956
Dwight Eisenhower was re-elected President, with Richard Nixon as Vice-President
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged as the leader of the campaign for desegregation
Transatlantic cable telephone service was inaugurated
Dr. Albert Sabin developed an oral vaccine against polio
Fidel Castro landed in Cuba with a small armed force to overthrow the dictator, Fulgencio Batista
Elvis Presley entered the US music charts for the 1st time, with his song “Heartbreak Hotel"
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 500 for the 1st time
Pakistan became the 1st Islamic republic
Videotape was 1st demonstrated at a convention in Chicago by Ampex (it was a demonstration of the 1st practical and commercially successful videotape format)
Actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco
General Electric/Telechron introduced the 1st snooze alarm clock
President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act, creating the Interstate Highway System
A Joint Resolution of the US Congress was signed by President Eisenhower, authorizing “In God We Trust” as the US national motto
Don Larsen of the New York Yankees threw the first and only perfect game in World Series history in Game 5 against the Brooklyn Dodgers (Yogi Berra was the catcher)
13-year-old Bobby Fischer beat Grand Master Donald Byrne in the NY Rosenwald chess tournament (it came to be called “the game of the century”)
MGM's screen classic, “The Wizard of Oz”, was shown on television for the 1st time on NBC
Bob Barker made his TV debut as host of the game show, “Truth or Consequences”
1957
The Teamsters union was expelled from the AFL-CIO when Jimmy Hoffa refused to expel criminals from his union
The USSR launched the 1st earth satellites, “Sputnik I and II”
“Beat” and “beatnik” emerged as words to describe a new generation (much of Beat culture represented a negative view of society, and was driven by a vague feeling of cultural and emotional displacement, dissatisfaction and yearning). Its leading proponents were writers Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs
Dr. Seuss' “The Cat in the Hat” was published
Bringing together 2 United Kingdom colonies, Gold Coast and British Pogoland, Ghana became the 1st country in colonial Africa to gain independence
US Marine Major, John Glenn, flew a supersonic jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds, setting a new transcontinental speed record
Senator Strom Thurmond (D-South Carolina) set the record for the longest filibuster with his 24-hour, 18-minute speech railing against a civil rights bill
Orville Faubus, governor of Arkansas, called out the US National Guard to prevent African-American students from enrolling in Central High School in Little Rock. 3 weeks later, President Eisenhower sent Federal troops there to provide safe passage for the “Little Rock Nine”
The Ford Motor Company introduced the “Edsel” (it became best known as the most spectacular failure in the history of the US automobile industry)
1958
Tension grew in the US as desegregation of schools was attempted in the South. Governor Faubus defied the US Supreme Court by closing schools in Little Rock and reopening them as private, segregated schools
Stereophonic recordings came into use
The US Congress established NASA to administer scientific exploration of space
The 1st successful American satellite, “Explorer I”, is launched into orbit
Nikita Khrushchev became Premier of the Soviet Union
Van Cliburn won the International Tchaikovsky Competition for pianists, in the USSR, breaking cold-war tensions
1959
Alaska became the 49th US state, and several months later, Hawaii became the 50th US state
US Postmaster General Summerfield banned D. H. Lawrence's “Lady Chatterley's Lover” from the mails on grounds of obscenity
Pope John XXIII announced the calling of the First Ecumenical Council (Vatican II) since 1870. It resulted in many sweeping changes in the Roman Catholic Church
The “Barbie” doll debuted
In Cuba, rebel troops led by Che Guevara entered the city of Havana, followed by others led by Fidel Castro who became the Cuban Premier the next month
A chartered plane transporting pioneer rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly (“Peggy Sue”), Ritchie Valens (“La Bamba”) and “The Big Bopper” (J. P. Richardson/”Chantilly Lace”) went down in an Iowa snowstorm, killing all 4 occupants on board. The tragedy is later termed “The Day the Music Died", popularized in Don McLean's song, “American Pie”
Busch Gardens was dedicated and opened its gates in Tampa, Florida
The Dalai Lama left Tibet
NASA announced its selection of 7 military pilots to become the 1st US astronauts – Malcolm Carpenter, Leroy Cooper, John Glenn, Jr., Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald “Deke” Slayton. They were called the “Mercury 7” and it was the only astronaut group with members that flew on all NASA manned spacecraft of the 20th century
Charles Ovnand and Dale Buis became the 1st Americans killed in action in Vietnam
At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, US Vice President Richard Nixon and USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev had an impromptu “kitchen debate” (for the event, an entire house was built that the American exhibitors claimed anyone in America could afford. It was filled with labor-saving and recreational devices meant to represent the fruits of the capitalist American consumer market. The debate took place in the house's kitchen as the 2 leaders discussed the merits of each of their economic systems, capitalism vs. communism)
The US launched “Explorer 6” from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida (it sent back the 1st picture of Earth from space)
Rod Serling's anthology series, “The Twlight Zone”, premiered on TV
In New York City, the Guggenheim Museum opened to the public. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who had died 5 months earlier
"Pantyhose" was invented
The 1st known human with HIV died in the Congo
1960
An optical laser was introduced by Dr. Theodore Maiman at Hughes Rewsearch Laboratories (a laser is a device that emits light through a specific mechanism for which the term “laser” is an acronym: light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation)
The 1st US weather satellite was launched
In Washington, DC, the National Association of Broadcasters reacted to the “Payola” scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accepted money for playing particular records
In Greensboro, North Carolina, 4 African-American students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University began a sit-in at a segregated “Woolworth” lunch counter. Although they were refused service, they were allowed to stay at the counter. The event triggered many similar non-violent protests throughout the Southern US, and 6 months later the original 4 protesters are served lunch at the same counter
Joanne Woodward received the 1st star on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame”
The US announced that 3,500 American soldiers would be sent to Vietnam
Total world population was over 3 million (56% in Asia)
A Soviet missile shot down an American Lockheed U2 spy plane, and its pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was captured
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of the birth control pill (oral contraceptive)
President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960 into law (it established Federal inspection of local voter registration polls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote or actually vote; despite the law, only an extra 3% African-American voters were added to the electoral roll for the 1960 elections)
US presidential candidate, John F. Kennedy, 1st suggests the idea for the “Peace Corps”
The 1st televised debates were held between the Presidential candidates, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon (Kennedy did a much better job of expressing himself)
In a close race, John F. Kennedy was elected US President over Richard Nixon, becoming at age 43 the youngest man ever elected to that office
Nikita Khrushchev pounded his shoe on a table at a UN General Assembly meeting, to protest discussion of Soviet Union policy toward Eastern Europe
When entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. married Swedish actress May Britt, interracial marriage was still illegal in 31 US states out of 50
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Geoffrey Francis Fisher, talked with Pope John XXIII for about an hour in the Vatican. It is the 1st time in more than 500 years that a head of the Anglican Church had visited the Pope
1961
Cuban exiled rebels, trained and supplied by the US, attempted an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs (a week later, President Kennedy acknowledges his full responsibility for the fiasco)
The Berlin Wall, separating east from west, was constructed (movement remains restricted for the next 28 years, until November 9, 1989)
Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, orbited the earth in a 6-ton satellite and became the 1st human in space
Alan Shepard made the 1st US space flight
“Freedom Riders”, 13 African-American and white students with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) left Washington, DC on 2 buses, to test integration laws in bus stations throughout the deep South. One bus was fire-bombed by white citizens in Alabama and the civil rights workers were attacked and beaten by an angry mob
“Mad Magazine” pointed out on its cover for the March 1961 issue, this was the 1st “upside-up" year - i.e., one in which the numerals that form the year look the same as when the numerals are rotated upside down – since 1881 and the last until 6009
President Eisenhower gave his final “State of the Union” address to Congress. In a Farewell Address the same day, he warned of the increasing power of a “military-industrial complex”
In Washington, DC John F. Kennedy delivered the 1st live presidential news conference
In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declared he is a Marxist-Leninist, and that Cuba will adopt Communism
President Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress his goal to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade, beginning the “Apollo” program of US manned spaceflight
Baseball player, Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his 61st home run in the last game of the season, breaking the 34-year-old record held by Babe Ruth
President Kennedy sent 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam
Tanganyika gains independence and declares itself a republic, with Julius Nyerere as its 1st President (it re-named itself Tanzania)
The Vietnam War officially began, as the 1st American helicopters arrived in Saigon along with 400 US personnel
"Barbie" gets a boyfriend when the "Ken" doll is introduced
1962
First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, took television viewers on a tour of the White House
While aboard “Friendship 7”, John Glenn became the 1st American to orbit the Earth (three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes)
Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA basketball game
In Engel v. Vitale, the US Supreme Court ruled that mandatory prayers in public schools are unconstitutional
Film actress and sex icon Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home, after apparently overdosing on sleeping pills (it remains one of the most mysterious deaths of all time)
The South African government arrested Nelson Mandela and charged him with incitement to rebellion
Rachel Carson's book, “Silent Spring”, was released, giving rise to the modern environmentalist and ecological movement
James Meredith, the 1st African-American student to register at the University of Mississippi, was denied admission by Governor Barnett. Meredith was escorted by Federal Marshals, and 3,000 soldiers suppressed riots when he arrived on campus to begin classes
Pope John XXIII convened the 1st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years
The Cuban Missile Crisis began as a U-2 flight over Cuba took photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed. A stand-off then ensued the next day between the US and the Soviet Union, threatening the world with nuclear war. A week later, in a televised address, President Kennedy announced to the nation the existence of the Soviet missiles. Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev then announced that he had ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases from Cuba
The term “personal computer” was 1st mentioned by the media
After a trip to Vietnam at the request of President Kennedy, US Senate Majority Leader, Mike Mansfield, became the 1st American official to make an pessimistic public comment on the war's progress
1963
The Coca-Cola Company debuts “TaB”, its 1st diet cola
The Organization of African Unity was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
George Wallace became governor of Alabama. In his inaugural speech, he defiantly proclaims "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!" 5 months later, he stood in the door of the University of Alabama to protest integration, before stepping aside and allowing African-Americans, James Hood and Vivian Malone, to enroll
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Abernathy and others were arrested in Birmingham, Alabama after a peaceful protest against segregation for "parading without a permit". Several days later, Dr. King issued his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. The letter was a response to a statement made by 8 white Alabama clergymen titled “A Call For Unity” which agreed that social injustices were taking place but expressed the belief that the battle against racial segregation should be fought solely in the courts and not taken onto the streets. King responded that, without forceful, direct actions such as his, true civil rights could never be achieved. As he put it, "This 'wait' has almost always meant 'never.' " He asserted not only that civil disobedience was justified in the face of unjust laws, but also that "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”
Thousands of African-Americans, many of them children, were arrested while protesting segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. Sheriff Eugene “Bull” Connor later unleashed fire hoses and police dogs on the demonstrators
An African-American civil rights activist, Medgar Evers, was murdered in Jackson, Mississippi (his killer was finally convicted in 1994). Mourned nationally, Evers was buried in Arlington National Cemetery and received full military honors in front of a crowd of more than 3,000 people. Byron De La Beckwith, a fertilizer salesman and member of the Ku Klux Klan, was arrested for Evers' murder. In 1964, all-white juries twice deadlocked on his guilt, thus allowing him to escape justice. The murder and subsequent miscarriage of justice caused a social uproar
Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) succeeds Pope John XXIII as the 262nd pope
ZIP Codes for addresses were introduced in the US
The US, Great Britain and Soviet Union signed a nuclear test ban treaty (it prohibited all test detonations of nuclear weapons except underground. It was developed both to slow the arms race (nuclear testing was necessary for continued nuclear weapon advancements), and to stop the excessive release of nuclear fallout into the planet's atmosphere
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have A Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to an audience of at least 250,000 during the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” (in it, he spoke eloquently of his desire for a future where African-Americans and whites would coexist harmoniously as equals)
In the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, 4 girls - Addie Mae Collins (aged 14), Denise McNair (11), Carole Robertson (14), and Cynthia Wesley (14) - were killed in the blast and 22 others were injured. The attack was intended to instill fear in those supporting equal civil rights without regard to race. Instead, it caused public outrage and spurred the civil-rights movement to further success
On November 22nd, PresidentJohn F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, Governor John Connally was seriously wounded, and Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President. Kennedy was fatally wounded by gunshots while riding with his wife Jacqueline in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza (I was working in my room in a
house near Augsburg College when I heard the tragic news)
Alleged assassin of John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, was shot dead by Jack Ruby in Dallas on live national television
New President, Lyndon B. Johnson, confirmed that the US intended to continue supporting South Vietnam militarily and economically
President Johnson established the “Warren Commission” to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy
Kenya became independent from Great Britain, with Jomo Kenyatta as prime minister
The 1st patented artificial heart was invented by Paul Winchell who subsequently assigned the patent to the University of Utah, where Robert Jarvik ultimately used it as the model for his Jarvik-7. Jarvik's designs improved the device, but his patients died after brief trials
