Sunday, July 12, 2009

Duck and Cover sent by Richard Cummings!

You gotta see this: "Duck and Cover"--what to do when the nuclear (atomic) bombs hits...I am not sure if we saw this in the elementary school.Have a nice Sunday. Rich

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6 comments:

  1. RoseJuly 12, 2009 at 11:41 AM

    Hi Rich,

    Yes, I do remember that at the McKinley School, they showed us some videos of how to duck under our desks. I also recalled how much it frightened me as a little girl.

    Then later during the Kennedy years, while traveling to and from work to Boston on the MTA...seeing all the fighter planes lined up in a row through the windows of the train as it passed by where they were stationed in place in case of an attack.

    Three of my older brothers were in the Army and two brothers were in the Air Force. I remember my mother always crying and helping her prepare packages to send abroad to them.

    That frightened me too! I was always praying with my rosary beads in my hands.

    Hugs, Rose

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  2. AnonymousJuly 12, 2009 at 12:58 PM

    Rich,
    Before I moved to Revere in 1955
    we had Civil Air Patrol exercises
    in schools in East Boston.
    We had to practice hiding under our
    desks and even were issued small
    cards for our wallets [if we had one] on what to do.
    Sometimes we had to practice leaving the room enmasse and filing downstairs to the basement
    for safety.
    Every Friday at noon time, the
    fire stations would sound an alarm and everyone and I mean everyone
    had to get off the streets. It lasted a few minutes, But this was
    serious business. There would be
    CAP people driving along the streets and would ticket anyone who
    was still visible. Even cars had to pull over and wait for the siren to stop.
    I dont remember the cartoon but
    I also remember the jet fighters at Logan Airport. We lived only a few blocks from the airport and we used to walk there on Sundays and look at the planes.
    Sal

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  3. DoraJuly 12, 2009 at 3:09 PM

    Rich, Loved that film. And boy do I remember Duck and Cover. I remember when sirens went off we had to run into the house. For some reason I also remember we had to duck down if a plane flew over head....(good thing I didn't live in East Boston). In school we had to duck under the desk, I remember being afraid we were being attacked and afraid that my dress wasn't covering all of me! LOL. No slacks for girls back "in the day"
    I remember when we moved to Revere and my brother was joining CAP at the Revere airport on North Shore Road...

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  4. RuthieJuly 13, 2009 at 10:23 AM

    Rich,
    Do you remember the air raid drills at the Mary T. Ronan School in Beachmont? On Fridays at 11:00 the sirens from the Beachmont fire station would go off. We had to go down to the basement of the school to duck and cover. At the time, I don't know if I was fully aware of what it all meant----just something we had to do. Makes me wonder if the kids in school understand when we have our "lock down" drills.
    Rose,
    I do remember the B52 bombers lined up at Logan, when I was in college. I used to count them as I saw them through the train windows to make sure they were all still there.
    Dora,
    Good thing I didn't worry about airplanes flying too close. Our house was on a hill by Short Beach and the passenger flights from Logan were so low flying in to land that, from our upstairs window, one could actually see shadows of people's heads in the windows. And at night, the lights from landing planes would shine in my bedroom. And the noise!!!! I learned to sleep through it all unless I had friends over for sleepovers. They always woke up terrified.
    Ruthie

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  5. AnonymousJuly 13, 2009 at 10:31 AM

    Ruthie, I do remember the Mary T. Ronan drills but the details that you do--incredible memory....I guess my mind was on other things! Thanks for the memories. Richanon

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  6. AnonymousJuly 15, 2009 at 10:29 PM

    Hi Rich,
    Wow! Did that video bring back memories...of fear and worry!
    I remember experiencing "Duck and Cover" drills when I attended the Achenbach School. On most Fridays we would have drills and duck under our desks. At times we were asked to bring in a piece of newspaper on which to kneel. We brought the newspaper with us when we had a more intense drill and had to evacuate to the basement.
    The sound of the siren always rattled me. In fact, several years ago when I was visiting Honolulu, the sound of the sirens for the tsunami drill, which takes place on Fridays, still evoked a twinge of anxiety! I still hated the sound of the fire alarm when we would have fire drills in school...and I was the teacher!LOL
    Well. so much for remembering the "carefree", "good old days" of our childhood. I am glad that most memories are of those happy days!
    Rich, I want to say that I absolutely love your photographs. What a talent. You must find it a great relaxation and release. I will continue to enjoy your "great sends". Thanks for doing so.
    Joanne Straz McCarthy

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