Looking Back at March 1967

March 1967, 46 years ago, can you imagine that much time has gone by but many events from that time seemed like the other day?  Circleville, Ohio, not a very large town but it was the entire world to me at the age of 18. I was still undecided what I wanted to do after graduating from high school the previous year. College, work or military service remained my choices as do today's young people. 

The evening news with Walter Cronkite was announcing that President Johnson was beginning the lottery draft as we were building up our involvement in Vietnam.  Additionally the Jimmy Hoffa story continues as he was sentenced to an eight year prison sentence as the Beatles song "Penny Lane" hit the #1 position.

I still remained convinced that I will find what I am suppose to do with my life. At that time I was working at Big Bear Supermarkets in Circleville.  I was the full time frozen food/produce guy, responsible for stocking, ordering, rotating stock and assisting customers.  I also doubled as a carry-out service as needed.  A great job with decent pay for 1967.  I was paid $2.25 an hour.  The minimum wage at that time was $1.25 which I was received at J.C. Penney's before I took this job.  I definitely was going to be a store manager one day as I started ruling out college as the war in Vietnam continued to escalate. For those of you who do not anything about Big Bear Stores,  Big Bear was a regional supermarket chain operating in Ohio and West Virginia. The company was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1934, and was headquartered there until its acquisition by Syracuse, New York-based Penn Traffic in 1989. For nearly 75 years, the chain was a Central Ohio institution. A few years later it went under as a result of poor management and competition.

I worked hard and was paid well but as more and more of acquaintances from my hometown felt the twang of the draft, I was convinced by my manager to try to join the Reserve but it was difficult as everybody else had the same idea and none of the units close to home had any open positions.


On March 25 The Turtles hit #1 with "Happy Together" as  I was getting more and more apprehensive and in September 1967 I enlisted in the United States Army.  I guess I found my destiny.

You can listen to the hits of March 1967 this month only on Soundtrack of the 60s with Neal Stevens to relive those times that was to me just the other day.

I Remember March 1965 - It Was Cold

Looking back at March 1965 I recall the entire month was cold in my town of Circleville, Ohio.  As I sit here on my computer, today is March 5 and the temperature in Carrollton TX will reach 74 but on March 5, 1965 the high temp was 55 and in Circleville, Ohio it was 33 with a low of 22.

I was a high school junior back then and most of us walked to school.  Buses did not bus as many students back then as they do today.  It was definitely a brisk and cold walk to Circleville High School during the month of March. 

The civil rights demonstrations were in full swing back then and I recall seeing on TV Some 200 Alabama State Troopers clash with 525 civil rights demonstrators in Selma, Alabama.  I probably didn't understand it so much back then but it still shocked me.  Also around the same time we sent our first combat troops to Vietnam while the radio was playing the number one song "My Girl" by The Temptations.  It was the beginning of uneasy times of the 60s decade.

Still my world was the small town of Circleville as it was with the majority of students in my high school.  Spring was coming and shenanigans were in the horizon as soon as the weather breaks.  It turns out that the entire month of March 1965 remained cold and the warm weather will not arrive until next month when jockey straps will once again be raised on the flag pole on the football field.

The number one songs for the month of March 1965 including "My Girl" were "Eight Days a Week" and "Stop in the Name of Love."   You can listen to the most popular songs on the radio at the time on Soundtrack of the 60s where Neal Stevens plays the most popular songs from that month and recalls the times of March 1965.

Stepping Back to April 1962

April 1962.  Do your remember the year or even better the month and year.  I was a freshman in the 8th grade in Circleville, Ohio.  I don't recall my homeroom teacher but I do recall some of the teachers that inpired me during the year.  My favorite subject was History, (no surprise for anybody who knows me) with Mr. Dole at the reins.  I recall he was an expert on The Civil War and I also remember him drawing the campaigns of the Union and Conferedate forces on the blackboard explaining the battle in detail.  It's funny of all the things in one's memory bank you recall something like that.

My math teacher was Mrs. Davis and she really made it easy although math came pretty easy for me anyways.  When Mrs. Davis passed away a few years ago,her estate consisted of all the high school yearbooks from the time she had been teaching.  Mrs. Davis was wonderful teacher who loved her students.

