EDITOR'S NOTE: From close encounters with 8 mm film to close encounters with a nut roll, from handshakes galore to a mob scene at Youngstown Airport, from people hanging from the rafters and rooftops to hanging on every word, there is no shortage of stories by local people who remember presidential hopeful John F. Kennedy's visit to the Shenango Valley in 1960. Here are but a few of them.

A little more than 43 years after John F. Kennedy made a campaign stop in the Shenango Valley, there remains little doubt why he attracted such huge throngs of people.

"The charisma was just out of this world," said Ethel Slater, 67, of Coal Hill Road, West Salem Township. "He just had it, that's all there was to it."

Patrick Gadola, who also had a couple close encounters with Kennedy, agreed.

"There's a certain presence that some great actors have that you know they're great when they walk out there," said Gadola, 73, of Rettig Drive, Hermitage. "It was the same with John. He had that presence."

His ability to draw a crowd would have been the envy of any contemporary, including movie, sports and rock stars. Think John Wayne. Think Mickey Mantle. Think Elvis. Think John F. Kennedy. And that's the electricity that greeted the approximately 7,000 people who saw Kennedy make a speech on Elks Square in downtown Sharon on Oct. 15, 1960, as part of his whirlwind visit to the area.

Another 3,000 to 5,000 lined the parade route in Sharon, some 5,000 more saw his motorcade drive through Farrell and countless others watched as his car rolled down Route 18 through West Middlesex on his way to New Castle and several other stops that day in western Pennsylvania.

"It was great," said Mrs. Slater, who was among those who heard Kennedy speak that morning at a $12-a-plate breakfast at the Shenango Inn in Sharon. "When he spoke, it was just unreal to see him there."

Forty years ago today, the nation mourned the death of Kennedy via a gunman's hand, just 37 months after his memorable trek to the valley.

And just as many across the nation can recall where they were when they heard the news of Kennedy's assassination, many across the Shenango Valley can vividly remember their opportunity to meet the then-Democratic senator from Massachusetts.

Kennedy was scheduled to land in Youngstown at about 12:30 a.m. Oct. 15, 1960, but didn't arrive until 2 a.m. He was greeted by about 2,000 hearty souls, although at one point it was estimated as many as 4,000 were on hand.