It was my 16th birthday and I was in a youth service at Kenova Baptist because Dave Huffman had a crush on a girl there - great way to turn 16. When I heard the sirens start, I didn't realize that it would be the most memorable birthday of my life. Like most natives, we went to or listened to all the games. Dad was invited Friday morning to take Shirley Hageley's seat when she came to his dental office, but he had something to do. He spent Monday and Tuesday using dental records to make identifications of the victims, many of whom were good friends of ours. I know it was a struggle, but he held up. We're in Florida now, and on 12/22, I will take him and my family to the theater and from all I've read and seen about the film, the rest of the family will start to understand what our "little" town went through and why every year on my birthday, I stop and reflect and then I tell people about that day and what it's meant to my life. God Bless MU.
-Curtis McKenzie
7 comments:
I knew Curtis from high school and one of the many memories I have of that night was later hearing Curtis tell of his fathers job of identifying many of the victims. Tim Gibbs
Thanks for remembering Tim - funny how what we experienced in those days are still strongly influential in our lives. I tell many famous stories involving your Dad, Tom and you. Hope you are well and glad you're still in Huntington. I will be there to see you in the next year.
i played with art harris for two years at pasaic high school along with jack tatum, art would havebeen the next one to follow jack into the nfl,he was that good !!
i can still remember going to art and his dad's wake in passaic,nj
like it was yesterday!! i never have nor never will forget
he was a teamate and a friend
i think about him and his family often especially when marshall plays
jim shanley
My neighbor in Greenville, SC and I are both Marshall alumni. We attended the first showing in town on December 22. We met a married couple who attended the November 14, 1970 game at East Carolina. My neighbor and I are both Huntington natives. The movie made us proud of our alma mater and of our home town.
I saw "We Are Marshall" last weekend. As a former WV resident and student who attended MU, it was a warm reminder of the town and school I called home some years ago. I am curious though, about some of the references made in the movie. Most notably, I was never aware of a diner called "Boone's" being in Huntington. If I recall, Wiggins on 4th Ave. was sort of a local hangout for the college crowd. Also, Jim's Spaghetti House and Dwight's were also more popular eatng establishments. I don't remember a "Boone's". I guess it must be one of those composite fictualizations that movie directors sometimes throw into a movie.
When I heard about the movie 'We Are Marshall', it brought back memories of the crash, having known 2 players from Lyndhurst,NJ (Ted Shoebridge & Marcel Lajterman) who had been on that plane...
I am a former resident of Huntington who was a student at the time of the crash. I flew into Tri State 8 days after the crash. I kept thinking that the tragedy could have turned into a disaster if the altimeter had misguided the plane into a residential area, rather than an isolated hillside. I am still sad for the people who lost loved ones in the crash. The movie was remarkable !
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