Displaying items by tag: gymnastics

Saratoga Springs Varsity Boys Swim Team. Photos by Melissa Cartier.
Team Photo: Saratoga Springs High School Varsity Boys swim team seniors at their first meet of the season

The Saratoga Springs High School Varsity Boys Swim Team is still finding their sea legs after being thrown into a season unlike any other. 

The Saratoga Springs High School Varsity Boys Swim Team’s versatility is their best asset for navigating the murky waters created by the COVID pandemic. 

“We’re playing it by ear and doing a week-by-week evaluation of where we’re at,” said Coach Bill Asay.

“It’s a work-in-progress,” he continued. “In a lot of ways, I’m experimenting, and if it’s not working, I adjust.”

NEW POOL, NIGHT OWL PRACTICES & ADJUSTING TO CHANGE
Adjusting to a season with a start date that was delayed until December 14, (a month and a half later than usual), the team is also swimming in a new location this year – at the Saratoga Regional YMCA on West Avenue.

“Everybody is trying to make-up for time lost. No one’s been in the water as much this year, so we’re trying to get as much time in now as we can, get everyone in shape, and go from there,” said Asay.

Fitting in practice time at the gym means training after hours. The team has only 18 swimmers (instead of their usual 22-24 because they cannot have divers compete) and is practicing for two hours, four days a week, from 8 to 10 p.m. 

“It’s not easy, that’s for sure, but it’s a pool, the Y has been very generous, and it’s working out pretty well. I’m thankful for the season as a whole,” he said. 

Coach Asay is adjusting practices by balancing high intensity swims with long recovery laps. He’s also using their meets as additional training time for the exhibition swimmers. 

FORCES TO BE RECKONED WITH
In the quest to find their way, the Blue Streaks aren’t afraid to mix things up.

Competing in meets virtually, for now (a decision which may be reevaluated by the Suburban Council in time for next month’s championships) means that they have no way of knowing what they’ll be needing to swim to beat their opponents’ scores. 

Instead of letting it get them down, Asay is using his 20 years of coaching experience with the team to lead them on a different path – he’s changing things up and using their versatility to their advantage - a strategy that could give them an edge over the competition.

Seniors Jason Zheng and Luke Beringer are strong competitors in any event the coach decides to have them swim on meet day. 

Meanwhile, sophomores Conner and Calvin Baird are a dynamic duo – twin brothers whose different styles complement one another.

While Calvin likes the distance swims, Conner is more of a sprinter. Together, they are creating a real underclassman force to be reckoned with on the Blue Streaks’ team.

So far, they’re 1 in 1 – Saratoga won their first meet against Schenectady High School but lost to Bethlehem. This week they compete against Shaker and next week will be swimming against both Burnt Hills and Niskayuna.

“I have a really dedicated group of boys who are working hard and enjoying the sport. I’m sure they miss some things this year, but I think their spirits are up pretty good,” said Asay.

Cover Photo: Saratoga Springs Gymnastics Team Seniors Ava Dallas, Megan Wishart, & Sophia Damiano.
Photos provided.

The Saratoga Springs gymnastics team got off to a record-breaking start this weekend, led by senior Sophia Damiano’s historic vault performance at the World Class Gymnastics Academy in Latham.

Damiano scored a 9.65 out of 10 total possible points. It was an astonishing feat for the first Suburban Council meet of the season, which was also a charity event for Hatsgiving, which provides hats to pediatric cancer patients. 

This isn’t the first record the Blue Streaks gymnastics team has broken since being led by Coach Deborah Smarro. 

Last year, Damiano and teammate, Ava Dallas, burst past the previous records when they both earned a vault score of 9.475 – which was the third time Dallas had delivered a performance for the record books during her high school gymnastics career. 

EXHILARATION, BEAUTY & GRACE
Each of the seniors on the Saratoga Springs team has grown and progressed through the years, upping their game, on and off the mat, with unparalleled beauty and grace. 

“From my perspective, it’s exhilarating and I think they are just as excited to break a record every single time it happens,” said Coach Smarro.

Smarro was a gymnast in college and has been the Saratoga Springs coach for 15 years, during which time she’s helped countless athletes develop and perfect their skills. Last year, Saratoga received their 19th consecutive Section II championship title. (Because of the pandemic, all winter sports sectional and state competitions have been cancelled this year. Saratoga will be competing only in Suburban Council meets with Bethlehem, Guilderland, and Shaker High Schools, within the stringent safety protocols that have been put in place.)

ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL
This year’s seniors have grown in their leadership roles as well as in their athletic prowess, thriving through the knowledge they’ve gleaned by helping others. 

“It’s always team first and individual accolades second. While they achieve individual accomplishments, it’s the team accomplishments that they pride themselves in most. The girls are part of a team with a set of core values and it’s those core values that they adhere to,” said Smarro.

 This year, the team has chosen to focus on three goals – to achieve team totals, their individual progression, and to support one another to stay safe and healthy throughout their six-week season.

EMPOWERED TO EXCEL
These gymnasts are able to achieve this high level of success because they are organized, dedicated and task-oriented. 

“It travels over into their regular, daily lives. They are all very good students and are volunteers out in the community,” said Smarro. 

All three seniors on this year’s team have 90 and above grade point averages academically. 

In addition to her record-breaking achievements, Ava Dallas has also shared her enthusiasm for the sport as a coach at the Wilton YMCA. Sophia Damiano was last year’s Section II all-around champion and holds the balance beam record of 9.425. Senior Megan Wishart has earned a spot on the state team twice, is a team captain, works an afterschool job at Home Goods and has an internship at the Town Court. 

Smarro, who has been struggling the last three years with the illness and then death of her father, has experienced first-hand how being a part of this team can build an invaluable sense of resilience within all those who are part of it. 

“It empowers them when things are not going so well. It gives them the strength of mind that they can do anything when they put their mind to it and they know they have coaches, siblings, teammates, and family members to support them,” she said. 

On Friday, Jan. 8, the Saratoga Springs team will be competing against Shaker. They will also be honoring their seniors with a presentation, gifts, words of wisdom, and treats prepared by the younger members of their team. Because no spectators are allowed, parents and others will be able to view the ceremony via live-stream. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — “Gymnastics has made me strong. I feel like it broke me down to my lowest point, but at the same time, it has given me the greatest strength anyone could ask for.” – Olympian Shawn Johnson.

Ava Dallas is a record-breaking 17-year-old junior at Saratoga Springs High School with a passion for gymnastics that she pursues, regardless of the injuries or other things she sacrifices to succeed. 

“I started when I was really little, around two years old, and I stopped for a while but then I started to get serious about it when I was 10,” she explained.

“Just watching college gymnastics on TV and the summer Olympics, I got really inspired and then I started taking classes at the Y and then I joined the team there.”

Dallas then switched to a club team which was more serious and eventually made the choice to join the school’s team full time. She was with Stepping Star for three years and then switched to the high school team because she wanted something more team oriented and with less hours in the gym. From November to the end of February, the gym is where you can find her.

"Right after the season is over, we have about a month and a half off and then we go back to practicing on Sundays and then when it gets into the summer, we practice twice a week,” Dallas specified.

Dallas currently holds the Section II record for vaulting, which is 9.475.

"My freshmen year on the team, I broke the record for the first time and then last year I broke it once in the beginning of the year and then once again at the end of the year at the state meet,” she explained.

However, she is still recovering from a stress fracture in her back from over the summer. 

“It was very hard for me to do anything because it was so painful. When I went to the doctor, he advised that I slow down and possibly stop to prevent any further injury. I didn't want to do that and compromise my junior season so I modified my routines to do skills that didn't hurt me and now I’m building back all of my skills and all of my routines to get back to where I want to be,” Dallas said.

Dallas also coaches the little girls the basics of gymnastics at the Wilton YMCA.

"Coaching the little girls definitely provides a different perspective on the sport. As a coach, you have to think about putting the skill into words that the little kids would understand and sometimes it takes multiple times to explain things so it really makes you think about every single little part of each skill that you do. Also, to see them enjoy it as much as they do, it really brings a new enjoyment for me,” she mused.

Her family supports one another tremendously. Her sister cheers at Syracuse and the family goes to watch her games whenever they can.

She cites her father as her biggest fan: "it means a lot, I can always look over and see him cheering for me… He's like my number one fan," she laughed.

