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I've heard no mention on television of today's anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy twenty-nine years ago, but I spent the better part of today trying to dig up my 1988 commemorative issue of LIFE in order to photograph it and put down a few thoughts.
I was a little less than two weeks from turning eight years old when his murder occurred. I was in Sister Mary Pancratia's third-grade class when the announcement came over the intercom. I recall telling someone at the time that I was going to go home and cry my eyes out.
I didn't.
I did, of course, remain glued to the television for the next three days and while I surely had no real awareness of world events at the time, I absorbed a great deal that weekend. And I believe strongly that it was a major contributor to the person I've since become.
I've read and watched a great deal about Kennedy in my lifetime. I'm by no means a scholar with regard to his personal or political lives, but I think I've learned enough about him to be able to have established an opinion of him as a leader.
Unlike the current president, I believe he acted in the best interest of the country and in the best interest of the world. Unlike the current president, he took the concept of public service seriously.
And while so many of his critics like to point to his philandering as a matter of bringing him down in stature, his actions in the Oval Office gained him a stature in the world's opinion that I think no other U.S. president has seen since. And all the while, he was a walking disaster of a specimen, requiring what was probably constant medication (from Taylor Marsh):
• Anesthetic procaine, for his Addison’s disease
• Cytomel, for thyroid deficiency
• Lomitil
• Metamucil, now there’s a commercial for you
• Paregoric
• Phenobarbitol
• Trasentine, to control his colitic diarrhea
• Testosterone, to increase his energy and boost his weight after bouts of colitis
• Penicillin, for urinary tract flare ups
• Fluorinef, to increase his salt absorption due to Addison’s
• Cortisone
• Tuinal, for insomnia – a side effect of the cortisone
• Antihistamines, for an array of allergies
• Codeine
• Steroids… Oh, and Vitamin C and calcium
In less than five years, Martin Luther King, Jr. would be murdered, as would Kennedy's brother Bobby. My mother told me one time that she thought Bobby would have been a better president than John. I'd never thought my mother was all that politically aware at the time she said that (or since), but I believe she was right.
I believe, too, that the Democratic party began taking a serious dive south after 1968, as did the politics of this country. While I'd be hesitant to call JFK the best president we've ever had (although Mr. Rectenwald, my sophomore history teacher thought he was), it simply boggles the mind that our country has sunk to the depths that it has in the last twenty-something years with regard to the leaders we have chosen.
I seriously can't think of one thing that the current president has done for the betterment of this country or its people. Not one.
And so, it is more than nostalgia that drove me to shoot and post this. It's the mourning of ideals that we decided to chuck as a nation since 1968; it's the belief that we'd be a much different — and better — nation had Lee Harvey Oswald not become part of our historical narrative.
From the speech he was en route to deliver on 22 November 1963:
It should be clear by now that a nation can be no stronger abroad than she is at home. Only an America which practices what it preaches about equal rights and social justice will be respected by those whose choice affects our future. Only an America which has fully educated its citizens is fully capable of tackling the complex problems and perceiving the hidden dangers of the world in which we live. And only an America which is growing and prospering economically can sustain the worldwide defenses of freedom, while demonstrating to all concerned the opportunities of our system and society.
[...]
But now we have the military, the scientific, and the economic strength to do whatever must be done for the preservation and promotion of freedom.
That strength will never be used in pursuit of aggressive ambitions—it will always be used in pursuit of peace. It will never be used to promote provocations—it will always be used to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes.
We in this country, in this generation, are—by destiny rather than choice—the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of "peace on earth, good will toward men." That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength.
This is a really interesting vehicle. In 1946 Ford sent six truck chassis to Marmon-Herrington for conversion to four-wheel drive. Five were built as Ford pickup trucks and sold in 1946. The last was built as a Mercury with a woody body. This vehicle was titled as a 1947 model and sold to Don Bleitz, the nature photographer for Life magazine.
Bleitz and his wife, actress Joyce Mackenzie, flew to Indianapolis to pick up this wagon from Ford and drove it back to Los Angeles. Once home, Bleitz had Coachcraft, Ltd. of Hollywood add a stainless steel icebox and a water tank in the rear floor, an electric pump to bring water to a valve on the dash, replace the canvas top with a wood deck, and install chrome steps up the back to access that deck. He spent a lot of time off-road and set up his cameras on the top deck. This is probably the first real SUV.
George Barris’ "Cruisin' Back to the 50s" Culver City Car Show, Culver City, California
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation ad showcasing the Lockheed P-38, from the June 23, 1941 issue of Life Magazine.
"Lightning to meet the challenge."
