Authors: Ellen Fitzpatrick
Ross, Martha, November 28, 1963: Adult Letters, box 4, folder 29.
Runnals, Thomas H., November 25, 1963: Adult Letters, box 12, folder 93.
Russell, J.E.Y., December 1, 1963: Adult Letters, box 21, folder 165.
Sanders, Donald W., January 21, 1964: Adult Letters, box 18, folder 138.
Schechter, Mrs. Jean, April 29, 1964: Adult Letters, box 2, folder 15.
Schwen, Marcia, November 28, 1963: Adult Letters, box 17, folder 134.
Scott, Mrs. E., November 23, 1963, Adult Letters, box 22, folder 179.
Seiler, Ira, November 28, 1963: VIP Letters, box 4, folder SE.
Sheldon, Judy, December 4, 1963: Adult Letters, box 4, folder 29.
Sherman, Estelle, December 5, 1963: Adult Letters, box 12, folder 89.
Siegel, Natalie, November 24, 1963: Adult Letters, box 4, folder 30.
Silverstein, Irving, November 28, 1963: Personal Remembrances, box 2, folder 16.
Simrin, Arlene & family, November 27, 1963: Personal Remembrances, box 1, folder 1.
Skeats, Claudine R. (Mrs. A.E.), November 29, 1963: Personal Remembrances, box 3, folder 28.
Smith, Ernan H., December 25, 1963: Adult Letters, box 1, folder 2.
Smith, Mrs. Paul F., January 16, 1964: Adult Letters, box 9, folder 66.
Smith, Tommy, No Date: Children’s Letters, box 59, folder 18.
Snell, Mrs. Alma, November 23, 1963: Adult Letters, box 22, folder 167.
Snider, Mrs. Merlene, No Date: Adult Letters, box 12, folder 93.
Sooby, Donna, December 2, 1963: Adult Letters, box 9, folder 67.
South, Mary, November 24, 1963: Adult Letters, box 5, folder 33.
Spector, Pauline & Sol K., January 20, 1964: Adult Letters, box 1, folder 8.
Stafford, Mrs. Ruth, No Date: Adult Letters, box 7, folder 50.
Stamos, Katherine, January 25, 1964: Adult Letters, box 8, folder 64.
Stamos, Spiro, November 22, 1963: Adult Letters, box 8, folder 64 (attached to letter from Katherine Stamos).
Stanley-Brown, Katharine, November 24, 1963: Adult Letters, box 17, folder 129.
Starr, Morris, November 29, 1963: Adult Letters, box 2, folder 16.
Steinhart, John, November 23, 1963: Adult Letters, box 2, folder 11.
Stone, Helen, December 3, 1963: Adult Letters, box 14, folder 107.
Storll, Mrs. F., January 17, 1964: Adult Letters, box 14, folder 104.
Swain, Mrs. Marzell, December 2, 1963: Adult Letters, box 15, folder 114.
Taylor, Nancy, *December 8, 1963: Children’s Letters, box 57, folder 1.
Thornhill, Mrs. J. M., February 7, 1964: Adult Letters, box 11, folder 82.
Tierney, Bridget, January 16, 1964: Personal Remembrances, box 1, folder 9.
Tippit, Mrs. J. D., November 24, 1963: VIP Letters, box 4, folder Tippit, Mrs. J.
Tomaro, Dominic A. & family, January 16, 1964: Adult Letters, box 7, folder 49.
Tomashek, Mrs. William, November 25, 1963: Adult Letters, box 17, folder 135.
Toomey, Larry, November 22, 1963: Adult Letters, box 17, folder 132.
Touchet, John L., November 24, 1963: Adult Letters, box 20, folder 155.
Tyler, Diana, No Date: Children’s Letters, box 59, folder 18.
Van Dyke, Ed, January 14, 1964: VIP Letters, box 4, folder V.
Vrabel, Mr. & Mrs. Andrew, August, 1964: Personal Remembrances, box 1, folder 2.
Wade, Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey & family, January 13, 1964: Adult Letters, box 9, folder 65.
Watson, Staff Sargeant, & Mrs. William B., Jr., December 16, 1964, Adult Letters, box 18, folder 144.
Weir, Russell E., November 27, 1963: Adult Letters, box 12, folder 92.
Wentworth, Marcy, November 25, 1963: Adult Letters, box 11, folder 87.
Whitt, Draper, Lucille, Nelson & Steve, November 22, 1963: Adult Letters, box 15, folder 119.
