60th Anniversary of President Kennedy’s Assassination

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy happened 60 years ago. But for those who remember the day, November 22, 1963, it’s as if it happened yesterday. 

WRCO Radio’s Phil Nee recently hosted a special episode of “The Morning Show” dedicated to discussing the 60th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination. His guests shared their personal memories related to this historic event through their own local lens.

“I was in Algebra II class. The news came over the loudspeaker. It was some of the bleakest, saddest… days. Something you’ll never forget,” Doug Bradley, a Madison-based author, says to Nee during the program. 

The opportunity to talk about it on Nee’s show brought back a lot of emotions, including memories of the importance of local radio. 

“All of my recollection is from the radio,” Rod Perry says. He worked at WRCO for close to 25 years. And in 1963, was a fairly new full-time employee.

The scene became eerie as staff gathered around the teletype machine running nonstop. Then the public started arriving, drifting in and out of the radio station. People just didn’t know what to do with themselves.

Rod Perry, former WRCO employee

“According to United Press International, shots have been fired at President Kennedy’s motorcade in Dallas, Texas,” Perry remembers. “The scene became eerie as staff gathered around the teletype machine running nonstop. Then the public started arriving, drifting in and out of the radio station. People just didn’t know what to do with themselves.”

WRCO Radio has served the Richland Center listening area for years and continues to be an important part of the community today. 

“It’s where we learn about the things we can’t forget,” Perry says. “Along with 9-11, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and other big events, we can tell you where we were, and what we were doing when we heard any of it in the news.”

Steve McCarthy also joined Nee on “The Morning Show.” 

“Another kid came into our class and said the President has been shot,” McCarthy says. “We had a school assembly already planned and that’s when it was announced he had died.”

McCarthy was in eighth grade when then-Senator Kennedy visited the Weston School District in Richland County during the 1960 Presidential campaign. 

“After his program, he came out to the parking lot,” McCarthy says. “I took his picture and shook his hand.”

Another guest, Gary Gutknecht, tells Nee his Republican parents took him to a Kennedy campaign rally in Muscoda, Wisconsin.

“Just the idea that somebody running for President was in Muscoda, and my Dad felt it was important to see this man,” Gutknecht says. 

And what does he remember about that November day in 1963? 

“It will be etched in my mind forever,” Gutknecht says. “It’s a day the United States changed, and I think the world changed, too.”

WRCO and all local Civic Media Radio Stations work hard to share special radio programs important to you and your community and offer a great place to talk about them, too.