Readers Remember

I was a teenager when Franklin Roosevelt died. My father called on the phone.

“Betty,” he said, “tell your mother I’ll be very late getting home tonight. Also tell her that Franklin Roosevelt died this afternoon.”

My father was the editor of our local newspaper, the Greenville News. He wrote the daily editorial (required reading in the family). All my political views came from Daddy and President Roosevelt--the only president I had ever known.

When Mama came home, I told her. She burst into tears.

“You will remember this day all your life,” she said. “I’ll make some doughnuts, so we can stay up and listen to the radio.”

She always made doughnuts when the news was vital.

Thirty years later, driving home, I stopped at a red light. Turning on the radio, I heard this announcement: “President Kennedy died today at precisely 1:02 p.m.” For a few minutes, I was a child again, seeing my mother’s eyes fill with tears at the death of a president. I got home to see my children watching television. They all jumped up and called to me:

“Mom! President Kennedy was shot!” “I know,” I said, “and you will remember this day all your lives.” I took some doughnuts out of the freezer.

BETTY HESSE

Palm Desert

What do you recall most about the 20th century? In 200 words or less, send us your memories, comments or eyewitness accounts. We will publish as many as we can on this page until the end of the year. Write to Century, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, or e-mail century@latimes.com. We regret we cannot acknowledge individual submissions. Letters may be edited for space.