“I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There” were released in the US, which was the beginning of “Beatlemania” and forever changed the way rock-and-roll music sounds
Harvey Ball invented the ubiquitous “smiley face” symbol
1964
In the 1st meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the 15th century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I met in Jerusalem
In his 1st “State of the Union” address, President Johnson declared a “War on Poverty” (the Office of Economic Opportunity became the agency responsible for administering the programs created, including VISTA, Job Corps and Head Start)
US Surgeon General Luther Terry reported that smoking may be hazardous to one's heath (the 1st such statement from the US government)
John Glenn, the 1st American to orbit the earth, resigned from the space program and announced the next day that he would seek the Democratic nomination for US Senator from Ohio
The Beatles arrived from England at New York City's JFK Airport, receiving a tumultuous reception from a throng of screaming fans. Two days later, they appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show”, marking their 1st live performance on American television. Seen by an estimated 73 million viewers, the appearance became the catalyst for the mid-1960s “British Invasion” of American popular music
In a notorious incident, 38 of her neighbors in Queens, New York City failed to respond to the cries of Kitty Genovese, age 28, as she is being stabbed to death
US Defense Secretary Robert McNamara delivered an address that reiterates American determination to give South Vietnam increased military and economic aid, in its war against the Communist insurgency
Merv Griffin's game show “Jeopardy!” debuted on NBC, with Art Fleming as its first host
In April, The Beatles held the top 5 positions in the Billboard Top 40 singles in America, an unprecedented achievement (due mostly to the explosive growth, fragmentation, and marketing of popular music since, this was certain to never happen again)
The Rolling Stones released their debut album
President Johnson in New York, and Soviet Premier Khrushchev in Moscow, announced simultaneously plans to cut back production of materials for making nuclear weapons
Nelson Mandela made his "I Am Prepared to Die" speech (it became a classic of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa). A few weeks later, he and 7 others were sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to the Robben Island prison
The US State Department said that more than 40 hidden microphones had been found embedded in the walls of the US Embassy in Moscow
Somewhere around 1,000 students marched through Times Square in New York City and another 700 in San Francisco, in the 1st major student demonstration against the Vietnam War (smaller marches also occur in Boston, Seattle, and Madison, Wisconsin)
At the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, US presidential nominee Barry Goldwater declared that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice", and "moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue"
The US sent 5,000 more military advisers to South Vietnam, bringing the total number of US forces in Vietnam to 21,000
The US Congress passed the “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution”, giving President Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on US forces
“Ranger 7”, launched from Cape Kennedy, sent back the 1st close-up photographs of the moon's surface (images are 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from Earth-bound telescopes)
The “Good Friday earthquake”, the most powerful earthquake in US history at a magnitude of 9.2, struck Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage of $500 million to the city of Anchorage
Race riots erupted in Harlem, New York City and in many other US cities as reaction against enforcement of civil rights laws
Police arrested over 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following their takeover and massive sit-in at the administration building, protesting the University of California Regents' decision to forbid Vietnam War protests on the campus property
The “Warren Commission”, appointed by President Johnson under Chief Justice Earl Warren, published their report, the 1st official investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy. They found that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, was responsible for the President's death. This conclusion initially met with widespread support among the American public, but polls since, show a majority of the public held beliefs contrary to the Commission's findings, most around the theory that Oswald was part of a conspiracy
At age 35, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading non-violent resistance to end racial prejudice in the US
Nikita Khrushchev was deposed as leader of the Soviet Union, as Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin assumed power
Campaigning at Madison Square Garden in New York City, President Johnson pledged the creation of “the Great Society”, a set of domestic programs with 2 main goals of social reform: the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. New major spending programs that addressed education, medical care, urban problems, and transportation were also proposed
4 days later, incumbent President Johnson defeated Republican challenger, Barry Goldwater with over 60% of the popular vote
A TV special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, premiered on NBC. It became a beloved Christmas tradition, shown on television every year
Comedian Lenny Bruce was sentenced to 4 months in prison, concluding a six-month obscenity trial
The Watusi, Frug, Monkey, Funky Chicken, and other varieties of the Twist drove many people to discotheques, where “go-go girls” performed
1965
Malcolm X, a Black Muslim minister and spokesman for the Nation of Islam, was assassinated in New York City. During his life, Malcolm went from being a drug dealer and burglar to one of the most prominent Black nationalist leaders in the US. As a militant leader, he advocated “Black pride”, “Black power”, and economic self-reliance
Following outbreaks of violence in Selma, Alabama, during which some 200 Alabama State Troopers attacked 525 men, women and children, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. headed a procession of 4,000 civil rights demonstrators from Selma to Montgomery
Severe race riots in the Watts district of Los Angeles resulted in 35 dead, 4,000 arrested, and $40 million in property damage
3,500 US Marines arrived in South Vietnam, becoming the 1st American combat troops in Vietnam
Momentum grew for anti-pollution laws on a national scale in the US
When a relay switch in Ontario malfunctioned, the entire northeastern US and parts of Canada lost electrical power (the blackout affected 30 million people and resulted in a noticeable increase in the birth rate 9 months later!)
“Students for a Democratic Society” (SDS) organized the 1st teach-in against the Vietnam War, with 2,500 participants, at the University of Michigan. Three weeks later, the SDS led 25,000 students in a demonstration in Washington, DC against US bombing of North Vietnam
The 1st draft card burnings took place at U of C, Berkeley
On Palm Sunday, an estimated 51 tornadoes (47 confirmed) strike in 6 Midwestern states, killing over 260 people and injuring some 1,500 more
On “Gemini 4”, astronaut Edward White made the 1st US space walk
US spacecraft “Mariner 4” flew by Mars, becoming the 1st spacecraft to return images from the “Red Planet”
Singer and composer, Bob Dylan, elicited controversy among folk purists by "going electric" at the Newport Folk Festival
President Johnson announced his order to increase the number of US troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000, and to double the number of men drafted per month from 17,000 to 35,000
President Johnson signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare (a health insurance program administered by the US government, covering people who are either age 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria) and Medicaid (a US health insurance program for individuals and families with low incomes and resources, jointly funded by the states and Federal government, and managed by the states
In November the Pentagon told President Johnson that if planned major sweep operations to neutralize Viet Cong forces during the next year are to succeed, the number of American troops in Vietnam will have to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000
“A Charlie Brown Christmas”, the 1st “Peanuts” TV special, debuted on CBS, becoming one of the great Christmas television specials and an annual tradition
Tokyo became the largest city of the world, taking the lead from New York City
1966
President Johnson stated that the US should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended
About 8,000 US soldiers land in South Vietnam (US troops now total 190,000)
Robert C. Weaver became the 1st African-American member of the Cabinet, by being appointed US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Indira Gandhi was elected Prime Minister of India
US spacecraft “Surveyor I” made a soft landing on the moon and transmitted more than 11,000 TV images of the terrain
Soviet space probe “Venera 3” crashed on Venus, becoming the 1st spacecraft to land on another planet's surface
In an interview published in The London “Evening Standard”, John Lennon of the Beatles commented, "We're more popular than Jesus now," which sparked a controversy in the US. 5 months later, the Beatles held a press conference in Chicago, during which John Lennon apologizes for his remark, saying, "I didn't mean it as a lousy anti-religious thing"
The Texas Western “Miners” defeated the Kentucky “Wildcats” with 5 African-American starters, ushering in desegregation in athletic recruiting
In New York City, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his 1st public speech against the Vietnam War
In “Miranda v. Arizona”, the US Supreme Court ruled that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded in Washington, DC
President Johnson signed the “Freedom of Information Act” (this act allowed for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the US Government)
Richard Speck systematically murdered 8 student nurses in their dormitory at South Chicago Community Hospital (Pam and I were living at nearly Elgin, Illinois at the time)
Mao Tse-tung launches a “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” to purge and reorganize China's Communist Party (the struggle for power within the Party manifested into wide-scale social, political, and economic chaos, which grew to include large sections of Chinese society and eventually brought the entire country to the brink of civil war)
“Miniskirts” came into fashion
“Star Trek”, the classic science fiction television series, debuted with its 1st episode
Bobby Seale and Huey Newton founded the “Black Panther Party” (the organization initially espoused a doctrine calling for armed resistance to societal oppression in the interest of African-American justice, though its objectives and philosophy changed radically throughout the party's existence)
Former Massachusetts Attorney General, Edward Brooke, became the 1st African-American elected to the US Senate since “Reconstruction” (following the Civil War)
Actor Ronald Reagan, a Republican, was elected Governor of California
A 48-hour truce was observed in Vietnam at Christmas
A spectacular meteor shower passed over Arizona, at the rate of 2,300 a minute for 20 minutes
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, a TV special narrated by Boris Karloff, was shown for the 1st time on CBS (it became an annual Christmas tradition, and the best-loved film ever based on a Dr. Seuss book)
1967
700,000 people marched down 5th Avenue in New York City in support of US soldiers fighting in Vietnam
In the “6-Day War”, Israel defeated its Arab neighbors, resulting in their occupying the West Bank of Jordan, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Desert, the Golan Heights of Syria and capturing the old city of Jerusalem, which was then proclaimed a united city under Israeli rule
50,000 people demonstrated against the Vietnam War at the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, DC
President Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall as the 1st African-American on the US Supreme Court
US manned space flights were suspended after the death of 3 US astronauts – Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee – when fire erupted in their Apollo spacecraft during a launch pad test at Cape Kennedy
Dr. Christiaan Barnard of South Africa performed the world's 1st human heart transplant operation
Segregationist Lester Maddox was sworn in as Governor of Georgia
The “New York Times” reported that the US Army was conducting secret germ warfare experiments
Louis Leakey announced that he has found prehuman fossils in Kenya
Alberto DeSalvo, known as the “Boston Strangler”, was convicted of unrelated crimes of robbery and sexual offenses and sentenced to life in prison (between June 1962 and January 1964, 11 single women between the ages of 19 and 75 were murdered in the Boston area. All 11 women were sexually assaulted in their apartments and murdered. Without any sign of forced entry into their dwellings, the women were assumed to either know their assailant or have voluntarily allowed him into their homes. While the police were not convinced that all of these murders were the work of a single individual, much of the public believed they were)
The R & B single, “Respect” was released by Aretha Franklin
Joseph Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva, defected to the US
In Houston, Texas, boxer Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay) refused military service
Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu were married in Las Vegas
The Soviet Union ratified a treaty with the US and the United Kingdom, banning nuclear weapons from outer space
Biafra (in eastern Nigeria) announced its independence
The US Supreme Court declared all US state laws prohibiting interracial marriage to be unconstitutional
Pope Paul VI ordained 276 new cardinals (one of them was Karol Wojtyla who became Pope John Paul II in 1978)
President Johnson met with Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin in New Jersey for the 3-day “Glassboro Summit Conference” (the atmosphere of the summit was generally amicable, although the leaders failed to reach agreement on limiting anti-ballistic missile systems)
The town of Winneconne, Wisconsin announced secession from the US because it was not included in the official maps and declares war. Secession is repealed the next day
In Detroit, Michigan, one of the worst riots in US history began on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city (43 killed, 342 injured and 1,400 buildings burned)
Jim Morrison and “The Doors” defied CBS censors on “The Ed Sullivan Show”, when Morrison sings the word "higher" from their #1 hit “Light My Fire”, despite having been asked not to
“Love Is a Many Splendored Thing” debuted on US daytime television and is the 1st soap opera to deal with an interracial relationship. CBS censors find it too controversial and ask for it to be stopped, causing show creator, Irna Phillips, to quit
US Secretary of State Dean Rusk stated during a news conference that proposals by the US Congress for peace initiatives were futile, because of North Vietnam's opposition
The musical, “Hair”, premiered off-Broadway
Montreal's “Expo 67” closed in October with over 50 million attendees (it was considered the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century and Pam and I enjoyed our time there)
Carl Stokes was elected mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the 1st African- American mayor of a major US city
“LSD” was declared an illegal drug by the US government
US Senator Eugene McCarthy (D-MN) announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, challenging incumbent President Johnson over the Vietnam War
Acting on optimistic reports on Vietnam he had been given, President Johnson told the nation that, while much remained to be done, "we are inflicting greater losses than we're taking... we are making progress" (2 months later the “Tet Offensive” would make him regret his words)
“ The Summer of Love” occurred in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where thousands of young people loosely and freely united for a new social experience. As a result, the “hippie counterculture” movement came into public awareness (during the early '60s, tensions developed along generational lines regarding experimentation with drugs, race relations, sexual morals and women's rights. New cultural norms emerged. The “hippies” became the largest countercultural movement in the US fighting for more openness within main stream culture in civil rights especially drugs and the escalating involvement and conflict in Vietnam. They often expressed their views through the new “psychedelic rock” genre of music)
Other significant national and international events
and advancements in the years from 1968 on
will be included in the continuing narrative!
