Stephen, Oklahoma, 1969. No. 365: Thanks to Mom and Dad

My fraternity brothers and I listened to the first lottery on the radio.  The reception was so poor, I had to listen to the recap to finally hear what number I was. I thought I had missed it. The people with low numbers left that night for Wichita, Topeka or...

Alan, California, 1969. No. 279: Born On The Fourth of July

Sometime before the lottery I made a sarcastic comment that I would automatically draw No. 1 since my birhtday is July 4th.  In fact, I only watched maybe the first 120 numbers being called, then I went to my room to study.  One of my roommates got number...

Tom, Iowa, 1969. No. 063: Focus, Fear And Intimidation

I thought I was against the war (it was the popular position). When I drew lottery number 63, it seemed like Canada was in my future. But there was this girl named Judy, and I loved her, and she was not interested in Canada.Then Rocky (friend of...

Paul, Kansas, 1969. No. 068: Advantages Of Being A Dentist

In 1969 I was a fourth year student in pharmacy school at the University of Kansas.  Pharmacy school was a five year program and I was draft deferred. A friend of mine was in dental school (also deferred).  He spoke highly of the advantages of being a...

Eddie, Georgia, 1969. No. 346: What Did Letterman Do?

I didn’t know the 1969 lottery was announced on TV or the radio.  The next day we all went to a friend’s house and got the Atlanta Jounal to search for our birthdays.  When I got to the 300th birthday listed, I thought I must have missed my...

Leigh, California, 1970. No. 292: Russian Roulette

I was an undergraduate at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, pursuing a degree in English and recently married. I had been opposed to the Vietnam War since 1965 and had participated in protests at KU. When I heard about the proposed lottery, I told my wife...