1st place Level 4 & Bronze Teams Level 4 Team:from left to right: Priya Raso, Julia Gillson, Angie Pierre, Gianna Milo, Cailyn Bodkin, Ayla Skinner Bronze Team: From left to right: Hailey Delgado, Neville Zampier, Lexie Dobson, Bianca Marchesiello, Ryleigh Ostrander, Madelyn Green, Gabrielle Farrow, Isabelle Green, Natalie Ostrander, Olivia Mennillo 2 of our girls made top 100 in the country. Ryan Stark: Vault score 9.675 and all around 38.525 Isabelle Green: Bars score 9.875 and Floor score 9.8

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Zander Hudak and Adam O’Connor spent a year on the Saratoga Springs High School Varsity Gymnastics team where they were able to be a part of a team that was dedicated to their passion. After trying out and making the team this season they were eager to begin another year of honing their skills and making new memories with their teammates. 

They attended the start of the season informational meeting and were excited for what they expected to be their first practice of their second varsity season. But before they set foot on the mat to train, the boys and their parents were informed that they could no longer practice with the rest of the team.

While at the Olympic level there are gymnastics teams for both men and women Saratoga Springs High School (SSHS) only has a varsity team for girls. SSHS is a Section 2 Division school and the Section 2 league does not allow for mixed gendered competition for the sports of volleyball and gymnastics, which means that the boys are not able to compete during official meets. There is a boys’ volleyball team at the high school; however, there is not one for gymnastics – which leaves both Zander and Adam without a team to join alongside their fellow Blue Streaks. 

Not being able to compete was not new information to Zander, Adam or their parents. While not ideal, the boys were still more than happy to attend practice and develop their skills with their peers.

“I didn’t really think much of it (not competing for points). I was just glad that we could practice at least,” said Zander Hudak.

“It was devastating,” said Jamie Hudak, Zander’s mother. “He came out almost at the same time (she got the call) - with the text message (from his teammates). So, he already knew as I had just heard this voicemail. It sucks. I don’t know how else to describe it really. It’s just awful on every level. It’s emotional, it’s sad, it’s unfair.”

This past summer, a group of gymnastics coaches and athletic administrators met with officials from Section 2 to discuss amending the Section 2 rules to allow for mixed gendered competition in gymnastics. The majority vote decided against it. 

Meanwhile, that summer the two boys were invited to register and enroll in an off campus summer camp instructed by SSHS varsity coach Deborah Smarro at World Class Gymnastics. There the boys continued to train alongside their teammates, and the excitement for the upcoming season grew.

That fall the parents learned that since their sons couldn’t compete as sharing practice spaces with the competing members of the team would be a liability – therefore, the boys can’t practice with the girl’s gymnastics team.

“I guess my thing was, why weren’t they a liability last year,” said Lisa O’connor, Adam’s mother. “They paid the dues that the team had to pay to be on the booster club and they did everything that the team did, except when it came to competitions the two boys sat up, sat and watched and helped them clean up. They were okay with just practicing. But now, it’s a whole different story.”

In July 2019, Nicholas McPartland stepped into the role as the new Athletic Director for SSHS.

“When Coach Smarro brought the whole scenario to my attention, I think last year she was comfortable bringing them as members of the team,” said McPartland. “Now that things haven’t changed at the section 2 level, (she) feels as though she’s no longer comfortable because that rule hasn’t changed... even if she was in support of those kids training, as the athletic administrator I couldn’t support that decision.”

To McPartland’s understanding, the boys were offered to be the team’s managers, as there isn’t a place on the SSHS varsity team for them to train at this time. McPartland stated that he is in support of having a boy’s gymnastics team, should there be enough interest.

“What I suggested to them was through World Class, was to start having conversations with other families, that are members of other school districts and if there are in the districts that offer gymnastics teams, start finding out if there are other boys in other districts that have a gymnastics team,” said McPartland. “I think that would encourage more conversation and I think that might generate a shift in the policy.”

The parents are willing to explore all possible avenues and navigate the system to appeal to Section 2 in favor of mixed gendered gymnastics. In the meantime, they hope to accomplish the primary goal, “To get them back to practicing and members of the team, minus competition,” said Hudak.

*Saratoga TODAY reached out to Coach Smarro for a comment. Coach Smaro said she was not at liberty to speak on the matter and instead deferred all questions to Athletic Director Nick McPartland.*

Photos provided.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga High School’s varsity gymnast Sophia Damiano took home 1st place her first time competing in all four events since recovering from a sprained ankle.

