COMMENTS

18 responses to “Open Thread Update: Your “I Was There” Moment”

1. I was at Madison Square Garden, October, 1971 when Rick Nelson, with shoulder length hair, reluctantly appeared at an oldies concert. He sang contemporary songs mixed in with oldies and was booed. The event inspired the self-penned, “Garden Party.” The song reached #6 on Billoard’s Top 100.

   Reply to Ellen Krauss

2. It’s obviously not the same as having actually been at Woodstock, but my wife and I were caught in the immense traffic jam going home after visiting friends in Connecticut. It’s the only time I ever drove a while on a shoulder, along with thousands of others. I was in college when JFK got shot and working in Midtown Manhattan on 9/11.

   Reply to David

3. I remember when President Kennedy was assassinated. Though I was young I still got the gist of it.

   Reply to Geoff

4. I went to many rock concerts, but these stand out:

   I saw The Doors at Asbury Park Convention Hall in 1968.

   I danced to Santana at the Woodstock Festival in 1969.

   I was at a Grateful Dead concert in Jersey City in 1974 when one of the band members announced that Nixon had resigned. The audience went crazy.

   Reply to Kate Walter

5. We had season tkts to the Jets and Giants for over 50 years. The coldest game I remember was in Dec 73 – the Bills were demolishing the Jets on a bitter freezing day. My mother and sisters wanted to leave, but my father said no way, take refuge in the heated restroom, bec this OJ Simpson kid is going to break the 2000 yd season rushing record – and we would someday tell our kids that we were there to see it. Simpson indeed broke the record, but ofc, that isn’t why we remember him today.

   Reply to Ellen Ross

6. 9/11 I was there. Period

   Reply to jane chirurg

7. When I was a lieutenant in the Air Force in the 1970’s, I was a Minuteman Missile crew member, pulling my share of “alerts” in the underground control centers. Now two of those decommissioned sites are the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in South Dakota, administered by the National Park Service, and are open to tourists. It’s an odd feeling that “my old job” let alone one with such importance to national defense and security is now open to casual visitors and part of the park system.

   Reply to Eric Wallace

   1. I understand completely! We were an Army family living at Ft.Hancock, NJ in the mid ‘60’s. I loved the place as a 3rd/4th grader and went back this past April . This base was decommissioned in the early 1970’s and also became a part of the Gateway National Recreation Area comprising former bases protecting NYC. In doing a tour of the former NIKE missile radar site, I learned that the missiles were nuclear and 3X more powerful than Nagasaki! It was so unnerving to know now what we didn’t then!

      Reply to Debbie Brubaker

8. When I was eight and walking home from grade school in Juneau,Alaska all the bells in town—mostly church bells started ringing. I saw my mom outside on the back porch of our house and said “Mommy, why are the bells ringing?” and she said to me “We just became a state.” (Alaska had just obtained statehood that very day; Juneau was the capitol.)

   Reply to Aurora Fox

   1. I was born in Anchorage in 52 and remember a gigantic bonfire downtown when Alaska became a state.

      Reply to Janis Olson

9. On a vacation to the East coast, our family went to a baseball game in Philadelphia at “old” Veterans Memorial Baseball Stadium. They had a display of the baseballs that Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa hit to break records. We were down by the display and they were getting ready to put away the display for the evening. The guard ask our family if we would like to touch the baseballs. What a thrill! We have pictures of the balls in their display case, but not of touching the balls.

   Reply to S K Jaynes

10. …when Tina Turner did her farewell tour at Radio City, even thought it turned out she kept performing. We had front row seats.

    Reply to Cleta Bradwell

11. As a 20 year old, 5th grade crossing guard in an Arlington, VA school, I marched in Harry Truman’s Inaugural Parade. My only memories are: being overwhelmed by the immense number of people, feeling scared I was going to get lost, and experiencing a great sense of pride in being an American citizen who was taking a responsible part in my Government

    Reply to Dorothy Todd

12. I was there when a new singer named Barbra Streisand was going to have her first concert in Central Park in NYC. I was 21 years old, and the evening before the concert, I was walking through the park. I heard a most beautiful melodic singing coming through the trees. I followed the sound…and came upon Barbra rehearsing. She was breathtaking. I do believe it was one of the miraculous moments in my life!

    Reply to LYNN

13. I was the original girl drummer, playing a solo on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in 1968. I played professionally for 57 years until my recent retirement. YouTube: Victoria Harris Ted Mack 1968

    Reply to Victoria

    1. Vickie… what a fantastic performance!

       \LarryG (bass & guitar player)

       Reply to Larry George

    2. You cute thing! I just watched your vid and omg you are a delight. What a beautiful memory, thanks for sharing.

       Reply to Christina Sluberski

14. I was at the 1969 Woodstock festival in White Lake, NY!

    Reply to Giana Vogt