Friday, July 4, 2008
FROM THE BEGINNING
I have called this blog "Pastoral Acts and Other Happenings" because it has events and thoughts from my life as a Lutheran pastor in Minnesota and Florida from 1968-2000, as a chaplain with the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast from 2001-2007, and into my years of retirement.
But before sharing those stories, I'd like to back up to the years from my birth to my graduation from seminary. Let me know what you think! Pr Dick Landeen 0:)
I was born on November 12, 1942 in Stillwater, Minnesota. My Dad, Hoyt Milton, was 36 years old, and my Mom, Grace Marie, was 25. My sister, Marcia Grace, had been born on March 22, 1939. They had been married on March 4, 1938.
I was baptized on February 8, 1943 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater by Pastor Oscar Benson.
I started wearing glasses when I was 16 months old. I was told that I was cross-eyed, and Mom said that I used to turn the corners too fast and walk into the door jamb! I remember losing those wire-framed glasses several times in our back yard, especially in the winter in the snow, and also among the eggplants in a garden that we tended several blocks from our house.
Marcia told me that when I was about 4 and she was 7 or 8, she decided to try smoking one day. The site chosen was the woodshed in our yard. She picked up a few cigarette butts from the sidewalk, while I was to get matches somehow. We succeeded up to the point of almost burning down the shed but not being discovered! (I can't verify the truth of this story from my memory, but I also can't imagine why Marcia would have made it up!)
I sang “Eensy Weensy Pido (spider)” when I was young. And when I was going up the stairs to bed, I would say “Good night, all body tall you!” meaning “Good night, everybody tells you!”
I had trouble with pronouns as a child, e.g., I would say “I call she and call she, and her wouldn't answer!”
I tried to run out of our yard one time, and after that my Mom put me in a type of harness, attached to a clothes line, so I could run back and forth but not away!
When I was little, Marcia called me “Deike Fitford”, among other names!
My Dad's Mom, Carrie, lived with us when I was young. She always seemed to favor Marcia over me. She died of gangrene on March 14, 1949 when I was age 6.
I was told that I didn't want to go to kindergarten! First my sister took me as I screamed all the way to Washington School, then my Dad walked me there. With both of them, I followed them home as soon as they dropped me off. When my Dad met my teacher, appropriately named Mrs. Harsh, he understood why I didn't want to stay. She was very strict and didn't seem to like children very much. If a child hit someone, she would tie their arm to the piano; if someone kicked someone, she would tie their leg to the piano. By the end of the day, most of us were gathered up by the piano!
When I was young I remember going over to the house of friends, Jerry and Ann Brunner, to watch TV on Sunday nights (theirs was one of the few TVs in the neighborhood). A favorite show in those days was “Uncle Milty” (Milton Berle).
My sister also started a club named “Ranch #3”. She, as the “supreme leader”, allowed me to be a member as long as I paid my dues (2 cents per week). I don't know what she spent the money on, but I do remember that we as members were united in our dislike of 2 neighbor girls (the “Peterson twins”) after they threw a kitten we gave them down the sewer!
When I was about 8, I put a dime, 2 nickels and 3 pennies into an envelope and put "Happy Father's Day!” on it. My Dad kept that envelope and the gift all of his life.
When Marcia and I were young, we had a contraption that was very unique. It was a metal projector, but its fascinating feature was that it could project comic strips! Marcia and I would take the Sunday comic section and cut it into strips. Then we would thread the strips through the machine. We would view them on the back wall of our parents' clothes closet because it was the darkest place in the house.
We also had an old “stereoscope”, a device for viewing cards that contain 2 separate images that are printed side-by-side to create a 3-dimensional image. It was the prototype for the plastic “View Master” which was popular when our sons were young.
During my childhood, I remember my Dad had a new job, delivering fuel oil to people's homes. I remember riding with him in the truck, and the smell of those gas fumes that he could never get out of his clothes. He moved on from there to another quite smelly job - in the paint shop at the State Prison nearby. He worked there for 4 years until he got sick. While there, he came home one day with a baseball mitt one of the inmates had made for me.
He worked next at the Maple Island creamery downtown, and I remember the job he had there was drying powdered milk. After school, my sister and I would love to come to see him at work. He would be inside a huge hot dryer, and would be completely covered from head to foot with white powder over his protective uniform that looked like that of a spaceman.
While working at the creamery, my Dad voted for a union to come in to the plant, and when the union plan was defeated, he lost his job! After the creamery job, he worked in a small window factory.
He didn't make a lot of money at any of his jobs, but he did save nickels, dimes and quarters, so Marcia and I could go to college
I remember in those years, our folks taking us to a lot of places - to the zoo, on picnics, to Como Park in St. Paul, to the circus, or vacations. And I remember being with my Dad, watching the Wednesday night boxing matches on TV at “Meister's Bar and Grill” on the South Hill. I would sit there sipping orange pop, while Dad had a beer or two. I found out later that “Meister's” also had the best hamburgers in town!
As a boy I enjoyed fishing with my Dad at Square Lake. He would rent a row boat and hook up his little JC Higgins (Sears) motor, and off we would go to catch sunfish and crappies.
I remember almost drowning in Square Lake when I was about 10. My folks had bought me goggles, and I dropped them to the bottom. As I repeatedly dove down to retrieve them, I panicked and began swallowing water. I didn't like swimming in a lake much after that, although Mom, Dad and I would sometimes go out there after Dad got off work in the evening.
My Dad would drive the 4 of us over to Minneapolis once in awhile. Whenever we did, we would have supper at “John's Place”, a Chinese restaurant upstairs in the downtown. Two memories I have of eating there: we always sat in a booth and I thought the inlaid pearl on the tables was pretty swanky, and I recall a tug-of-war with a waitress who wanted to take my plate away when I wasn't finished yet!
As I was growing up, my Mom started a beauty shop in a small corner bedroom of our house. I liked her being there when I came home from school. On one occasion, I went into the bathroom and forgot to lock the door and a regular customer, Louise, came walking right in, said “Hi, Dick!” and walked right back out!
Another story I remember: as I was playing outside, a beauty supply salesman stopped and asked me where Martha Street was and I didn't know (our house was on the corner of Hickory and Martha!)
When we finally got our own small black and white TV, my Dad, for some reason, bought and installed a film over the screen with blue on top, pink in the middle, and green on the bottom. It always thought it looked pretty silly! Because the screen was small, my Dad would say that his favorite show was “Ragne” (it was really “Dragnet” but the D and t didn't fit on the screen!)
In the winter my Dad and I would often toboggan down the sidewalk past our house. One time we crashed into the telephone pole at the bottom. Dad had the wind knocked out of him, but when he didn't move, I thought he was dead. I was really relieved when he came to, but then we found out that he had broken several ribs and he was very sore for quite a few days.
One of the highlights of the year was going to the State Fair in St. Paul just before Labor Day. I would always somehow leave my money at home, and I don't remember repaying my folks later
A defining moment in my growing-up years occurred when I entered a cow-coloring contest at a local radio station. I did the best job I could with my entry and waited anxiously until the winner was announced on Saturday morning. I guess I thought I might win, but I was shocked when I heard that my sister Marcia was the winner, and was really disappointed when I learned that the 2 of us were the only entrants that week!
In the dining room of our home we had a “Heatrola” - a stove heated by coal which it was my duty to bring in from the backyard shed. When we came in from the cold we would put our feet up on its sides. That felt very warm, but if you got a few feet away from the stove you couldn't feel much heat at all. Another problem was fires in the pipes that were attached to the stove. It was my job to bring in the coal from the woodshed in the backyard and also carry out the ashes.
In the winters, I remember that our kitchen floor was so cold that when our cat came in from outside, he would jump up on the table! What a welcome change it was when Mom paid for building a new kitchen and installing a furnace that heated the whole house. After we got the new furnace, I recall that we didn't get a heating bill for several months, so Mom called the utility and was informed that the furnace had never been metered! After we got the new kitchen, my Mom taught me to cook scrambled eggs on our new stove.
In the winter, we would sometimes flood the backyard to set up a little skating rink. We also had a small slide or jump that Dad made for us to sled.
Several times in the summer time, Dad and I set up a little golf course in the back yard.
Our whole family would sometimes play “Tiddly Winks” and ping-pong on the round table in our dining room. Marcia would sometimes laugh so hard she would almost wet her pants! Dad called her “Sloppy Gussie” after Gussie Moran, a woman tennis player at that time. We also played cards at home, including a game called “Authors”. I had an expression I used when I was little:
“I most got a dog in town” meaning that I had a variety of cards that didn't match.
For a year or two, I was a Cub Scout, mostly because my Mom was a “den mother”. I still have several mementos such as a “bobcat” pin, a “Den 3” patch, and a handmade blue-and-yellow slide for a Cub Scout neckerchief.
All of my aunts and uncles lived in nearby towns and we would usually have holiday meals, especially Thanksgiving, at one of their homes. I had a lot of fun playing with my cousins on those occasions. Most of them lived on farms, so in the summer months I would spend as much time as I could with them. It was fun for me to do farm chores, but my cousins couldn't figure out how I could enjoy them, since it was work for them doing them all year.