In the middle of the Blue Streaks’ exciting season, Damiano took a tumble, off the mat, which kept her from competing in all four events for three weeks.

As she was hurrying down the end of the driveway to make it to school on time, she slipped on the ice coming down on her ankle.

“I heard it pop. I realized (her ankle was sprained) right then and there,” said Damiano. “It was instant pain.”

Upon having x-rays to ensure that it was nothing more than a sprain, the doctors pointed out that she had broken her ankle about a month prior. Damiano had persevered through that undetected ankle break but was now limited in competing.

The all-around contains all four of the major girls’ gymnastics events; vault, bars, beam and Damiano’s personal favorite, floor. Her vault routine was the final routine to get back on Damiano’s schedule, as the vault prioritized the most ankle stability. 

“I really hate falling, but it teaches me to get back up,” said Damiano.

Get back up she did, with the guidance of Coach Deb Smarrow, Damiano religiously worked to get back up to speed in preparation for her competitions. She iced her ankle eight times a day, completed exercise such as toe raises and “ABCS.” After a week she began icing and heating and prepping her ankle for competition with compression braces and tape.

“She (Smarrow) was just very helpful with getting me through it. I really appreciated it – she wanted it (the ankle) to heal just as quick as I wanted it to.”

Damiano not only wanted to get back to the mat for herself, but for her teammates.

“Everyone on my team especially inspires me,” said Damiano. “It’s a team sport at the high school. So, they inspire me to do my best to help the team. “

Winning the gold medal for the team with her score of 36.475 was not the only highlight of the night. Damiano returned without hindrance to the sport that has her whole heart. The love for the sport and the joy it brings is always a reward for Damiano.

“I love being able to show off what I can do because gymnastics is a very hard sport,” said Damiano. “I love just being able to go out there, especially on floor and just show what I can do and really put my personality into it.”

WILTON – The Springettes – one of the Saratoga Springs area’s premier girls gymnastics teams – continued to do their namesake hometown proud with an impressive showing at a recent state competition.

The Saratoga Regional YMCA Gymnastics Team, also known as “The Springettes,” attended the New York State YMCA Gymnastics Championships at SUNY Oneonta from April 22-23. At the meet, there were nine YMCA gymnastics teams from across NY competing, which amounted to just over 200 athletes. In all, 30 gymnasts from Saratoga Springs competed, taking part in the vault, bars, beam, and floor events.

The Springettes left SUNY Oneonta with an impressive eight all-around state champions, including Marissa Verro from Level 9, Abby Moller from Level 8, Jordan Toma and Katy Hawthorne from Level 7, Brynne Wright from Level 6, Rya Torres and Megan Wishart from Level 5, and Marianna Nasta from Level 4. In individual events, the team put up 29 first-place finishes.

“They did really well,” Kim Hewitt, director of gymnastics for the Saratoga Regional YMCA, said. “They held up against some tough competition.

In team competition, the Springettes entered four teams. The Level 7 and Level 5 teams placed first, the Level 4 team placed second, and the Level 3 team placed fourth.
“My Level 7 team has done a really good job this year,” Hewitt said. “They’ve been consistently placing very, very high, and they had a great day.”

The highest all-around score for the whole team was Abby Moller, Level 8, with a combined score of 35.8, followed by Katy Hawthorne, Level 7, with a score of 35.45. Another notable performance at the meet came from Marianna Nasta, Level 4, who claimed first place in all four individual events.

Going into the event, Hewitt had her athletes focused on repetition of their routines, making sure that they would be able to consistently get things right. Moving forward, the team will be competing at the Northeast Regionals from May 13-15. The focus on repetition remains the staple of their practices leading up to it. This year, regionals will take place in Waterville, ME. Around 40 teams from the northeast states will be competing, amounting to around 1,200 gymnasts.

“We’re really excited,” Hewitt said about going to regionals. “Our Level 5 and Level 7 teams are really strong, so we’re hoping to place in the all-around. It’s a little harder with 40 teams, but we’re hoping for those teams to do really well.”

All photos by www.photoandgraphic.com. 

WILTON – The Saratoga Regional YMCA’s “Springettes” jumped, spun, and balanced their way past the competition at a recent home meet, landing several first place wins over the visiting teams.