The 8th grade was a time for me to notice the girls more.  They began wearing makeup, nylons and perfume.  Well maybe I just began noticing it all at that time of my life.

In April 1962 we were gearing up for baseball.  Our hero was Mickey Mantle who hit his  375th career homerun.. The New York Mets was the expansion team that year and of course lost their first game.  When the season ended they had won only 40 games. Being from Ohio,  my personal teams of choice were the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians.
The music of April 1962 looked like this.  The number one songs of the month consisted of Bruce Channel's Hey Baby, Shelley Fabares Johnny Angel and of course Elvis singing Good Luck Charm. The month of April 1962 had several cross over country hits as well including PT 109 by Jimmy Dean, Patsy Cline's hit She's Got You and several more.  It not only was a memoral month for music but a wonderful beginning as I edged closer to beginning a new adventure in high school.

I recommend you take the time and listen to Soundtrack of the Sixties on The 60s Official Site. as DJ Neal Stevens spins the songs from April 1962.

My Childhood Friend Is Gone

I just received word that my childhood friend passed away on December 17, 2009.  Since I don't live in the town I grew up any longer, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the news from home.  My oldest sister no longer lives in Circleville and of course other friends I keep up with don't live there any longer as well.  My sister notified me by email and sent me the obituary that sadly reminded me how much Larry Kegg was a great friend of mine while growning up.  After receiving her email, all day my kept wandering back to my childhood days when Larry and I were growing up.

We lived next door to one another while very young and played together often.  His parents, Maxine and Carl (everybody called him Tony) were always great to be around and both of them treated Larry's friends like royalty.  Larry was handicapped but you would never know it.  Larry never let that hold him back.  He played touch football with all of us on Town Street.  Larry was one of the toughest guys I ever knew.  My friend never allowed adversity or his handicaps interfere with his positive mental attitude.  I can also remember he had genuine love for music and cars. In fact in high school he had a band.  I am sorry to say I can't remember the name of it but I do remember he could play the drums and he and his band would take me on a gig or two.  So much fun back then!  Thank you Larry!  Larry's  parents and he many tmes took me along with them to their vacation home on Lake White  Larry's thoughtfulness and his of course his humor was derived from his fun loving parents.  It was sad that both of them died in a tragic accident so many years ago.

Larry graduated in 1968 and I graduated in 1966.  After I graduated I spent more time with my girlfriends and other buddies and Larry and I saw less and less of each other.  Why?  I don't know but that happens sometimes.  Other relationships starts to overtake the other and then the other becomes a faded photograph.

I eventually entered the United States Army and made it a career while Larry attended Northwestern Medical University in Chicago and then graduated from Cerritos College in California with a degree in Orthotics and Prosthetics. Larry worked with some of the best Orthotic and Prosthetic facilities in the country before starting the family firm of South Central Orthotic and Prosthetics Center in Chillicothe, Ohio. Larry was instrumental in bringing State Licensure in Orthotics and Prosthetics in the State of Ohio.  Larry was very successful and loved by all his patients.

I found Larry's sister on Classmates.com and wrote to her several years ago.  Kris was about two years older than me.  She wrote back and gave me his email address but also his phone number and told me to call not to email because he very seldom checked his email or responded.  Well I kept putting off that phone call until it was never made.

In the late 1970s I ran into Larry and his new wife,  Denise at the Pumpkin Show.  I spent a few minutes talking to him and then went my way with my family.  I never saw Larry again.

While home for a funeral in 2002, my cousin,  who was a member of the Elks as was Larry, My cousin told Larry I was home and  Larry agreed to meet us at the Elks.  I don't know what came up but Larry didn't show.  Back then I didn't know that I probably had lost my last opportunity to see Larry for the last time.  I will say this once again.  As we grow older, the friends we make in life later do not compare to the friends we had as children.

Larry, thank you for all the great memories while growing up.  I wish all of us could be as tough, fun loving, positive, and generous as you have been to all those you came in contact with, especially me.  I pray that you forgive me for not taking that extra time to pick up the phone and say 'hey friend, remember me?"

You can read more about Larry by clicking here.