As a young adult, my Dad was a very good softball player. He usually played first base, and always without a glove. He had several badly twisted fingers and a broken nose to show for his efforts. He tried to teach me to play ball, but I liked golf and tennis better. I remember the only time I talked him into playing tennis with me, one summer at Alexandria, we played for about 15 minutes and then he sprained his ankle. So much for sharing sports!
I remember a number of family vacations when I was growing up: to the Black Hills and Yellowstone Park; to Arizona (Marcia wasn't along on this one); a week at a rented cabin near Alexandria several years; a week spent partly on the Gunflint Trail (northeast of Duluth), and the rest in Chicago; and at a cabin on the North Shore of Lake Superior:
Going to the Black Hills in South Dakota, our car broke down after the lights almost went out because of a bad generator, and we had to push the car down a street to a service station in Redfield. Marcia was so humiliated! While there, we attended a semi-pro baseball game. It was the only time I've gotten a foul ball. It bounced behind us, and I grabbed it. I was so happy, but then a man came and took it back, saying they only had a few baseballs left!
All 4 of us enjoyed playing golf on a little par 3 course at a resort in Alexandria.
On the Gunflint Trail we were the last house with electricity, and we had an “ice box”, with actual ice being delivered every morning. There was a beach near our cabin, but the water was freezing, and Marcia and I were told to get out of the water by a neighbor who thought we were trespassing on his property. After this fiasco, we fared no better going to Chicago. Dad was always in the wrong lane and missed the exits in that huge city. We were all so happy to get out of there!
At the cabin on the North Shore, I remember the odd resort owner who called himself “Edwin Julius” and seemed to overly enjoy my company as a young boy. One day he gave me his favorite jar of agates taken from the rocky shore of Lake Superior nearby.
There were many good times during the days when I was growing up, but I also remember how unhappy Dad often seemed to be - how disappointed he seemed to be by life that always seemed to pass him by. He wasn't always too kind to Mom and Marcia. In his feeling of failure in his own life, he often took it out verbally on all of us. And Dad had a bad temper. I vividly recall an occasion when he was particularly upset with me about something, and as he tried to kick me in the behind, he slipped on the rug. I laughed and then wished I hadn't, as he was even more angry! I ran upstairs to my room, which was a mistake since I was then trapped.
I used to tease my Mom later that I would have been a millionaire if she hadn't thrown out my collection of baseball cards (and comic books). At least I enjoyed them while I was growing up.
I was always for the “under-dog”. I remember my Mom finding me one time sobbing my eyes out. When she asked me what was wrong, I said “Poor Pittsburgh!” Their baseball team, the Pirates, had a long losing streak and I just felt sorry for them.
On a much more serious note, I recall a sad experience during my Junior High days. I became friends with Gerald, a boy that most other kids ignored or made fun of because he was from a poor family, didn't have the “right clothes”, had a bad haircut, etc. He lived with his parents, a brother and a sister in a very humble house. One night, as the Dad was at work, something went wrong with the heating system and carbon monoxide swept through the house. Gerald, his mother and siblings all died in their beds. His Dad, of course, was devastated and felt very guilty that he hadn't been there. When he planned their funerals several days later, he asked me to be a pall bearer for Gerald and also asked me to find 3 others to assist me, as he said that I was the only person that Gerald talked about as a friend. I was very moved, but also saddened that I was one of only a few who had reached out to Gerald.
My sister reminded me of the fact that I used to love to eat oranges in my bedroom, and would then leave the old orange peels in the waste basket until they molded (maybe just to bug her, although she simply thought I was “unhygienic”!). I did the same with old cartons of ice cream when I finished them.
For many years I had a cowboy spread on my bed and a large newspaper-clipping picture of Paul Giel, a great University of Minnesota halfback in the 50's, on my wall, My bedroom was always very cold in the winter, since my parents turned off the heat in the living room below it to save on heating bills!
My first kiss was with Sally Schmoeckel, a girl my age who lived a few houses away (I don't remember what age we were). She and I spent a lot of time together when we were children, and one day our friendship turned to puppy love (at least long enough for an awkward kiss!).
When I was about 10 or 11, Marcia decided that I should learn to dance, under her direction of course. Sally came over to our house together with another friend, Dave Knefelkamp. The old Victrola was set up in my room. We would wind it up and then practice dance steps to “You, You You” by the Ames Brothers and “Eh Cumpari” sung by Julius La Rosa. Needless to say, I still don't know how to dance, and these early lessons did not help!
Winding up the Victrola reminded me that when Matt was young, I told him one day that when I was his age, we didn't have a TV. He looked at me with disbelief before saying, “If you didn't have a TV, how did you hook up the VCR?” My, how things have changed!
I practiced archery in the back yard, and one time almost shot our neighbor, Mr. Moogren, when the arrow went over the target and landed in his yard.
Among items that were stored in the attic off my bedroom was an old drum from the Spanish-American War, a World War II ammunition belt, an armadillo basket, and a early radio (“crystal set”). For some reason, Mom sold them at a garage sale. There were also many bats living in there!
For several summers I caddied at the local golf course. I remember that one man would hire 2 of us – one to carry his clubs amd the other to carry a case of beer for his 4-some! Early in the morning, I would often wade in several ponds to get golf balls to resell, but sometimes the course pro, Babe Orff, would make me get out so he could get them himself.
I remember crying when I attended my first funeral – that of Mr. Larson, an elderly neighbor who lived across the street.
I liked to shoot baskets out in the driveway, even in the winter when I would have to shovel snow off the driveway first.
In Junior High, I was asked to give a tribute to fathers at a Father-Son banquet at church. Mom wrote my speech, but people loved it!
We had a little electronic organ for awhile, on which I learned to play a few songs, including “I Believe”.
I was confirmed on May 20, 1956 at Trinity Church by Pastor Norman P. Wold. There were between 50 and 60 of us in the class. It was a very happy occasion, as we had all survived the question and answer session in front of parents and church members a few days earlier. Pastor Wold had had pity on us and told us beforehand what question from Luther's Catechism he would ask each of us so we could parrot back the right answer. After the service I remember that the official photographer carefully lined all of us up on the church steps in the blazing sun. He took a number of group photos before he discovered that he had forgotten to put film in his camera! We milled around for another half-hour in our white robes and carnations before he returned.
I broke my collar bone while playing football in 10th grade which abruptly ended my gridiron career. While my arm was in a sling, I took driver's training on a Nash Rambler which had a push button shift system which was under the steering wheel.
In my pre-teen years, my best friends were Keith Fransen and Allan Linner with whom I spent many fun hours. My best friend in high school was Gordy Klatt. On several occasions, he played accordion while I played my drum set to entertain neighbors in the evening. I had my drum set in my bedroom, and I'm not sure the neighbors appreciated the sound/noise (and Marcia definitely didn't!)
To earn extra spending money, I would collect night-crawlers in the backyard at night and sell them to a local bait shop. I also cut grass for Hazel and Maurice del Mas. Beside the money, the perk was that they would invite me to stay for supper and Hazel was an excellent cook. She always had 2 or 3 kinds of meat, mounds of potatoes and buttered vegetables, topped off with huge slices of cake or pie or both!
For several summers, I cut grass for a nice woman in her 80's or 90's. One Saturday she asked if I would cut down tall grass and weeds in a lot next to her yard. I began hacking away with a hand sickle until I made a direct hit on a hornet's nest I hadn't noticed before. A swarm of wasps very quickly started to sting me all over my face, arms, neck and legs, even under my t-shirt. I was frantically trying to repel them just as my Dad drove up. He saw what was happening and helped me get my shirt off. I had many stings which were painful for quite awhile, but I was grateful that my Dad arrived when he did and also that I wasn't allergic to these bites!
My Dad's aunt, Edith Smith, made homemade root beer that was too potent for us children and teenagers to drink. Her son Jack, who worked for the US Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said that he would have arrested her for “home-brewing” if she hadn't been his mother! (Marcia said that our Grandma Landeen also made potent root beer, beginning the fermentation process at Thanksgiving, putting the bottles under a dining room chair by the heat vent, and by Christmas it was pretty powerful stuff!)
In my Junior year, there was a serious fire that damaged much of the high school, so we had split shifts for the rest of the year (I swear I didn't set it!)
I always attended Sunday school, and was deeply influenced spiritually by its Superintendent, a small man named Connie Danielson who had such a love of Christ and the Church that it rubbed off on me.
I was the president of Trinity's “Hi-League” (youth group) during 1959-60. From December 30-January 3 that year, I attended the Augustana Synod Youth Conference in San Antonio, TX. Dick Doerr, my roommate in the hotel, wanted to take a picture of downtown San Antonio from our room, and asked me to hold the window open. As I was doing so, someone in the next room dropped a bottle to the pavement. Before I could close the window, people from hotel security were knocking on our door. They were angry and accused us of dropping the bottle. We denied doing it, and they finally confirmed that the kids in the next door room were guilty. We were very glad that we weren't sent home on the next bus!
During my Junior and Senior years, there were several foreign exchange students at the high school.
One, Taufieq “Vic” Ramli from Indonesia, became my good friend. He was just learning English. I had a beginning typing class with him, and he said he made “many errors” ! Despite being Moslem, he attended church with his host family, the Herschlebs', and also went to “conflimation” with their teenagers
Another was Welf Boettcher from Germany. He was an egotistical fellow who always expressed his opinion that everything in Germany was far superior to what it was in the US. At Christmas his family sent his host family, the Mayers' and my good friend Ralph, a Bavarian cuckoo clock as a gift. On the day he left for home, they took it down!
Then there was Sylvia Corridor from Columbia, South America. Her father was the Columbian ambassador to the US, and the family was very wealthy and had servants. She was a real snob ! For the Prom, she had a Christian Dior dress while most of the girls had gotten theirs at Sears or Penney's!
I took my driver's test when I was 16. On the day of the driver's test, I was third in line. The first fellow had driven by himself to the test, which is illegal. The second was a girl who got in the car and, in her nervousness, drove up onto the sidewalk ! I passed despite the tester being very shaken!
I went to the Junior prom with Sue Kerner (her Dad hired me to work summers at the Andersen Corporation). Before we went to the dance, I brought her to the hospital with me so my Mom (who had just had surgery) could see us.
I went to the Senior prom with Ruby Monson. Before the dance, we went out to dinner and while cutting my steak, it flew across the table into Ruby's lap! On the day after the prom, the whole group that I went around with was going canoeing. Ruby couldn't go because she had accepted a baby-sitting job!
I attended a Synod Church Youth Leadership School from July 19-25, 1959. Four of us from Trinity attended. We were asked to make a report in church on the next Sunday, so we met and decided what each of us would say, so we wouldn't duplicate each other. I was the last to speak and the other 3 had shared everything. So when it was my turn, I blurted out that as a result of the leadership school experience, I was planning to go into the ministry ! Afterward, I couldn't believe what I had said. Both my parents were in tears – my Mom crying with joy and my Dad weeping in disappointment (not really)!
Several months later Pastor Wold took me on a short trip to Rock Island, Illinois to visit Augustana Seminary there. He told me during the hours we were together in his car that he had wanted to be a pro baseball player when he was a teenager. I appreciated his openness and willingness to explore the idea of my being a pastor.
I was inducted into the National Honor Society on May 2, 1960, for which I was very proud, since my sister Marcia had been inducted 3 years earlier, was an excellent student and ended her high school career at 3rd in her class. I was an “OK” student, but often heard comments from teachers, such as “So, you’re Marcia’s brother. SHE was a very good student”, with the implication that they wished I were more like her!
