By Ed Stozek
For the Herald
People born after World War II, between 1946 and 1964, are defined as baby boomers.
Today, the baby boomer generation is comprised of people aged 58 to 75 and continues to be the largest group in Canada numbering 9,212,640 in the 2021 census.
During my formative baby boomer years several unforgettable events occurred and still stand the test of time.
Every one of my vintage remembers the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. On Nov. 22, 1963, I was in Grade 6 and coming home from school. That day I caught a ride with my teacher and we heard about the assassination on the car radio. When I got dropped off at our farm, I quickly ran to the summer kitchen to announce the news. I can still picture my parents and Fred and Irene Wozney plucking chickens. My parents had just recently installed a black-and-white television set so later that evening it was quite the experience to watch the news program relating to the assassination.
Most baby boomers also remember the space race. On July 20, 1969, three American astronauts landed the Apollo 11 module on the moon. The Apollo 11 space program significantly advanced science and boosted the USA in its competition with the Soviet Union. It was amazing to watch the events unfold on television and hear Neil Armstrong’s famous words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” With an estimated audience of 125 to 150 million viewers, nearly half of the country’s TVs were tuned to CBS anchor Walter Cronkite and his side kick Wally Shirra, a former NASA astronaut.
“Oh, boy,” Cronkite said after the Eagle touched down in the Sea of Tranquility.
“Wally, say something, I'm speechless.” (cbsnews.com)
1969 also provided another “speechless’ event with three days that defined a generation. On Aug. 16 to 18, 1969, some 500,000 fans attended a three-day music festival located on a farm near the small town of Woodstock, New York. Long before the Internet and mass media, I didn’t pay much attention to the festival until 1970 when I started to attend university. Several friends and I went to the Evans Theatre to watch the movie, Woodstock.
In an era of great protest and unrest regarding the civil rights movement, Woodstock was an opportunity for young people to escape into music and spread a message of unity and love at a time when there was opposition to the US’s involvement in the Vietnam War. “The Vietnam Song” performed by Country Joe and the Fish was very prophetic.
The eight-game Canada-Russia exhibition hockey series during September 1972 captivated and united a large Canadian audience. On Saturday, Sept. 2, my parents had gone to a wedding in Dauphin. I had the house to myself to cheer as loud as I wanted to. I was at home prior to moving to Brandon to attend my third year of university. Like most hockey fans I had great expectations that Team Canada would easily defeat the Soviets. It was the first competition between the Soviet National team and a Canadian team represented by NHL professional hockey players.
Thirty seconds into the first period at the Montreal Forum, Canada scored the first goal. Six minutes later they scored the second goal. Soon the superior conditioning and team play of the Russians took over the game and Canada lost 7-3.
After losing game four at Vancouver, Phil Esposito delivered a speech stating how disappointed he was regarding the Canadian fans booing the team. He noted that the team gave it their best and played for the “love of our country.”
In Game 5 in Moscow Canada lost again and were down in the series 3 games to 1. After winning the next two games, Canadians across the country tuned in to watch the final game of the series. TVs were brought into schools and offices as the country came to a standstill. When Paul Henderson scored the winning goal with 34 seconds left to play in the game, the country erupted in celebrations and relished the greatest moment in Canada’s sport history.
As baby boomers we have had our share of some very memorable events during our formative years.