Wiggs, Kenneth R., Jr., November 22, 1963: Adult Letters, box 1, folder 8.
Wildesen, Dora A., March 17, 1964: Adult Letters, box 8, folder 61.
Wiley, Mrs. John J., December 20, 1963: Adult Letters, box 6, folder 121.
Williams, Mrs. Bessie, February 10, 1964: Adult Letters, box 5, folder 38.
Williams, Ethel C., November 29, 1963: Adult Letters, box 17, folder 133.
Wise, Blanche, December, 1963: Unprocessed Letters, box 2.
Wise, Joyce, January 16, 1964: Unprocessed Letters, box 2.
Wofford, Harris, November 26, 1963: VIP Letters, box 4, folder WO-WY.
Wood, Robert L., November 22, 1963: Adult Letters, box 10, folder 79.
Woodrick, Mrs. Riley (Earlene), March 4, 1964: Adult Letters, box 1, folder 5.
Wysota, George, November 27, 1963: Children’s Letters, box 59, folder 17.
Young, Monroe, Jr., December 1, 1963: Children’s Letters, box 63, folder 47.
Zarnowitz, Jill, November 28, 1963: Children’s Letters, box 57, folder 4.
Zemeski, Pvt. Robert W., November 23, 1963: Adult Letters, box 5, folder 36.
Zepp, Fred R., November 22, 1963: Adult Letters, box 5, folder 36.
Zimmerman, Elisabeth, January 5, 1964: Children’s Letters, box 65, folder 64.
Zinn, Mr. and Mrs. Tempest C., No Date: Adult Letters, box 21, folder 170.
Endpapers
Boorey, Mrs. Natalie, November 23, 1963: Adult Letters, box 11, folder 83.
Donnally, Mrs. Emma, *December 14, 1963: Adult Letters, box 7, folder 49.
Dudley, Grace, December 8, 1963: Adult Letters, box 5, folder 36.
Holsey, Mrs. Magdalene, March 24, 1964: Adult Letters, box 7, folder 50.
McIver, (Mrs.) Renée, November 27, 1963: Adult Letters, box 16, folder 122.
Shelmire, Dr. and Mrs. David, November 23, 1963: Adult Letters, box 7, folder 52.
Original spelling and grammar is retained in all quoted archival documents. Editor’s clarifications and additions are indicated in brackets.
Letters are from
The Papers of John F. Kennedy: Condolence Mail
, in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Boston, Massachusetts, cited here as “Condolence Mail, JFKL.”
The interview of Nancy Tuckerman and Pamela Turnure recorded by Mrs. Wayne Fredericks, 1964, John F. Kennedy Library Oral History Program, cited here as “Tuckerman, Turnure OH, JFKL.”
Introduction
“Katherine Dowd Jackson sat down”: author’s interview with Edna Jackson-Goins, October 2009. “Dear beloved one”: Katherine Dowd Jackson to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, November 23, 1963, Adult Letters, box 11, folder 84, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
“What can anyone say?”: Mrs. Regina Metzger to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, November 1963, Adult Letters, box 8, folder 59, Condolence Mail, JFKL. “As no other First Family”: Cornelia Burge to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Thanksgiving Day 1963, Children’s Letters, box 65, folder 61, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
“Surely this generation”: Mrs. Paul F. Smith to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, January 16, 1964, Adult Letters, box 9, folder 66, John F. Kennedy Condolence Mail, JFKL.
Impact of the Kennedy assassination: A 1999 study by the Pew Research Center found that the Kennedy assassination was “not only the earliest event that a majority of Americans can still recall, it is also the most potent American memory for those who lived through it. Nine out of ten Americans who were old enough at the time say they remember exactly what they
were doing when they heard the news of the 35th president’s death.” Among Americans then aged 55 to 64, “98% remember exactly what they were doing when they heard the news of his assassination.” Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, “America’s Collective Memory,” in
Technology Triumphs, Morality Falters
, July 3, 1999, p. 283, http://people-press.org/report/57/technology-triumphs-morality-falters.
“How does a nobody write”: Mrs. Wilbert George to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, November 26, 1963, Adult Letters, box 19, folder 150, Condolence Mail, JKL. “The following Monday, mail delivery”: Author’s interview with Nancy Tuckerman, September 1, 2009; Tuckerman, Turnure OH, JFKL, pp. 42–48. “On one occasion”: Author’s interview with Nancy Tuckerman, September 1, 2009.
