On March 30, 1981, Ronald Reagan, then president of the United States, was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., as Reagan was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton hotel.

I left high school and hurried to my part time job at the Elwood Public Library where I found the adult librarians gathered around a small television brought to the front desk island. Francie Robertson said, “Hurry over here. President Reagan was just shot.”

There was little to do the rest of the day and I was glad I got to watch most of the afternoon’s coverage.

James Brady, Reagan’s press secretary who was severely wounded, was the nephew-in-law to a neighbor lady, Helen Diener.