The Norman Transcript

Columns

Discussion

October 28, 2012

Not the same old drill

The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — Duck and cover: 50 years ago today The kindergarten students at Jackson Elementary School thought it was just a fun little drill, something like playground Red Rover or tag. Stop what you were doing, get under your desks and put your head down and cover your head with your hands and arms.

But to the teachers and parents in Norman and elsewhere, this was serious business. Fifty years ago this past week, the United States’ Cold War came closest to becoming a nuclear conflict. The Cuban Missile crisis officially ended on this day, Oct. 28, in 1962.

We’re still not sure what good it would do to get under a desk and shield your eyes but no one questioned it, especially not my fellow kindergarteners. We were just enchanted with “Bert the Turtle,” star of the civil defense movie, “Duck and Cover.”

n n n

My family full of Kennedy Democrats trusted the young president. He had been to war and knew the price. We never knew that a few different scenarios could have significantly altered the course of world history.

Shelters were stocked with water and provisions. Basements cleaned out. At church, the nuns prayed with my older sisters. We were told there were Russian kids doing the same. Finding the familiar “Fallout Shelter” logo on public buildings became a game.

We were looking forward to the drills since there was a shelter in the basement of the old Norman Public Library, also home to the children’s book collection. (The library looked promising since we didn’t have a basement and our grandparents’ basement was scary).

n n n

As the headlines for the week got bigger and more frightening, Norman civil defense officials prepared to mark the 55 buildings cleared for safe refuge from an attack. Santa Fe canceled its “football special” which carried fans to OU games.

Families were urged to stock their basements with water, canned food, clothes, sanitation supplies, first aid kits and battery-powered radios.

When Cuba fired on some U.S. planes, 14,000 U.S. Reservists were called up and folks begin to get nervous. The phones at the County’s Civil Defense office were ringing. The Pope even asked for a cool down.

It all ended that Sunday night when President Kennedy and the secretary general of the United Nations reached an agreement with Nikita Kruschev. They would take down their offensive weapons in Cuba and we would never invade Cuba. We also agreed, but it was not made public until later, that missiles in Turkey and Italy would be dismantled.

It also lead to a hotline between Moscow and Washington.

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Columns
  • Mothers today aren’t like early mothers

    Early mothers were known for their ability and willingness to sew for family as well as friends and neighbors. When clothes needed mending or someone needed a dress or a jacket, many mothers could always come through. “You have to stand ...

    May 16, 2013

  • A few ‘tells’ predict who will blow their money

    During Kentucky Derby week, gambling was at the forefront of my life. Along with non-stop activities in my home state of Kentucky, I spoke at a dinner for the Society of Settlement Professionals in Las Vegas. A film crew flew in from Rome ...

    May 14, 2013

  • Remembering George Nigh

    George Nigh was sworn into office four times and served longer as Oklahoma’s chief executive officer than any other person in the state’s history....

    May 12, 2013

  • Cleveland County needs district judges

    Politics makes strange bedfellows. Rep. Bobby Cleveland and I have had our disagreements, and likely neither wishes to share a bed with the other. Perhaps we’ve forgiven but not forgotten, but on the issue of an additional district ...

    May 9, 2013

  • New budget is fiscally responsible

    Over the course of the legislative session, the crafting of the state budget is the biggest task we face each spring....

    May 7, 2013

  • Testing limits, cadets

    When the Norman police sergeant insisted on taking me home after a night of binge drinking this week, my first thought was what would the neighbors think when the patrol car creeped into my driveway and my exit was from the back seat? ...

    May 5, 2013

  • Bangladesh factory collapse: beyond mourning and money

    Last Thursday, I went to the weekly meeting of Norman Rotary Club with Andy Rieger, the executive editor of the Norman Transcript. He introduced me and Rotarians responded with a waving hands and lovely applause. Just moments after I sat ...

    May 4, 2013

  • Legislature needs to take steps in criminal justice

    Most prosecutors and public defenders are sincere in their desire to dispense equal justice. Both sides are vastly overworked in many Oklahoma counties. These public servants are not the rich lawyers of myth. Pay for both sides is too low ...

    May 2, 2013

  • ‘Equality for all’ exemplified by attorneys

    The concept of “equality for all,” celebrated by Law Day 2013, is exemplified daily by attorneys working with the Norman-based Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. When judges determine that a citizen accused of a crime and facing loss of ...

    May 2, 2013

  • Law governs our daily lives

    Editor, The Transcript: Whether it is in signing a contract or wondering whether or not a person has the right to remain silent, laws govern all aspects of daily life. In this nation, our founding documents outline fundamental ideas that ...

    May 1, 2013