“the first time in 15 years of television”: “Millions Watch Oswald Killing on Networks,”
New York Times
, November 25, 1963, pp. 1, 10.
“a million people stood”: “Million in Capital See Cortege Roll on to Church and Grave,”
New York Times
, November 26, 1963, p. 1.
“letters to Hyannisport”: “Kennedy’s House Lashed By Storm,”
New York Times
, December 1, 1963, p. 57. On the scale of condolence letters, see: “Mrs. Kennedy Thanks 800,000 Who Expressed Their Sympathies,”
New York Times
, January 15, 1964, pp. 1, 13. Finding Aid, “The Papers of John F. Kennedy: Condolence Mail,” JFKL.
“House Appropriations Committee”: “House Panel Asks $50,000 For Staff of Mrs. Kennedy,”
New York Times
, May 7, 1965, p. 28; Tuckerman, Turnure OH, JFKL, pp. 44–45.
“a letter to the President’s daughter”: Mrs. Jeri C. Schleunes to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, November 22, 1963, Adult Letters, box 13, folder 102, Condolence Mail, JFKL. “Texan John Titmas”: John Titmas Photograph of Mr. and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, PX 91-32, Audio-Visual Collections, JFKL.
Jacqueline Kennedy’s television appearance: “Mrs. Kennedy Thanks 800,000 Who Expressed Their Sympathies,”
New York Times
, January 15, 1963, pp. 1, 13. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, “Address Thanking Everyone for Kind Wishes,” Videotaped Recording, 1 FP: 6, JFKL.
On handling of condolence mail: Author’s interview with Nancy Tuckerman, September 1, 2009; Adult Letters, box 22, “Volunteers, Instructions to and Sample Reply Material,” Condolence Mail, JFKL; Tuckerman, Turnure OH, JFKL, pp. 45–47. “Margaret Mead sent word”: Author’s interview with Nancy Tuckerman, September 1, 2009. “As late as 1966”: “Items on Kennedy Pour Into Office,”
New York Times
, May 1, 1966, p. 119.
Details on the Condolence Mail collection: Finding Aid, “The Papers of John F Kennedy: Condolence Mail,” JFKL. The three boxes of unprocessed letters do not differ significantly from the larger collection of adult and children’s letters. Most messages written in November and December of 1963 reside in the general collection.
“among the most consistently popular of Presidents”: “Presidential Approval Ratings,” http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/data/presidential_approval.html; “Presidential Approval Ratings-Gallup Historical Statistics and Trends,” http://www.gallup.com/poll/116677/presidential-approval-ratings-gallup-historical-statistics-trends.aspx; Fred I. Greenstein,
The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to Barack Obama
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009), pp. 68–69.
Relationship between the President and the press: Robert Dallek,
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963
(Boston: Little, Brown, 2003), pp. 375–76, 477–79; Montague Kern, Ralph B. Levering, and Patricia W. Levering,
The Kennedy Crises: The Press, The Presidency, and Foreign Policy
(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1984); Michael R. Beschloss,
The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960–1963
(New York: HarperCollins, 1991), pp. 611–15 and
passim
; Jeffrey E. Cohen,
The Presidency in the Era of 24-Hour News
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008); Andrew Rudalevige,
The New Imperial Presidency: Renewing Presidential Power after Watergate
(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006), pp. 41–42.
Impact of Vietnam and Watergate: David Kaiser,
American Tragedy: Kennedy, Johnson and the Origins of the Vietnam War
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000); Richard Reeves,
President Kennedy: Profile of Power
(New York: Simon and Schuster 1993); James T. Patterson,
Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945–1974
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1996).
Kennedy press conferences: Dallek,
An Unfinished Life
, pp. 335–36. “My husband and I use to get such a kick”: Mrs. Riley Woodrick to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, March 4, 1964, Adult Letters, box 1, folder 5, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
“he also used the press conferences”: Dallek,
An Unfinished Life
, pp. 335–36.
“Mr. Kennedy taught my children”: Josie L. Collins to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Adult Letters, box 9, folder 68, Condolence Mail, JFKL. “three out of four adults”: Dallek,
An Unfinished Life
, p. 336. Public attention to Jacqueline Kennedy: Dallek,
An Unfinished
Life, pp. 478–79. “A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy,” The Museum of Broadcast Communications, http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/T/htmlT/tourofthew/tourofthew.htm.
