Fifty Years Ago Today the Civil Right Movement came knocking on my door. Or within just a couple of blocks, at least. I was five years old.
General Dynamics transferred Daddy to New York for what turned out to be six months in 1964. There are lots of memories I have of the time up there. Going to Niagara Falls, seeing my first newborn, I remember Momma laughing when I told her his ears weren’t any bigger than my Thumbelina doll’s ... starting school, having a monster huge Halloween pumpkin I couldn't reach halfway around and living next door to a cemetery. But the most vivid thing I remember is the Rochester Riots.
We moved to Rochester from Ft. Worth in June. We were just getting settled into a routine and getting to know our new town when the Riots took place. One day everything seemed okay, then the next it wasn’t.
When the riots took place, we lived within walking distance of downtown and for three nights - but it seemed like forever as a child - the riots took place. Rochester businesses burned, sirens wailed, people's voices - yelling - could be heard. You could see the orange glow lighting up the sky from all the fires. When the riot would move closer to our house, the voices got louder and that was really scary. We were under a 6:00 pm curfew. Anyone out after dark was arrested...but there were too many rioting to control them all.
Momma said, “W.B., you better get me out of here!", and we moved to West Webster. That is where we lived until we moved back to Texas.
On a lark, I looked up the 1964 Riots of Rochester, NY the other day. Turns out I experienced what would become a significant part of Civil Rights history. There is a lot of information about it on the net.
We've come a long way since 1964.
General Dynamics transferred Daddy to New York for what turned out to be six months in 1964. There are lots of memories I have of the time up there. Going to Niagara Falls, seeing my first newborn, I remember Momma laughing when I told her his ears weren’t any bigger than my Thumbelina doll’s ... starting school, having a monster huge Halloween pumpkin I couldn't reach halfway around and living next door to a cemetery. But the most vivid thing I remember is the Rochester Riots.
We moved to Rochester from Ft. Worth in June. We were just getting settled into a routine and getting to know our new town when the Riots took place. One day everything seemed okay, then the next it wasn’t.
When the riots took place, we lived within walking distance of downtown and for three nights - but it seemed like forever as a child - the riots took place. Rochester businesses burned, sirens wailed, people's voices - yelling - could be heard. You could see the orange glow lighting up the sky from all the fires. When the riot would move closer to our house, the voices got louder and that was really scary. We were under a 6:00 pm curfew. Anyone out after dark was arrested...but there were too many rioting to control them all.
Momma said, “W.B., you better get me out of here!", and we moved to West Webster. That is where we lived until we moved back to Texas.
On a lark, I looked up the 1964 Riots of Rochester, NY the other day. Turns out I experienced what would become a significant part of Civil Rights history. There is a lot of information about it on the net.
We've come a long way since 1964.
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