The Year Was 1969

The summer of 1969 was a significant one for our nation. Senator Ted Kennedy was involved in a car accident on Chappaquiddick Island in which a young woman by the name of Mary Jo Kopechne died.  Neil Armstrong declared, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” as Apollo landed on the moon. That same summer, nearly half a million fans converged on a dairy farm in upstate New York for a three-day rock concert known as Woodstock. 

The summer of 1969 was a significant season for our family as well. On June 18 Dick and his 7 month pregnant wife moved from Orange, Texas to Bastrop, Louisiana. I was very heavy with child!

We moved into a brand new house - the first house we had ever bought - and settled in with our meager belongings with the help of some very patient and helpful Bastrop folks. 

On August 22nd, church youth music took on new meaning in our little town with a major production of the folk musical "Tell It Like It Is," directed by my husband.

Early on that same morning, our beautiful first-born son came into the world and set our feet firmly on a new path of parenthood.  John’s birth brought untold joy to our family.

Those were also stressful, scary days of having no clue what we were doing and yet too afraid to admit our weaknesses.  We all three learned together and our little papoose thrived. 

The summer of 1969 also brought integration to our state and public schools. Out of fear of the unknown and perhaps what they did know, the school in the small rural community where my youngest sister was to be a senior, closed its doors.  When John was six weeks old, we also became the sister and brother caregivers to a 17 year old who needed to finish high school. 

Although we loved having Sarah with us and John absolutely loved her to death, it was an added responsibility we weren’t sure what to do with.  We wanted her and were thrilled to have her, but scared at the same time. 

Thankfully, she was easy and a joy to have in our home and was such a big help with John.  It was not an easy time for her either. She had to leave home for the first time. She had to take on responsibilities and obligations she wasn’t accustomed to. She had to make all new friends in a strange new place, knowing it was only for a few months. She had to be a sister while under the authority of that sister.  It was hard.

On the other hand, It also meant that our parents came more often which was nice.  It also gave Sarah and me an opportunity to build our sister relationship in a way that would not have happened otherwise because of the age difference of seven years.  I even got to help make her prom dress and see her grow and develop into a beautiful outgoing, independent young lady, ready to embark on college life.  I would not change a thing about 1969 for us. 

I even benefited from that same prom dress a couple years later after Christy was born.

As I reflect on that momentous time in our lives, I am filled with gratitude that God led us to a place where Sarah could finish school, where our children were born and loved by a community of supportive friends and church members.  I am grateful for  that time in our lives that laid the foundation for where we find ourselves today, fifty years later. 

Yes, 1969 was a very interesting and eventful year!