I played the bass drum and cymbals in the high school band. We always received the highest ratings at State competitions. In my Senior year, 2 other drummers and I formed a Drum Ensemble and we got an “A” at State of which we were very proud. I recall our band director, Mr. Regis, yelling at practice when I made a mistake - “Landeen!” Because he got so upset with me sometimes, I wasn't going to tell him after I broke my collar bone and had my left arm in a sling but eventually I had to. For several years I had early morning lessons on the snare drum. Often he had been drinking already. He died at an early age due to alcoholism.
Our band was often asked to march in local parades, during which I played bass drum and cymbals. My recollections include our always being just behind the horses, and that I sweated profusely in the heavy uniform.
I also played bass drum and cymbals at summer band concerts held on Wednesday evenings at Pioneer Park. Each week each of us received a few dollars a week in remuneration.
During the summer before my Senior year, I played drums with a small combo. We rehearsed in Hudson, WI and broke up before we ever played in public.
To earn spending money, I worked at an Army surplus store on Main Street (on the 3rd floor, they had a whole dog sled in storage). I also cleaned luxury boats on the St. Croix River, cleaned a cafe after-hours, did lawn mowing and gardening, and even occasionally baby-sat for neighbors with a couple of small boys.
An interesting job I had for part of one summer was distributing samples of a new product called “Mr. Clean”. I had to get to Minneapolis early each weekday morning to meet the truck that brought us to different neighborhoods where we walked door-to-door. Mr. Stennes, the father of a family for whom Marcia baby-sat heard of my need for a ride to Minneapolis and very kindly offered to leave for his job as a high-powered insurance actuary earlier than he would normally have done and also give me a ride home again. I remember 2 other details of that job: I would put a small glass-bottled sample in a bag, attach it to the door handle, ring the bell and move on. Several times I witnessed people opening the door, causing the sample to swing out, break and begin dripping! I also got some of the sample on the white shirt I had to wear and my Mom was not able to get the stain out again!
During my Senior year, I was the manager (and goalie for practices) for a very unsuccessful hockey team. The team practiced and played games at outside rinks which were very cold. One time I dropped my eye glasses, and they shattered when they hit the ground! The good thing was that we were allowed to use the high school's warm indoor swimming pool after practice.
For 2 years I played on the tennis team, usually 3rd singles and 2nd doubles. During my Senior year our team won the State championship, although (or because!) I didn't play in the tournament. After the victory, our coach, Mr. McQuire, treated the whole team to an all-you-can-eat shrimp and frog legs' buffet at a nice restaurant.
I worked on set construction for high school plays. As a Senior I was the stage manager for one play and had a walk-on part in the November 1959 production of “The Man Who Came to Dinner”. I was accepted into the National Thespian Society in January 1960.
I graduated from Stillwater High School on June 6, 1960, ranked 53rd in a class of about 350.
I attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN for the 1960-1961 year. There I was in the symphony band. I also played drums in a “pep band” for basketball games, including “away games” around the state. Dr. Richard Reusch, who later was a parish pastor at Stacy, MN, and with whom I traveled to Israel in the summer of 1969, was my faculty advisor. I joined the “Independent Men's Club”, many of whose members were pre-sem, rather than a fraternity. My 1st semester roommate had a bad complexion and never left our room after classes. My 2nd semester roommate partied and drank heavily (he later became a pastor!).
In the summers during my college and seminary years, I worked at the Andersen Corporation near Stillwater (they made wood-frame windows). I primarily unloaded lumber from box cars which came in from the state of Washington. For a short time I was also a “tally girl” (using a counter that kept track of the number of pieces of lumber that each cutter had done).
I met Pam at a young adult retreat at Luther Point Bible Camp near Grantsburg, WI on Labor Day weekend 1961 (foolishly I was more interested in another attendee named Karen!)
I transferred to Augsburg College in Minneapolis for my Sophomore year. Early in the year I dated Karen for awhile, although nobody in my family liked her. During the 1st half of the year, my roommate was from New York and had a model train set up in dorm room. I moved home for the rest of the year. In my Junior year I had 4 roommates in a rented house on campus. In my Senior year I had 2 roommates in a rented house on campus which was condemned to be torn down while we were living there!
During June 1962 I visited a friend from Gustavus – Jonah Nkurlu, his wife and twin 3-year-old sons from Tanzania, East Africa – in Lindsborg, Kansas. While I was there, I wrote to Pam and asked her to go out with me.
Our first date was on July 14, 1962. We saw the movie “West Side Story” (I found out later that she had already seen it!)
From 1962 to 1964, Pam and I dated. We walked everywhere until I finally got a car. One year we had season tickets to the Minnesota Symphony concerts at the University of Minnesota.
I painfully froze my ears while walking to downtown Minneapolis on January 23, 1963 and had to soak them in warm water for several days
Pam and I became engaged on September 28, 1963! I asked her to marry me on the 27th and she said “My Mother always said to say 'no' the first time. Ask me again tomorrow night!” I said “What time tomorrow night?” She thought I was kidding, but I'd had the engagement ring for a week!
The next weekend we drove up to Rice Lake because Pam wanted me to ask her Dad for permission to marry her. We arrived at his tire shop on Main Street about 7 PM on Friday evening. As I went in, Pam stayed in the car as we both assumed that I would be out again very soon. Because it was “shopping night” for many men's wives, a group of men were sitting around the shop, just chatting and passing the time. I didn't want to talk to Tom in front of them, so I waited until they had left (he must have wondered why I was sitting there, as I had never come to the shop on Friday night before). By then it was almost closing time at 9. When I finally asked him for “Pam's hand”, he simply replied, “Well, I think that's up to the 2 of you”! A bit later, we were sitting around the house talking with Pam's folks. They were in the process of having their house painted and there was a ladder up outside Pam's old bedroom. We teased them that maybe we would just run away and elope. In the morning, when Pam woke up, she looked out and saw that her Dad had taken the ladder down!
My Dad had one sister, Irene, who lived in NY City for much of her life. Late in her life she returned to MN and lived in Minneapolis. In early 1964, prior to her death, I visited her at her apartment and befriended her, as she was very frail and quite confused. One time I brought her a red rose. She loved it, put it in front of a mirror and said, “There, now I have 2 roses!”
I had a student deferment from the military draft, but received a letter telling me to report for my Army physical on February 10, 1964 after the registrar at Augsburg failed to send in the form saying that I was still in college! (fortunately, I was able to get it corrected by getting the form filled out and meeting with my draft board). It was the same day I began student teaching in a 4th-grade class at Madison Elementary School near downtown Minneapolis (I had an excellent mentor-teacher whose husband was a minister).
I graduated from Augsburg College on June 7, 1964 with a BA degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Psychology.
Pam graduated from the Swedish Hospital School of Nursing on August 14, 1964, a ceremony which of course I attended.
I took a "crash course” at the seminary from June 8-July 17, 1964 to learn Greek (a requirement to enroll as a Master of Divinity "MDiv" student). During this time I met and became friends with Ray Johnson. That summer I also studied with Mr. Van Tassel, a farmer near Stillwater who loved languages and the Bible.
I officially began attending Northwestern Seminary in September 1964. It was located off Franklin and Nicollet in Minneapolis. In my dorm room where I lived for a month, I power-sanded a table and chair set that Pam and I had bought second-hand.
I married Pam in Rice Lake, Wisconsin on October 10, 1964 (the best moment of my life up to that time!) at an 8:00 PM service officiated by Pastors Erwin Swanson (Pam's home pastor) and W. Burdette Benson (a friend and mentor from our dating years). The reception was held in the church basement. My brother-in-law, Allen, was my best man when my friend Gordy Klatt couldn't be because he was Catholic! We then went on a 2-day honeymoon to Spooner, Wisconsin and Duluth. We attended church in Spooner on Sunday morning, but the only late service we could find was at a Methodist church, which we discovered was having their stewardship program that morning. I wore my wedding bow tie to church because I had forgotten to bring a regular tie!
On Tuesday morning I returned to seminary where I arrived late for my first class. An old professor, Dr. Ahlen, waited for me to sit down and then said, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh!” I didn't even know that he was aware that I had just gotten married!
Our first apartment in Minneapolis cost $65 per month out of Pam's monthly salary of $311 as an RN at Abbott Hospital's Janney Children's Pavilion. The apartment was heated by a coal furnace, and the coal was delivered to the basement right below our window. If we left our window open even a bit when the coal came, we could write our names anywhere in the apartment !
The Synod asked me to serve the congregation of Christ Lutheran Church in Maple Plain (40 miles W of Minneapolis) during the summer of 1965, when I had just finished my 1st year of seminary. We lived in the parsonage there, but there were several rooms that had virtually no furniture. It was a very valuable learning experience, and the members were very patient and kind as I “got my feet wet” and stumbled through getting used to the role of pastor. I officiated at my first funeral just 2 weeks before I returned to seminary (it was for a member who lived with his wife next to the parsonage, and who had befriended us all summer). Joe and Bev Jerde were also good friends from that summer.
In 1965, my Dad went for a routine physical for his work, and tests showed a spot on his lung, which the doctors believed to be tuberculosis. So he was sent to the Cannon Falls Sanitarium. It was about 40 miles from their home, but it might as well have been across the world because he felt very isolated, there were few activities to keep him busy, and the doctors didn't seem to care too much. While at that hospital, he became more and more depressed - something he had struggled with all of his life. So he was eventually transferred to Anoka State Hospital that had a TB ward. I remember coming to see him one day, and he was so down, but I finally talked him into going with me to a Minnesota Twins baseball game on my next visit. I came to get him, all excited about his getting out for the day, and he refused to go. That's the way it went for about 2 years - too depressed to do anything or go anywhere. This was a very frustrating time for all of us, and we wondered if he would ever get better. Finally through the efforts of my Mom, he was transferred in early 1967 to Hastings State Hospital . They got him into a work and therapy program where he started to begin feeling a little better about himself while being involved in activities. Finally he got out of the hospital, and went back to work part-time in a window factory where they treated him very well. He retired in the late 1960s.
After we were married, Pam and I attended church at Epiphany Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis, where we became good friends with the pastor, Ralph Kempski, and his wife Mary. Ralph and Mary had a chance to go on a study cruise in the Caribbean, so from January 2-17, 1966, we took care of their 3 young children – Rick, Joan and John – in their home. It was a very hectic time, as we were not used to having this type of responsibility. Whatever Pam cooked, the kids would say, “That's not what our Mom makes!” One night, for a treat, Pam made carameled apples. She chopped up the nuts on a cutting board she had used earlier for supper. When she proudly served the apples, I blurted out, “These nuts taste like onions!” and the kids agreed and wouldn't eat them. I think Pam was ready to kill me for opening my big mouth! Pam had to meet the bus very early to get to work by 7:00 AM, so I would get the 2 older children ready for school and deliver John to different members' homes for the day. I also preached twice and taught confirmation during that time. We were all happy to see Ralph and Mary return, and this experience may have the reason we didn't have children until many years later!
After my second year of seminary, I served my required internship in a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program /chaplaincy training at Elgin, IL State Hospital (1966-67). It was the first time our Synod had allowed an internship in a non-congregational setting. I chose the state hospital field so that I could learn more about mental illness, since my Dad was struggling with severe depression. Pam also worked there as an RN, first in the adolescent ward and later with alcoholics, many brought to the hospital right off the streets of downtown Chicago. One psychiatrist there only used shock treatments. Another held classes on dealing with emotions, but during a talk on anger he became enraged, knocked over a table, and patients had to calm him and have him sit down! The CPE director, Charles “Sully” Sullivan was a clever manipulator, did not like women very much, and often scheduled some “bonding activity” among the 10 of us in the program for Friday evenings until the wives began to protest. Many years later I ran into him at a resort in Wisconsin, and found out that he had expelled from being a CPE supervisor many years ago
During my internship in Elgin, we rented an apartment which was considerably more expensive than we had been paying back in Minneapolis. We had to pay 2 months rent up-front and when we paid it, the check bounced because we had changed banks ! Both of our salaries were paid by the State of Illinois and we weren't paid for 2 months!
