I remember the Tsunami hitting Thailand. I was 16, and it was the day after Christmas. So suddenly we went from a happy holiday to watching all these people being swept away. I remember thinking it was the worst thing I had ever seen.
Bryan Willings
Gibbsboro
My sister and I shared a room growing up, so when Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her bedroom, my mom sat us down and told us about it. I was 12. My sister was 14. You would think that would have scared us. But we just promised we would always take care of each other.
Angel Furris
Marlton
A ton of early memories of news stories flooded my memory at this question, but the thing that seems the earliest was when Jimmy Carter won the election in 1976. I was 5 years old but leading up to the election I had made signs for the fridge, I just loved him. I do not know why, as I don’t remember my parents ever talking about him with me at all, or the election, but I just thought he was the bees’ knees.
Linda Hynkle
Cherry Hill
I was 9 years old, attending third grade, when our teacher said that JFK was assassinated. I went to the black board and drew a picture, depicting how it happened – not correctly, of course.
Dr. Ali Houshmand
Glassboro
I was a teenager when Britney Spears shaved her head. I remember seeing pictures of her and thinking something was very wrong. I actually thought it was sad to watch.
Jayesh Patel
Haddon Heights
The first news story I remember was the assassination attempt on President Reagan. I remember seeing the breaking news on television with my father, but what I most remember is when the President waved from his hospital room window. I saw a sense of relief on my father’s face.
Mike Snyder
Collingswood
I remember the night JFK Jr. died in a plane crash. We were watching TV and special reports kept coming on that he had flown a plane in really bad weather, and he was missing. No one really thought he had died until the next morning. It was pretty tragic.
Elena Portchowski
Washington Twp.
I was about 10 when Superstorm Sandy happened. And yes, I lived through it, but more than remembering the storm, I remember how the news was on 24/7. I had never seen that before – all the reporters talking about one thing. It actually made what was happening really scary.
Peter Dinan
Medford
The first news story I remember was the “Son of Sam” killings. It’s strange, but I think it was because some of his killings happened on the Belt Parkway in Queens, NY, not very far from where I grew up on Long Island. It was a place I was familiar with, and my family often traveled the Belt Parkway.
Roseann Vanella
Marlton
Nixon & Watergate. As a kid, I cannot say that I understood any of it. All I remember hearing was that Nixon was a crook and he was going to be impeached…whatever that meant! Lol.
John Rihl
Merchantville
I was in 8th grade when the Columbine shootings happened. I remember seeing on the news the lines of students walking out of the school with their hands up. It was pretty scary. I think that was the start of us doing lockdown drills in school.
Jenni Simpst
Hamilton
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Although I was only 4 1/2, I recall watching the Nixon-Kennedy debate on our black and white TV. My father was working, but my mother – like many American women who were captivated by JFK’s charm, good looks and New England accent – told me “Don’t tell your father, but I’m voting for Kennedy!” I never did disclose her secret but mom, you started me on a lifelong path of politics as a spectator sport, for which I’m grateful.
Joni-Jean Crivello
Marlton
I remember hearing the news that John Lennon had been shot and killed in NY. I was about 10 years old – it was so sad, so shocking.
Nancy Lipkin Starr
Cherry Hill
The first news story I remember as a 4-year-old was when the first Apple Computer was introduced to the world. My family was so excited to own that little white box with a tiny green screen.
Elena Stavisky
Moorestown
The first major news I remember is the Challenger space shuttle crash. I was 8 years old at the Cooper Elementary School in Cherry Hill, and I remember we had a moment of silence for the seven crew members.
Sonia Cohen
Cherry Hill
Gas rationing in the 70’s. I was just a kid, still in elementary school, but I remember my parents having to look on the car’s license plate to see if there was an odd or an even number. That dictated when they could buy gas for the car.
Salvatore J. Siciliano
Haddonfield
I was 8 years old when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. I remember my family watching Walter Cronkite on TV as he narrated the moon landing, Neil Armstrong’s first steps and famous quote “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
John Herring
Mt. Laurel
I was a first grader at Mark Newbie Elementary School in Collingswood and can remember that Friday November 22nd like it was yesterday. We had just come upstairs from an assembly in the basement and our teacher gave us the horrific news that President Kennedy was assassinated. When I got home from school my Mom and my Mom-Mom were in tears and when my Dad got home from work, he could barely speak. We were glued to the tv that whole weekend.
Jim Kehoe
Mount Laurel
Mary Lou Retton winning a gold medal in gymnastics!
Heather Magladry
Marlton
As a 7-year-old, watching the US land on the moon was like witnessing a dream, with the flickering black-and-white images on the TV. I remember it was a hot summer night and I tried to keep my eyes open to watch. I clearly remember Neil Armstrong’s first steps and his famous words.
Marilyn O’Donoghue
Avalon
I remember seeing my mom crying while watching the old black and white tv –John F. Kennedy had just been shot and both my parents were sad and completely shocked. Seeing them so upset certainly made an impact. Our insulated little world was no longer safe.
Erin Blank
Moorestown
1989: The lone guy standing in front of the tanks in Tiananmen Square. My grandfather used that imagine to explain the virtues of our great nation.
Michael Wilkinson
Maple Shade
In May of 1974, shortly before my 5th birthday, we were living in a little 2nd floor railcar style apartment on 64th Street in the Overbrook section of West Philadelphia. I vividly remember my father and his friends yelling and screaming at the little 13inch TV and hearing fireworks go off and my neighbors banging pots and pans because the Philadelphia Flyers had just won their first Stanley Cup! My parents took me and my younger brother Billy out on our balcony to celebrate with our neighbors until much later than we were ever allowed to previously stay up. This began my love of Philly sports…
Richard F. Klineburger
Haddonfield
I remember sitting on the living room floor at my grandmother’s home playing cards and she turned on her TV. The news was announcing the election of President Jimmy Carter. I vividly remember seeing his face on the TV screen, not really understanding it all since I was so young.
Cynthia Mumma
Moorestown