"... for Protection today, and Progress tomorrow."
"Look to Lockheed for Leadership"
Includes a promo for her new movie, “Niagara” (20th Century-Fox, 1953).
Movie trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvGdBoFzjAo
Ads scanned (Cropped from previous ad) from an old LIFE Magazine - November 27, 1950 edition.
The pages were very brittle and dry and were crumbling during handling.
Studebaker automobile advertisement from a 1940 issue of Life Magazine, showing some of their elderly craftspeople at work, and employing an age-old advertising trick of putting a dog in the ad.
"They build your Studebaker to cost you less per mile."
Attempt by General Foods to educate the reader in this colorful advertisement for Post Toasties Corn Flakes from the July 29, 1940 issue of Life Magazine.
"You Need Vitamin B1 Daily"
"Value Added To Value"
A small group of people gathered on Federal Plaza, underneath the Alexander Calder sculpture, to protest the dictatorship in the African republic of Togo.
I absolutely love this shot taken by Joel Yale (shot in May of 1954). It's a group of little league baseball players putting on their uniforms, prior to playing a game.
Colored by Mark Jaxn
Hey little buddy, this here package is COD, so unless your owner has $32.95, I'm taking you as payment.
Nash motors was celebrating their 50th anniversary when they ran tis ad in the June 23, 1952 issue of Life magazine. This was on the inside front cover.
Advertisement for Recordio, encouraging people to let their neighbors share their recording device to send a record to their loved ones overseas in the service. November 16, 1942 issue of LIfe Magazine.
Extracted from a Cannon Percale sheet advertisement from a 1940's issue of Life Magazine.
"I'm tied to a post... and I love it!"
“Mrs. Diggs is alarmed at discovering what she imagines to be a snare that threatens the safety of her only child. Mr. Diggs does not share his wife’s anxiety.” [Image caption]
American artist Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944) created elegant pen and ink illustrations that were evocative of American life. He was best known for his creation of the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent Euro-American woman at the turn of the 20th century. His wife, Irene Langhorne, and her four sisters inspired his images. He published his illustrations in “Life” magazine and other major national publications for more than 30 years, becoming editor of “Life” in 1918 and later owner of the magazine. [Source: Wikipedia]
James Bond Chile fansite Producer Luis Grandón T. attend the Mandrill Premiere ...a film with the James Bond taste made in Chile...by Mandrill Films...
The Birdman of Hyde Park, Mr. R. Hedges-Bates appeared on the front cover of the American edition of Life magazine on 21st December 1936. The baby is a Granddaughter of Lord Beaverbrook, Caroline Ann Christine Aitken.
Advertisement for Kremel (one of the worst named products I can think of) specifically designed to encourage women to select their future husbands based on the conditions of a man's folicles. Another ad taken from the March 4, 1940 issue of Life Magazine.
"Dear Diary: I Said "YES" Tonight"
"Not Greasy - Makes The Hair Behave"
Letter from Robert Benchley, signed by his wife and children. Circa 1921.
From The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide, to be published Dec. 2014 from Lyons Press. By Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, with a foreword by Anthony Melchiorri. For more information, visit algonquinroundtable.org.
Vintage advertisement for Golden Tone Radio, a General Electric product, from an early 1940's era issue of Life Magazine.
"Hear the Radio that Makes Music Really Live!"
"Stop and Listen! Compare! Find Out How Far Radio Has Advanced"
"Amazing New Realism"
Plymouth Gold Duster advertisement from the February 4, 1972 issue of Life Magazine.
"Plymouth Gold Duster. Room for five. Roof for free."
Working the canvas on the 'Hair of Wool' piece for my 'Everyone Could Use A HERO' fine-art exhibit at CentralGallery. The BobMarley piece entitled: 'Zion Lion' looks on. I like to paint and sketch my historical pieces in such a way that the subject chosen is studying YOU just as much as YOU are studying the subject. So in essence, the viewing is very up close and personal. The eyes follow you no matter what direction you view them. This technique makes the feeling more real as well as more (personal)... they are speaking directly to YOU. The cuts, scratches, scrapes, and abrasions that I inflict with blades, knives, sandpaper and rocks prepare my canvases for the pain that I show in each and every face. Much like the pain and suffering that 'the ancestors' endured from the whips, fists, spit, rapes, insults, indifference, humiliation, hoses, hangings, bullets, dogs, etc. displayed for EVERYONE to see on each individual's face. This is so deep that most of those who have experienced the exhibit refer to the encounter as nothing short of 'POWERFUL.' I would NOT have it any other way... (peace)..., *T.M.NOEL/ ANGRYHOUZE, inc.