To the editor:

Having family in Great Bend, nearly everyone, whether they were alive or not, knows of the fateful Friday Nov. 22, 1963: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The calendar for 2024 matches up exactly. This year, the day also falls on a Friday.

I, myself, was 22 days away from being born on Saturday Dec. 14th. I had to rely on my parents, friends, teachers and history-books. I have talked to the former Administrator of Parkland Hospital who helped lift the President from the limo. I have also talked to the late Jim Leavelle, the detective handcuffed to Oswald when he was shot.

I find it odd that not many people know that when he climbed down the steps of Air Force One, President Kennedy was a Knight of Columbus, a Rotarian, and an Elks Lodge member since he was age 21. I likewise joined all these groups later (plus more).

Former President Harry Truman was also a member of the Masonic Lodge and Elk’s Lodge and expressed sorrow for Mrs. Kennedy and her children. Red Skelton was in Odd Fellows Lodge. Former Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Nelson Rockefeller, along with jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong were members of the Knights of Pythias Lodge. Bob Hope was in the Eagles Lodge.

In 1963, about 1 in every 8 adult American males belonged to some type of lodge/fraternal group. I think our world was better. A sense-of-”belonging.”

James A. Marples

Esbon