During our year at Elgin, I found out that I had hypo-thyroidism (low thyroid production) and began taking medication for it. Before I began the treatment, I was so tired and lethargic that I could barely get out of bed in the morning.
Maurice and Hazel del Mas and my Mom were with us to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. During the year Mom also came down at Thanksgiving with Marcia, Allen and Anne, and later brought Dad down, when he was very confused, and one of us slept in front of the door to make sure he didn't walk out of our apartment. Pam's folks also came to see us during that year.
We drove to the World's Fair in Montreal during the spring of 1967, and stayed with a Jewish family in their home there. The American exhibit was all on Hollywood and entertainment, while the Russian pavilion was all on technological achievements (however, their toilets were out of order!).
We moved back to Minnesota in June 1967, and in September I returned to Northwestern for my Senior year. While we were gone, the school had moved to the Luther Seminary campus on Como Avenue in St. Paul. I began to work part-time there on the grounds maintenance crew.
But before sharing those stories, I'd like to back up to the years from my birth to my graduation from seminary. Let me know what you think! Pr Dick Landeen 0:)
I was born on November 12, 1942 in Stillwater, Minnesota. My Dad, Hoyt Milton, was 36 years old, and my Mom, Grace Marie, was 25. My sister, Marcia Grace, had been born on March 22, 1939. They had been married on March 4, 1938.
I was baptized on February 8, 1943 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater by Pastor Oscar Benson.
I started wearing glasses when I was 16 months old. I was told that I was cross-eyed, and Mom said that I used to turn the corners too fast and walk into the door jamb! I remember losing those wire-framed glasses several times in our back yard, especially in the winter in the snow, and also among the eggplants in a garden that we tended several blocks from our house.
Marcia told me that when I was about 4 and she was 7 or 8, she decided to try smoking one day. The site chosen was the woodshed in our yard. She picked up a few cigarette butts from the sidewalk, while I was to get matches somehow. We succeeded up to the point of almost burning down the shed but not being discovered! (I can't verify the truth of this story from my memory, but I also can't imagine why Marcia would have made it up!)
I sang “Eensy Weensy Pido (spider)” when I was young. And when I was going up the stairs to bed, I would say “Good night, all body tall you!” meaning “Good night, everybody tells you!”
I had trouble with pronouns as a child, e.g., I would say “I call she and call she, and her wouldn't answer!”
I tried to run out of our yard one time, and after that my Mom put me in a type of harness, attached to a clothes line, so I could run back and forth but not away!
When I was little, Marcia called me “Deike Fitford”, among other names!
My Dad's Mom, Carrie, lived with us when I was young. She always seemed to favor Marcia over me. She died of gangrene on March 14, 1949 when I was age 6.
I was told that I didn't want to go to kindergarten! First my sister took me as I screamed all the way to Washington School, then my Dad walked me there. With both of them, I followed them home as soon as they dropped me off. When my Dad met my teacher, appropriately named Mrs. Harsh, he understood why I didn't want to stay. She was very strict and didn't seem to like children very much. If a child hit someone, she would tie their arm to the piano; if someone kicked someone, she would tie their leg to the piano. By the end of the day, most of us were gathered up by the piano!
When I was young I remember going over to the house of friends, Jerry and Ann Brunner, to watch TV on Sunday nights (theirs was one of the few TVs in the neighborhood). A favorite show in those days was “Uncle Milty” (Milton Berle).
My sister also started a club named “Ranch #3”. She, as the “supreme leader”, allowed me to be a member as long as I paid my dues (2 cents per week). I don't know what she spent the money on, but I do remember that we as members were united in our dislike of 2 neighbor girls (the “Peterson twins”) after they threw a kitten we gave them down the sewer!
When I was about 8, I put a dime, 2 nickels and 3 pennies into an envelope and put "Happy Father's Day!” on it. My Dad kept that envelope and the gift all of his life.
When Marcia and I were young, we had a contraption that was very unique. It was a metal projector, but its fascinating feature was that it could project comic strips! Marcia and I would take the Sunday comic section and cut it into strips. Then we would thread the strips through the machine. We would view them on the back wall of our parents' clothes closet because it was the darkest place in the house.
We also had an old “stereoscope”, a device for viewing cards that contain 2 separate images that are printed side-by-side to create a 3-dimensional image. It was the prototype for the plastic “View Master” which was popular when our sons were young.
During my childhood, I remember my Dad had a new job, delivering fuel oil to people's homes. I remember riding with him in the truck, and the smell of those gas fumes that he could never get out of his clothes. He moved on from there to another quite smelly job - in the paint shop at the State Prison nearby. He worked there for 4 years until he got sick. While there, he came home one day with a baseball mitt one of the inmates had made for me.
He worked next at the Maple Island creamery downtown, and I remember the job he had there was drying powdered milk. After school, my sister and I would love to come to see him at work. He would be inside a huge hot dryer, and would be completely covered from head to foot with white powder over his protective uniform that looked like that of a spaceman.
While working at the creamery, my Dad voted for a union to come in to the plant, and when the union plan was defeated, he lost his job! After the creamery job, he worked in a small window factory.
He didn't make a lot of money at any of his jobs, but he did save nickels, dimes and quarters, so Marcia and I could go to college
I remember in those years, our folks taking us to a lot of places - to the zoo, on picnics, to Como Park in St. Paul, to the circus, or vacations. And I remember being with my Dad, watching the Wednesday night boxing matches on TV at “Meister's Bar and Grill” on the South Hill. I would sit there sipping orange pop, while Dad had a beer or two. I found out later that “Meister's” also had the best hamburgers in town!
As a boy I enjoyed fishing with my Dad at Square Lake. He would rent a row boat and hook up his little JC Higgins (Sears) motor, and off we would go to catch sunfish and crappies.
I remember almost drowning in Square Lake when I was about 10. My folks had bought me goggles, and I dropped them to the bottom. As I repeatedly dove down to retrieve them, I panicked and began swallowing water. I didn't like swimming in a lake much after that, although Mom, Dad and I would sometimes go out there after Dad got off work in the evening.
My Dad would drive the 4 of us over to Minneapolis once in awhile. Whenever we did, we would have supper at “John's Place”, a Chinese restaurant upstairs in the downtown. Two memories I have of eating there: we always sat in a booth and I thought the inlaid pearl on the tables was pretty swanky, and I recall a tug-of-war with a waitress who wanted to take my plate away when I wasn't finished yet!
As I was growing up, my Mom started a beauty shop in a small corner bedroom of our house. I liked her being there when I came home from school. On one occasion, I went into the bathroom and forgot to lock the door and a regular customer, Louise, came walking right in, said “Hi, Dick!” and walked right back out!
Another story I remember: as I was playing outside, a beauty supply salesman stopped and asked me where Martha Street was and I didn't know (our house was on the corner of Hickory and Martha!)
When we finally got our own small black and white TV, my Dad, for some reason, bought and installed a film over the screen with blue on top, pink in the middle, and green on the bottom. It always thought it looked pretty silly! Because the screen was small, my Dad would say that his favorite show was “Ragne” (it was really “Dragnet” but the D and t didn't fit on the screen!)
In the winter my Dad and I would often toboggan down the sidewalk past our house. One time we crashed into the telephone pole at the bottom. Dad had the wind knocked out of him, but when he didn't move, I thought he was dead. I was really relieved when he came to, but then we found out that he had broken several ribs and he was very sore for quite a few days.
One of the highlights of the year was going to the State Fair in St. Paul just before Labor Day. I would always somehow leave my money at home, and I don't remember repaying my folks later
A defining moment in my growing-up years occurred when I entered a cow-coloring contest at a local radio station. I did the best job I could with my entry and waited anxiously until the winner was announced on Saturday morning. I guess I thought I might win, but I was shocked when I heard that my sister Marcia was the winner, and was really disappointed when I learned that the 2 of us were the only entrants that week!
In the dining room of our home we had a “Heatrola” - a stove heated by coal which it was my duty to bring in from the backyard shed. When we came in from the cold we would put our feet up on its sides. That felt very warm, but if you got a few feet away from the stove you couldn't feel much heat at all. Another problem was fires in the pipes that were attached to the stove. It was my job to bring in the coal from the woodshed in the backyard and also carry out the ashes.
In the winters, I remember that our kitchen floor was so cold that when our cat came in from outside, he would jump up on the table! What a welcome change it was when Mom paid for building a new kitchen and installing a furnace that heated the whole house. After we got the new furnace, I recall that we didn't get a heating bill for several months, so Mom called the utility and was informed that the furnace had never been metered! After we got the new kitchen, my Mom taught me to cook scrambled eggs on our new stove.
In the winter, we would sometimes flood the backyard to set up a little skating rink. We also had a small slide or jump that Dad made for us to sled.
Several times in the summer time, Dad and I set up a little golf course in the back yard.
Our whole family would sometimes play “Tiddly Winks” and ping-pong on the round table in our dining room. Marcia would sometimes laugh so hard she would almost wet her pants! Dad called her “Sloppy Gussie” after Gussie Moran, a woman tennis player at that time. We also played cards at home, including a game called “Authors”. I had an expression I used when I was little:
“I most got a dog in town” meaning that I had a variety of cards that didn't match.
For a year or two, I was a Cub Scout, mostly because my Mom was a “den mother”. I still have several mementos such as a “bobcat” pin, a “Den 3” patch, and a handmade blue-and-yellow slide for a Cub Scout neckerchief.
All of my aunts and uncles lived in nearby towns and we would usually have holiday meals, especially Thanksgiving, at one of their homes. I had a lot of fun playing with my cousins on those occasions. Most of them lived on farms, so in the summer months I would spend as much time as I could with them. It was fun for me to do farm chores, but my cousins couldn't figure out how I could enjoy them, since it was work for them doing them all year.
As a young adult, my Dad was a very good softball player. He usually played first base, and always without a glove. He had several badly twisted fingers and a broken nose to show for his efforts. He tried to teach me to play ball, but I liked golf and tennis better. I remember the only time I talked him into playing tennis with me, one summer at Alexandria, we played for about 15 minutes and then he sprained his ankle. So much for sharing sports!
I remember a number of family vacations when I was growing up: to the Black Hills and Yellowstone Park; to Arizona (Marcia wasn't along on this one); a week at a rented cabin near Alexandria several years; a week spent partly on the Gunflint Trail (northeast of Duluth), and the rest in Chicago; and at a cabin on the North Shore of Lake Superior:
Going to the Black Hills in South Dakota, our car broke down after the lights almost went out because of a bad generator, and we had to push the car down a street to a service station in Redfield. Marcia was so humiliated! While there, we attended a semi-pro baseball game. It was the only time I've gotten a foul ball. It bounced behind us, and I grabbed it. I was so happy, but then a man came and took it back, saying they only had a few baseballs left!
All 4 of us enjoyed playing golf on a little par 3 course at a resort in Alexandria.
On the Gunflint Trail we were the last house with electricity, and we had an “ice box”, with actual ice being delivered every morning. There was a beach near our cabin, but the water was freezing, and Marcia and I were told to get out of the water by a neighbor who thought we were trespassing on his property. After this fiasco, we fared no better going to Chicago. Dad was always in the wrong lane and missed the exits in that huge city. We were all so happy to get out of there!