The competition was held in the Wilton Branch’s gymnastics center from March 18-19, and saw the Saratoga Regional YMCA’s competitive girls gymnastics team – or, the Springettes – face off against both the Glens Falls and Oneonta YMCA gymnastics teams.  Gymnasts age 6-17 competed in four events: vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise.  Overall, 116 young athletes competed at the event, ranging from levels 2-9, according to gymnastics director Kim Hewitt. 

“The Saratoga Y did very well,” Hewitt said.  “We had 13 athletes come in first place in the all-around competitions in their levels and age divisions.  We also had 46 1^st place medals on individual events during the meet. We have really been consistently improving throughout the year.”

According to Hewitt, a number of Springettes gave standout performances at the event.  The two level 9 competitors, Sophie Hrebenach and Marissa Verro, competing in their last home meet before graduation, both put in strong work.  Hrebenach placed 2^nd all-around for level 9, and placed 1^st on the vault with a well-executed Tsukahara flip.  She also placed 2^nd in floor exercise with 9.425 points, a season high for her.  Verro, meanwhile, placed 3^rd overall for level 9, and was 2^nd on the vault with two front-front vaults.  This was all the more impressive for Verro because, as Hewitt noted, the front-front vault was a new maneuver for her.

Beyond Hrebenach and Verro, a handful of other Springettes placed first at different levels and in different events.  These individuals are as follows: Abby Moller, level 8, all ages; Jordan Toma, level 7, ages 16 and up; Kaitlyn Kidder, level 7, ages 14-15; Alina Williams, level 6, masters division; Brynne Wright, level 6, ages 13-15; Morgan Thompson, level 5, ages 12 and up; Leah Torres, level 5, ages 9-11; Lauren Closson, level 4, ages 12 and up; Erika Sudigala, level 4, age 11; Erin Ward, level 3, age 11; Addison Furze, level 2, age 9A; Lola Ferrillo, level 2, age 8; and, Amelia McBain, level 2, ages 11 and up. 

From here, the Springettes will be focused on the upcoming championship meets, beginning with the League Championships in Watertown, which will take place from April 1-2.   Following that, there will also be the State YMCA Gymnastics Championships at SUNY Oneonta and the Regional YMCA Championships in Redfield, ME.  The team also has 19 girls attending the National Championships in Savannah, GA, which will run from June 29-July 2.  

Fifty years ago, on November 22, 1963 The Beatles released their second album, With the Beatles, in the UK. This unfortunate timing did not go unnoticed by the people putting on the annual Beatlemore Skidmania 13 this weekend (see 11/15 Saratoga TODAY, page 25). Other things going on (and NOT going on like cell phones, internet or debit cards):

•The Coca-Cola Company introduces its first diet drink, Tab on May 1.

•A hot new movie Cleopatra was released June 12 but Tom Jones wins Best Picture.

•On July 1, Saratoga Springs became identified as 12866 when Zip Codes made their debut.

•“Da Bears” nosed out the NY Giants 14-10 for the NFL Championship at Wrigley Field—that is not a typo. Navy’s Roger Staubach wins the Heisman Trophy, Sandy Koufax mows down the Yankees twice as the 

•Dodgers sweep, 4-0 and Chateaugay won The Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes (held at Aqueduct that year, BTW) but was ‘grave yarded’ in The Travers, finishing third to Crewman.

•On TV, we saw the debuts of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, The Fugitive, Petticoat Junction and The Outer Limits. On April 1, long-standing soap operas General Hospital and The Doctors both began long runs, but it was As the World Turns (transmitted live at the time) which got interrupted by Walter Cronkite of CBS News with the bulletin from Dallas. ATWT actually aired another scene before Cronkite pre-empted again, this time to begin marathon coverage that kept going for three days until JFK’s funeral procession and burial on November 25.

•From the “no wonder we look back in this as a nostalgic, idyllic time department”: Three things we didn’t have: email, Facebook and texting. 

- Arthur Gonick

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Before 9/11 there was 11/22. And 50 years later, the passage of time dulls none of our memory of that day. 

We may forget what we had for breakfast this morning, but no one old enough who was asked where they were on that day replied “I don’t remember.”  