There's No Place Like Home

In "The Wizard of OZ" Dorothy had to click her heels together and chant "there's no place like home, there's no place like home" to return from the Land of Oz to Kansas. All I had to do was catch a Southwest Airline flight to make my way to Circleville, Ohio to visit the Circleville Pumpkin Show. This year we grew a record size pumpkin of 1,635 pounds.

I hadn't been to the king of all festivals for 7 years and it was great to get back home just in time to see the beautiful foilage and again arouse my sense of smell to the aroma of all the food being prepared at the Pumpkin Show. That was one of the main reasons to make the trip and try to once again rekindle my young at heart spirit and try to recall way back when I didn't have to wear glasses to read or wear hearing aids. As I wondered and looked around everything wasn't the same. Yes the young of heart was there, the little ones were enjoying the rides and the fun as I am sure I did when I was their age. Instead of standing and watching the parades I could sit thanks to my friend Ron bringing chairs to sit on along the parade route. His exact words were "I'm too old to stand." Wow! I am a few months older than he. So I must be too old to stand also.

Before arriving at the downtown festival Ron and I drove over to the old neighborhood where we were part of the hellraisers at that time. All was not the same. Our stomping grounds have deteriorated to the point we were ashamed of how it now looked. Houses that were once the best homes in the neighborhood were some of the worst. The trees that once lined the streets have all been removed now and looked bare. "There's no place like home" did not have much of an impact anymore. I continued to think about the looks of the street where I once lived as we wondered downdtown hoping to catch some old friends and acquaintances. What happend in the last 45 years? Like everything and everybody it just aged. The magic of being home never materialized.

Return to the 60s at The 60s Official Site

I Lost My Childhood Friend

I just received word that one of my childhood friends lost his battle with cancer. He was only 61 years old and still in the prime of his life. Looking back I can still see Bill with a beaming smile on his face. Although I don't recall much about Bill as he reached adulthood, I do remember the plans he always had and that was to have his own business. He did just that. He owned and operated Bill's Bike Shop in Circleville, Ohio.

I first met Bill in elementary school at Corwin Street. He always had a pleasant personality and I don't recall him ever having anything ill to say about any person. Bill was always a fantastic soul. Bill never cared about the background of anybody and always tried to be friends with everyone he met. Overall he was just a nice guy, a product of great parenting and growing up in a great town like Circleville.

As we moved into Junior High School we both were patrol boys for Mr. Chilcote, the toughest and meanest principal in the entire country, but Chilcote loved his patrol boys. Our job was to assist kids crossing the streets before and after school. We had a badge and everything. Man did we think we were cool!

In high school Bill and I had a few classes together but his personality and demeanor never changed. He was always the Bill I knew. He wore his hair crew cut or short, the same style forever, I think as I look back. It seems you always remember a person as they looked when they were young, especially if you haven't seen them in awhile.

On my website, The 60s Official Site, I used a silhouette of two persons from our 1966 yearbook and one of those persons I used to illustrate high school memories was my friend Bill. Click here to view the picture. I am not sure if he was aware, I even had the website or that is picture was there. Now it is my tribute to Bill.

I know Bill's whole life centered around his wife Jill, whom I never met, the rest of his family, his Circleville friends and of course his bike shop.

The last time I spoke to Bill was about 7 years ago when I ran into him at the annual Pumpkin Show while home visiting my dad in the hospital. Bill was still Bill and I could have picked him out of a crowd. Bill never changed.

When he was diagnosed with multiple brain tumors, two classmates of ours John and Jim ran his business for him while he continued to fight for his survival. What a close knit friendship. Both men will continue to run the business until Jill determines what to do with Bill's Bike Shop.

The sad part is life is too short and if you never take the time to enjoy it with full gusto, it will slip away from you very quickly. You never know when you will be called home to your maker. Bill enjoyed life to the very end. I regret that I never took the time to keep up with old childhood friends, who after looking back were probably the best friends I ever had my entire life. It seems you never develop better friends then those you had while you were young.

The town of Circleville will surely miss Bill's smile, his friendliness and his devotion to his friends and family. I know I will miss him. Goodbye my friend.