At the cabin on the North Shore, I remember the odd resort owner who called himself “Edwin Julius” and seemed to overly enjoy my company as a young boy. One day he gave me his favorite jar of agates taken from the rocky shore of Lake Superior nearby.
There were many good times during the days when I was growing up, but I also remember how unhappy Dad often seemed to be - how disappointed he seemed to be by life that always seemed to pass him by. He wasn't always too kind to Mom and Marcia. In his feeling of failure in his own life, he often took it out verbally on all of us. And Dad had a bad temper. I vividly recall an occasion when he was particularly upset with me about something, and as he tried to kick me in the behind, he slipped on the rug. I laughed and then wished I hadn't, as he was even more angry! I ran upstairs to my room, which was a mistake since I was then trapped.
I used to tease my Mom later that I would have been a millionaire if she hadn't thrown out my collection of baseball cards (and comic books). At least I enjoyed them while I was growing up.
I was always for the “under-dog”. I remember my Mom finding me one time sobbing my eyes out. When she asked me what was wrong, I said “Poor Pittsburgh!” Their baseball team, the Pirates, had a long losing streak and I just felt sorry for them.
On a much more serious note, I recall a sad experience during my Junior High days. I became friends with Gerald, a boy that most other kids ignored or made fun of because he was from a poor family, didn't have the “right clothes”, had a bad haircut, etc. He lived with his parents, a brother and a sister in a very humble house. One night, as the Dad was at work, something went wrong with the heating system and carbon monoxide swept through the house. Gerald, his mother and siblings all died in their beds. His Dad, of course, was devastated and felt very guilty that he hadn't been there. When he planned their funerals several days later, he asked me to be a pall bearer for Gerald and also asked me to find 3 others to assist me, as he said that I was the only person that Gerald talked about as a friend. I was very moved, but also saddened that I was one of only a few who had reached out to Gerald.
My sister reminded me of the fact that I used to love to eat oranges in my bedroom, and would then leave the old orange peels in the waste basket until they molded (maybe just to bug her, although she simply thought I was “unhygienic”!). I did the same with old cartons of ice cream when I finished them.
For many years I had a cowboy spread on my bed and a large newspaper-clipping picture of Paul Giel, a great University of Minnesota halfback in the 50's, on my wall, My bedroom was always very cold in the winter, since my parents turned off the heat in the living room below it to save on heating bills!
My first kiss was with Sally Schmoeckel, a girl my age who lived a few houses away (I don't remember what age we were). She and I spent a lot of time together when we were children, and one day our friendship turned to puppy love (at least long enough for an awkward kiss!).
When I was about 10 or 11, Marcia decided that I should learn to dance, under her direction of course. Sally came over to our house together with another friend, Dave Knefelkamp. The old Victrola was set up in my room. We would wind it up and then practice dance steps to “You, You You” by the Ames Brothers and “Eh Cumpari” sung by Julius La Rosa. Needless to say, I still don't know how to dance, and these early lessons did not help!
Winding up the Victrola reminded me that when Matt was young, I told him one day that when I was his age, we didn't have a TV. He looked at me with disbelief before saying, “If you didn't have a TV, how did you hook up the VCR?” My, how things have changed!
I practiced archery in the back yard, and one time almost shot our neighbor, Mr. Moogren, when the arrow went over the target and landed in his yard.
Among items that were stored in the attic off my bedroom was an old drum from the Spanish-American War, a World War II ammunition belt, an armadillo basket, and a early radio (“crystal set”). For some reason, Mom sold them at a garage sale. There were also many bats living in there!
For several summers I caddied at the local golf course. I remember that one man would hire 2 of us – one to carry his clubs amd the other to carry a case of beer for his 4-some! Early in the morning, I would often wade in several ponds to get golf balls to resell, but sometimes the course pro, Babe Orff, would make me get out so he could get them himself.
I remember crying when I attended my first funeral – that of Mr. Larson, an elderly neighbor who lived across the street.
I liked to shoot baskets out in the driveway, even in the winter when I would have to shovel snow off the driveway first.
In Junior High, I was asked to give a tribute to fathers at a Father-Son banquet at church. Mom wrote my speech, but people loved it!
We had a little electronic organ for awhile, on which I learned to play a few songs, including “I Believe”.
I was confirmed on May 20, 1956 at Trinity Church by Pastor Norman P. Wold. There were between 50 and 60 of us in the class. It was a very happy occasion, as we had all survived the question and answer session in front of parents and church members a few days earlier. Pastor Wold had had pity on us and told us beforehand what question from Luther's Catechism he would ask each of us so we could parrot back the right answer. After the service I remember that the official photographer carefully lined all of us up on the church steps in the blazing sun. He took a number of group photos before he discovered that he had forgotten to put film in his camera! We milled around for another half-hour in our white robes and carnations before he returned.
I broke my collar bone while playing football in 10th grade which abruptly ended my gridiron career. While my arm was in a sling, I took driver's training on a Nash Rambler which had a push button shift system which was under the steering wheel.
In my pre-teen years, my best friends were Keith Fransen and Allan Linner with whom I spent many fun hours. My best friend in high school was Gordy Klatt. On several occasions, he played accordion while I played my drum set to entertain neighbors in the evening. I had my drum set in my bedroom, and I'm not sure the neighbors appreciated the sound/noise (and Marcia definitely didn't!)
To earn extra spending money, I would collect night-crawlers in the backyard at night and sell them to a local bait shop. I also cut grass for Hazel and Maurice del Mas. Beside the money, the perk was that they would invite me to stay for supper and Hazel was an excellent cook. She always had 2 or 3 kinds of meat, mounds of potatoes and buttered vegetables, topped off with huge slices of cake or pie or both!
For several summers, I cut grass for a nice woman in her 80's or 90's. One Saturday she asked if I would cut down tall grass and weeds in a lot next to her yard. I began hacking away with a hand sickle until I made a direct hit on a hornet's nest I hadn't noticed before. A swarm of wasps very quickly started to sting me all over my face, arms, neck and legs, even under my t-shirt. I was frantically trying to repel them just as my Dad drove up. He saw what was happening and helped me get my shirt off. I had many stings which were painful for quite awhile, but I was grateful that my Dad arrived when he did and also that I wasn't allergic to these bites!
My Dad's aunt, Edith Smith, made homemade root beer that was too potent for us children and teenagers to drink. Her son Jack, who worked for the US Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said that he would have arrested her for “home-brewing” if she hadn't been his mother! (Marcia said that our Grandma Landeen also made potent root beer, beginning the fermentation process at Thanksgiving, putting the bottles under a dining room chair by the heat vent, and by Christmas it was pretty powerful stuff!)
In my Junior year, there was a serious fire that damaged much of the high school, so we had split shifts for the rest of the year (I swear I didn't set it!)
I always attended Sunday school, and was deeply influenced spiritually by its Superintendent, a small man named Connie Danielson who had such a love of Christ and the Church that it rubbed off on me.
I was the president of Trinity's “Hi-League” (youth group) during 1959-60. From December 30-January 3 that year, I attended the Augustana Synod Youth Conference in San Antonio, TX. Dick Doerr, my roommate in the hotel, wanted to take a picture of downtown San Antonio from our room, and asked me to hold the window open. As I was doing so, someone in the next room dropped a bottle to the pavement. Before I could close the window, people from hotel security were knocking on our door. They were angry and accused us of dropping the bottle. We denied doing it, and they finally confirmed that the kids in the next door room were guilty. We were very glad that we weren't sent home on the next bus!
During my Junior and Senior years, there were several foreign exchange students at the high school.
One, Taufieq “Vic” Ramli from Indonesia, became my good friend. He was just learning English. I had a beginning typing class with him, and he said he made “many errors” ! Despite being Moslem, he attended church with his host family, the Herschlebs', and also went to “conflimation” with their teenagers
Another was Welf Boettcher from Germany. He was an egotistical fellow who always expressed his opinion that everything in Germany was far superior to what it was in the US. At Christmas his family sent his host family, the Mayers' and my good friend Ralph, a Bavarian cuckoo clock as a gift. On the day he left for home, they took it down!
Then there was Sylvia Corridor from Columbia, South America. Her father was the Columbian ambassador to the US, and the family was very wealthy and had servants. She was a real snob ! For the Prom, she had a Christian Dior dress while most of the girls had gotten theirs at Sears or Penney's!
I took my driver's test when I was 16. On the day of the driver's test, I was third in line. The first fellow had driven by himself to the test, which is illegal. The second was a girl who got in the car and, in her nervousness, drove up onto the sidewalk ! I passed despite the tester being very shaken!
I went to the Junior prom with Sue Kerner (her Dad hired me to work summers at the Andersen Corporation). Before we went to the dance, I brought her to the hospital with me so my Mom (who had just had surgery) could see us.
I went to the Senior prom with Ruby Monson. Before the dance, we went out to dinner and while cutting my steak, it flew across the table into Ruby's lap! On the day after the prom, the whole group that I went around with was going canoeing. Ruby couldn't go because she had accepted a baby-sitting job!
I attended a Synod Church Youth Leadership School from July 19-25, 1959. Four of us from Trinity attended. We were asked to make a report in church on the next Sunday, so we met and decided what each of us would say, so we wouldn't duplicate each other. I was the last to speak and the other 3 had shared everything. So when it was my turn, I blurted out that as a result of the leadership school experience, I was planning to go into the ministry ! Afterward, I couldn't believe what I had said. Both my parents were in tears – my Mom crying with joy and my Dad weeping in disappointment (not really)!
Several months later Pastor Wold took me on a short trip to Rock Island, Illinois to visit Augustana Seminary there. He told me during the hours we were together in his car that he had wanted to be a pro baseball player when he was a teenager. I appreciated his openness and willingness to explore the idea of my being a pastor.
I was inducted into the National Honor Society on May 2, 1960, for which I was very proud, since my sister Marcia had been inducted 3 years earlier, was an excellent student and ended her high school career at 3rd in her class. I was an “OK” student, but often heard comments from teachers, such as “So, you’re Marcia’s brother. SHE was a very good student”, with the implication that they wished I were more like her!
I played the bass drum and cymbals in the high school band. We always received the highest ratings at State competitions. In my Senior year, 2 other drummers and I formed a Drum Ensemble and we got an “A” at State of which we were very proud. I recall our band director, Mr. Regis, yelling at practice when I made a mistake - “Landeen!” Because he got so upset with me sometimes, I wasn't going to tell him after I broke my collar bone and had my left arm in a sling but eventually I had to. For several years I had early morning lessons on the snare drum. Often he had been drinking already. He died at an early age due to alcoholism.
Our band was often asked to march in local parades, during which I played bass drum and cymbals. My recollections include our always being just behind the horses, and that I sweated profusely in the heavy uniform.
I also played bass drum and cymbals at summer band concerts held on Wednesday evenings at Pioneer Park. Each week each of us received a few dollars a week in remuneration.
During the summer before my Senior year, I played drums with a small combo. We rehearsed in Hudson, WI and broke up before we ever played in public.
To earn spending money, I worked at an Army surplus store on Main Street (on the 3rd floor, they had a whole dog sled in storage). I also cleaned luxury boats on the St. Croix River, cleaned a cafe after-hours, did lawn mowing and gardening, and even occasionally baby-sat for neighbors with a couple of small boys.
