John Savage Oral History

John Savage's memory of some of his classmates cheering news of the Kennedy assassination was not an isolated experience, nor was it limited to young children. A number of oral histories offer similar reflections, including Dan Spigel, who remembers some of his Mississippi co-workers clapping upon learning of the president's death. Among the 1960s schoolchildren who remember some of their classmates cheering or clapping at word of the Kennedy assassination are Alice McCurdy, Daphne Cagle, Debra Fagin, and Dallas high school teacher Joanna Shields. After hearing about this reaction among a few students at a Dallas elementary school, local Methodist minister William A. Holmes preached a controversial sermon at Northaven Church in Dallas on Sunday, November 24, which helped stimulate ongoing international criticism of Dallas. The story of Rev. Holmes's landmark sermon may be found here: An Evening with Rev. William A. Holmes (youtube.com). - Stephen Fagin, Curator