Despite the lack of mega-mass media, we learned of events rather rapidly. A neighbor, teacher, toll-taker told us to put on the radio, something had happened in Dallas and our President was slain. It didn’t matter where we were; it was a national, indeed worldwide shared experience. 

We asked people at our farmers’ markets and the Wesley community, a cross-section of residents of our region, to share their stories about that signpost day. All live locally now, though most were in other places on November 22, 1963.

I’ll bat leadoff. It is one of my oldest memories altogether. 

Second grade. P.S. 49, the pride of New York City public schools in Middle Village, Queens. Mrs. Broadhurst was our teacher, and she told us to be quiet because Principal Burson was going to make an announcement over the loudspeaker. 

This happened nearly every day, but in the morning – never in the afternoon. After the announcement, we were sent home early. 

It was my first experience with death of anyone close to me and for many in my age group, JFK was like our friend. It was a simpler time and we wanted to believe. His family was our family. 

On November 22, 1963 John Fitzgerald Kennedy was also the only President I ever knew. And he was gone.

“I was in my final year as a Yale undergraduate in November 1963,” noted former Saratoga Springs mayor Kenneth Klotz. “The first word of the shooting of the President began circulating on campus in the early afternoon, about ten minutes before an advanced Russian class on my schedule.”  

“The teacher was a native, elderly and somewhat pedantic, who conducted the class in Russian. We told him excitedly, in Russian of course, that the President had been shot. He looked puzzled and uncertain, and said “Oh, is that so?” I don’t think he believed us, because he delivered his planned 50-minute lecture on early 19th century Russian literary history. Just as the class was finally over we heard the Branford chapel bell beginning to toll and realized with horror that the President was dead.” Klotz said.

“I was on my honeymoon in the Poconos!” noted Bronx native Barbara Garrasi. “My husband John and I came back from lunch. I was in the bathroom while John had the TV on when the bulletin came through. He called out to me… we spent the entire afternoon inside, holding hands, glued to the TV and crying.”

Our own Cindy Durfey remembers the great sadness. “I was in second grade in Loudonville. I remember coming home from school and my mom was watching television and crying. It was a very solemn time.” She said.

“Shock!” said Phyllis Marks from White Plains. “The kids were in their early teens and so upset. We spent a lot of time trying to explain this, to help each other understand.” 

“I was in Albany,” said Alfred O’Brien. “I turned on the car radio and there it was…shock and disbelief.” 

Johnstown’s Carolyn McClain was at her art class at Russell Sage College. “I couldn’t believe what I had heard. Within short order, the college was completely shut down.”

“We were driving a truck of apples from our farm in Schaghticoke,” noted Leonard and Phyllis Borden. “At the Thruway stop the toll-booth employee asked if we had a radio and to put it on — something had happened to the President.”

“I was in the Grand Union supermarket in Ballston Spa,” said Betty McCanty. “Someone turned off the music and the word spread like wildfire through the store.”

“I left my cart in the aisle and went right home. Life as we know it was suspended,” Ms. McCanty said. “I knew that my four children (spread through grade 2 – 6) would be sent home from school and all I thought about is to be able to get there when they arrived.”

“I was at work at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. in the rare book room,” remembers Roger Trienens. “The Chief stood up and made an announcement that the President had been assassinated and the closed the library.”

“It was a Friday; the beginning of a grim, depressing weekend.” Trienens said.

“My husband was a Marine and it hit him so hard to hear the news,” said Esther Badgley, who was in Minerva at the time.

Doris Lamont heard the news in the little town of Cochecton thanks to a relatively new innovation, the TV news bulletin. “I was lying down and settling into my favorite soap, As the World Turns when the bulletin came on. I remember being annoyed because they had already interrupted ATWT a few times that week because of a plane crash.”

“After Cronkite, I turned to David Brinkley’s newscast on NBC. I remember how he was so upset that they had to take him off the air for a while.” Lamont said.

“I was a substitute nurse at the A. L. Kellogg School in Treadwell,” said Joyce Hoven. “The teachers came out of an adjoining room and told me.”

Saratoga Springs native Marion Poukish was working in a Pediatric office on Lake Avenue when she heard. “It was very emotionally upsetting to realize someone would want to kill our President.” 

"I remember our prayers were especially made for Jackie, Caroline and young John.” She said.

50 years. Like yesterday.