Karen Norris Research Paper

Karen Norris, a member of my church, was born on July 5, 1942 in Huntington, West Virginia and is now seventy-three years old. She grew up in Chesa Peak, Ohio on a farm. The long cabin she lived in was built by a free black man in 1860 with rooms add on to it. The neighborhood was very rural with a few small house spread out. The town had many house that were used for the underground railroad. Everyone knew everyone in the community of very few people. Her father ran their dairy farm that was given to him by his father, and they raised all kind of animals. There was lots of wide, open fields to run around in, and forests to playing hide-and-seek.
Life Growing Up
Living in a rural area made Karen's life very different than everyone else's. She spent most of her childhood
running up and down hills, riding horse, and shooting bb guns with some boys down the road. Owning a farm caused Karen to have different pets than ones people would have today, including a pig. She went to a two room school house until sixth grade. While she did not have any specific chores, she tried to stay out of the house as much as possible to avoid getting jobs from her mother. A big difference when comparing her life to mine is there was no fear, as children could run around without worrying of being kidnapped. Children also upheld family values, as they knew disobedience would reflect badly on their parents. Another thing that was different was the segregation between blacks and whites. Karen's town did have a small amount of blacks living in it, but people were able to get along fine. The schools were segregated, but there was no real contentions between the two groups. During her teen years, she was very much involved in the Rock and Roll movement. She remembers getting really dolled up and cruising through town and window shopping. Karen focused hard on her school studies and had a dream of becoming a teacher. She was very involved with the news and politics, even making it a point to watch each presidential inauguration.
Historical Events
Begin born in the middle of a world war, Karen can remember hiding in her parents living room and hearing stories from men who have come home from fighting.
After WWII, many conflicts followed, including the Korean War and Vietnam War. The threat of a nuclear war also affected Karen's life as she recalled the bomb drills they did in school. While many historical events occurred in her life, the assassination of John F. Kennedy stuck out. Kennedy's presidency focused on "..federal aid for education, medical care for the aged, and civil rights legislation,"(Yanak). The event was so great that, "the assassination... in Dallas, Texas, on November 22 1963, was the most resonant news story since the Second World War."(Delano). When he was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, it brought devastation unto the population, and Karen remembers those feeling to this day. The minute she heard the news, Karen rushed out to the boy next door with tears streaming down her face. The boy was a member of the Air Force and he quickly got dressed and drove to the base. Karen was left feeling sad and grieved the lose of a very confident man. Kennedy's death left America shocked, and big shoes for Lyndon B. Johnson to
fill.