An interesting job I had for part of one summer was distributing samples of a new product called “Mr. Clean”. I had to get to Minneapolis early each weekday morning to meet the truck that brought us to different neighborhoods where we walked door-to-door. Mr. Stennes, the father of a family for whom Marcia baby-sat heard of my need for a ride to Minneapolis and very kindly offered to leave for his job as a high-powered insurance actuary earlier than he would normally have done and also give me a ride home again. I remember 2 other details of that job: I would put a small glass-bottled sample in a bag, attach it to the door handle, ring the bell and move on. Several times I witnessed people opening the door, causing the sample to swing out, break and begin dripping! I also got some of the sample on the white shirt I had to wear and my Mom was not able to get the stain out again!
During my Senior year, I was the manager (and goalie for practices) for a very unsuccessful hockey team. The team practiced and played games at outside rinks which were very cold. One time I dropped my eye glasses, and they shattered when they hit the ground! The good thing was that we were allowed to use the high school's warm indoor swimming pool after practice.
For 2 years I played on the tennis team, usually 3rd singles and 2nd doubles. During my Senior year our team won the State championship, although (or because!) I didn't play in the tournament. After the victory, our coach, Mr. McQuire, treated the whole team to an all-you-can-eat shrimp and frog legs' buffet at a nice restaurant.
I worked on set construction for high school plays. As a Senior I was the stage manager for one play and had a walk-on part in the November 1959 production of “The Man Who Came to Dinner”. I was accepted into the National Thespian Society in January 1960.
I graduated from Stillwater High School on June 6, 1960, ranked 53rd in a class of about 350.
I attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN for the 1960-1961 year. There I was in the symphony band. I also played drums in a “pep band” for basketball games, including “away games” around the state. Dr. Richard Reusch, who later was a parish pastor at Stacy, MN, and with whom I traveled to Israel in the summer of 1969, was my faculty advisor. I joined the “Independent Men's Club”, many of whose members were pre-sem, rather than a fraternity. My 1st semester roommate had a bad complexion and never left our room after classes. My 2nd semester roommate partied and drank heavily (he later became a pastor!).
In the summers during my college and seminary years, I worked at the Andersen Corporation near Stillwater (they made wood-frame windows). I primarily unloaded lumber from box cars which came in from the state of Washington. For a short time I was also a “tally girl” (using a counter that kept track of the number of pieces of lumber that each cutter had done).
I met Pam at a young adult retreat at Luther Point Bible Camp near Grantsburg, WI on Labor Day weekend 1961 (foolishly I was more interested in another attendee named Karen!)
I transferred to Augsburg College in Minneapolis for my Sophomore year. Early in the year I dated Karen for awhile, although nobody in my family liked her. During the 1st half of the year, my roommate was from New York and had a model train set up in dorm room. I moved home for the rest of the year. In my Junior year I had 4 roommates in a rented house on campus. In my Senior year I had 2 roommates in a rented house on campus which was condemned to be torn down while we were living there!
During June 1962 I visited a friend from Gustavus – Jonah Nkurlu, his wife and twin 3-year-old sons from Tanzania, East Africa – in Lindsborg, Kansas. While I was there, I wrote to Pam and asked her to go out with me.
Our first date was on July 14, 1962. We saw the movie “West Side Story” (I found out later that she had already seen it!)
From 1962 to 1964, Pam and I dated. We walked everywhere until I finally got a car. One year we had season tickets to the Minnesota Symphony concerts at the University of Minnesota.
I painfully froze my ears while walking to downtown Minneapolis on January 23, 1963 and had to soak them in warm water for several days
Pam and I became engaged on September 28, 1963! I asked her to marry me on the 27th and she said “My Mother always said to say 'no' the first time. Ask me again tomorrow night!” I said “What time tomorrow night?” She thought I was kidding, but I'd had the engagement ring for a week!
The next weekend we drove up to Rice Lake because Pam wanted me to ask her Dad for permission to marry her. We arrived at his tire shop on Main Street about 7 PM on Friday evening. As I went in, Pam stayed in the car as we both assumed that I would be out again very soon. Because it was “shopping night” for many men's wives, a group of men were sitting around the shop, just chatting and passing the time. I didn't want to talk to Tom in front of them, so I waited until they had left (he must have wondered why I was sitting there, as I had never come to the shop on Friday night before). By then it was almost closing time at 9. When I finally asked him for “Pam's hand”, he simply replied, “Well, I think that's up to the 2 of you”! A bit later, we were sitting around the house talking with Pam's folks. They were in the process of having their house painted and there was a ladder up outside Pam's old bedroom. We teased them that maybe we would just run away and elope. In the morning, when Pam woke up, she looked out and saw that her Dad had taken the ladder down!
My Dad had one sister, Irene, who lived in NY City for much of her life. Late in her life she returned to MN and lived in Minneapolis. In early 1964, prior to her death, I visited her at her apartment and befriended her, as she was very frail and quite confused. One time I brought her a red rose. She loved it, put it in front of a mirror and said, “There, now I have 2 roses!”
I had a student deferment from the military draft, but received a letter telling me to report for my Army physical on February 10, 1964 after the registrar at Augsburg failed to send in the form saying that I was still in college! (fortunately, I was able to get it corrected by getting the form filled out and meeting with my draft board). It was the same day I began student teaching in a 4th-grade class at Madison Elementary School near downtown Minneapolis (I had an excellent mentor-teacher whose husband was a minister).
I graduated from Augsburg College on June 7, 1964 with a BA degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Psychology.
Pam graduated from the Swedish Hospital School of Nursing on August 14, 1964, a ceremony which of course I attended.
I took a "crash course” at the seminary from June 8-July 17, 1964 to learn Greek (a requirement to enroll as a Master of Divinity "MDiv" student). During this time I met and became friends with Ray Johnson. That summer I also studied with Mr. Van Tassel, a farmer near Stillwater who loved languages and the Bible.
I officially began attending Northwestern Seminary in September 1964. It was located off Franklin and Nicollet in Minneapolis. In my dorm room where I lived for a month, I power-sanded a table and chair set that Pam and I had bought second-hand.
I married Pam in Rice Lake, Wisconsin on October 10, 1964 (the best moment of my life up to that time!) at an 8:00 PM service officiated by Pastors Erwin Swanson (Pam's home pastor) and W. Burdette Benson (a friend and mentor from our dating years). The reception was held in the church basement. My brother-in-law, Allen, was my best man when my friend Gordy Klatt couldn't be because he was Catholic! We then went on a 2-day honeymoon to Spooner, Wisconsin and Duluth. We attended church in Spooner on Sunday morning, but the only late service we could find was at a Methodist church, which we discovered was having their stewardship program that morning. I wore my wedding bow tie to church because I had forgotten to bring a regular tie!
On Tuesday morning I returned to seminary where I arrived late for my first class. An old professor, Dr. Ahlen, waited for me to sit down and then said, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh!” I didn't even know that he was aware that I had just gotten married!
Our first apartment in Minneapolis cost $65 per month out of Pam's monthly salary of $311 as an RN at Abbott Hospital's Janney Children's Pavilion. The apartment was heated by a coal furnace, and the coal was delivered to the basement right below our window. If we left our window open even a bit when the coal came, we could write our names anywhere in the apartment !
The Synod asked me to serve the congregation of Christ Lutheran Church in Maple Plain (40 miles W of Minneapolis) during the summer of 1965, when I had just finished my 1st year of seminary. We lived in the parsonage there, but there were several rooms that had virtually no furniture. It was a very valuable learning experience, and the members were very patient and kind as I “got my feet wet” and stumbled through getting used to the role of pastor. I officiated at my first funeral just 2 weeks before I returned to seminary (it was for a member who lived with his wife next to the parsonage, and who had befriended us all summer). Joe and Bev Jerde were also good friends from that summer.
In 1965, my Dad went for a routine physical for his work, and tests showed a spot on his lung, which the doctors believed to be tuberculosis. So he was sent to the Cannon Falls Sanitarium. It was about 40 miles from their home, but it might as well have been across the world because he felt very isolated, there were few activities to keep him busy, and the doctors didn't seem to care too much. While at that hospital, he became more and more depressed - something he had struggled with all of his life. So he was eventually transferred to Anoka State Hospital that had a TB ward. I remember coming to see him one day, and he was so down, but I finally talked him into going with me to a Minnesota Twins baseball game on my next visit. I came to get him, all excited about his getting out for the day, and he refused to go. That's the way it went for about 2 years - too depressed to do anything or go anywhere. This was a very frustrating time for all of us, and we wondered if he would ever get better. Finally through the efforts of my Mom, he was transferred in early 1967 to Hastings State Hospital . They got him into a work and therapy program where he started to begin feeling a little better about himself while being involved in activities. Finally he got out of the hospital, and went back to work part-time in a window factory where they treated him very well. He retired in the late 1960s.
After we were married, Pam and I attended church at Epiphany Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis, where we became good friends with the pastor, Ralph Kempski, and his wife Mary. Ralph and Mary had a chance to go on a study cruise in the Caribbean, so from January 2-17, 1966, we took care of their 3 young children – Rick, Joan and John – in their home. It was a very hectic time, as we were not used to having this type of responsibility. Whatever Pam cooked, the kids would say, “That's not what our Mom makes!” One night, for a treat, Pam made carameled apples. She chopped up the nuts on a cutting board she had used earlier for supper. When she proudly served the apples, I blurted out, “These nuts taste like onions!” and the kids agreed and wouldn't eat them. I think Pam was ready to kill me for opening my big mouth! Pam had to meet the bus very early to get to work by 7:00 AM, so I would get the 2 older children ready for school and deliver John to different members' homes for the day. I also preached twice and taught confirmation during that time. We were all happy to see Ralph and Mary return, and this experience may have the reason we didn't have children until many years later!
After my second year of seminary, I served my required internship in a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program /chaplaincy training at Elgin, IL State Hospital (1966-67). It was the first time our Synod had allowed an internship in a non-congregational setting. I chose the state hospital field so that I could learn more about mental illness, since my Dad was struggling with severe depression. Pam also worked there as an RN, first in the adolescent ward and later with alcoholics, many brought to the hospital right off the streets of downtown Chicago. One psychiatrist there only used shock treatments. Another held classes on dealing with emotions, but during a talk on anger he became enraged, knocked over a table, and patients had to calm him and have him sit down! The CPE director, Charles “Sully” Sullivan was a clever manipulator, did not like women very much, and often scheduled some “bonding activity” among the 10 of us in the program for Friday evenings until the wives began to protest. Many years later I ran into him at a resort in Wisconsin, and found out that he had expelled from being a CPE supervisor many years ago
During my internship in Elgin, we rented an apartment which was considerably more expensive than we had been paying back in Minneapolis. We had to pay 2 months rent up-front and when we paid it, the check bounced because we had changed banks ! Both of our salaries were paid by the State of Illinois and we weren't paid for 2 months!
During our year at Elgin, I found out that I had hypo-thyroidism (low thyroid production) and began taking medication for it. Before I began the treatment, I was so tired and lethargic that I could barely get out of bed in the morning.
Maurice and Hazel del Mas and my Mom were with us to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. During the year Mom also came down at Thanksgiving with Marcia, Allen and Anne, and later brought Dad down, when he was very confused, and one of us slept in front of the door to make sure he didn't walk out of our apartment. Pam's folks also came to see us during that year.
We drove to the World's Fair in Montreal during the spring of 1967, and stayed with a Jewish family in their home there. The American exhibit was all on Hollywood and entertainment, while the Russian pavilion was all on technological achievements (however, their toilets were out of order!).
We moved back to Minnesota in June 1967, and in September I returned to Northwestern for my Senior year. While we were gone, the school had moved to the Luther Seminary campus on Como Avenue in St. Paul. I began to work part-time there on the grounds maintenance crew.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