“youngest children to the White House”: Doug Wead,
All the Presidents’ Children
(New York: Atria Books, 2003), p. 22.
“a warm and engaging man”: Mrs. Edward D. Heath to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, January 25, 1964.
“As Jacqueline Kennedy herself noted”: Theodore White, Original HandWritten Notes of “Camelot” Interview with Mrs. Kennedy, Theodore H. White Papers, box 40, Camelot Documents, JFKL. “His death is disquieting to me”: Dick Santoro to Barbara Longsworth, enclosed in Barbara Longs
worth to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Personal Remembrances, box 2, folder 13, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
“We loved your husband”: Vivian Borders to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Adult Letters, box 8, folder 58. “I am colored and poor”: Grace Pinkney to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, December 5, 1963, Adult Letters, box 5, folder 39, both in Condolence Mail, JFKL.
“I am a Florida dairy farmer”: Russell Weir to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, November 27, 1963, Adult Letters, box 12, folder 92, Condolence Mail, JFKL. “in two seconds history’s course”: Vesta I. Nelson to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, November 30, 1963, Adult Letters, box 1, folder 6, all in Condolence Mail, JFKL.
“This land was ours”: Robert Frost, “The Gift Outright,”
The Poetry of Robert Frost: The Collected Poems Complete and Unabridged
(New York: Holt, 1979), p.348. On Kennedy’s appearance at Amherst: Amherst College, “The President and the Poet: John F. Kennedy at Amherst, 1963,” https://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/exhibitions/kennedy; Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.,
A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House
(New York: Greenwich House, 1965), pp. 1015–16. Frost at the Kennedy inauguration: Schlesinger,
A Thousand Days
, pp. 1–3.
“The coffin was very small”: Jane Townes to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, November 25, 1963, Children’s Letters, box 67, folder 76, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
November 22, 1963
“History Jumping Up”: N. Douglas Paddy to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, December 26, 1963, Adult Letters, box 7, folder 55, Condolence Mail, JFKL. Trip to Texas: William Manchester,
The Death of a President
(New York: Penguin, 1977), pp. 70–87; Robert Dallek,
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917–1963
(Boston: Little Brown, 2003), pp. 691–93. “A woman who waited four hours”: Mrs. Eugene E. McCockey to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, 2 January 1964, Unprocessed Letters, box 2, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
Events in Fort Worth: Manchester,
Death of a President
, pp. 106–8, 112–14, 116–25; “Kennedy at Fort Worth Kept Darting Into Crowds,”
Dallas Morning News
, November 23, 1963, p. 11; “The Final Hours of Kennedy’s Life,”
New York Times
, November 23, 1963, p. 7; Jeb Byrne, “The Hours Before Dallas: A Recollection by President Kennedy’s Advance Man,”
Prologue Magazine
, vol. 32, no. 2 (Summer 2000), http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2000/summer/jfk-last-day-3.html; John F. Kennedy, “Remarks at the Breakfast at the Forth Worth Chamber of Commerce,” November 22, 1963, http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Speeches.
“roughed up Stevenson”: “Stevenson Booed and Hit by Dallas Demonstrators,”
New York Times
, October 25, 1963, pp. 1, 6.
“black bordered ad”: “Welcome Mr. Kennedy to Dallas,” American Fact-
Finding Committee, ad run in
Dallas Morning News
, November 22, 1963, copy provided to author by Jim Lehrer; Warren Commission,
Report of the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
(Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1964), vol. 1, chapter 2, p. 40. “We’re heading into nut country”: Dallek,
An Unfinished Life
, p. 693. “last night would have been”: Manchester,
Death of a President
, p. 121.
“I told the children”: Mrs. Mary Scott to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, November 29, 1963, Adult Letters, box 21, folder 168, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
Scene at Love Field: Manchester,
Death of a President
, pp. 128–30. “She had been given yellow roses”: Theodore H. White, “For President Kennedy: An Epilogue.”
Life
, December 6, 1963, in Theodore H. White Papers, box 59, JFKL. “even though Dallas was mainly”: Mary Kay McCallum to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, November 23, 1963, Children’s Letters, box 60, folder 31, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
“newspapers outlined the motorcade route”: Manchester,
Death of a President
, p. 94; Warren Commission,
Report
, chapter 2, p. 40. “Just as your car turned”: Ralph G. Falkner to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, December 5, 1963, Adult Letters, box 22, folder 162, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
Details on the motorcade: Warren Commission,
Report
, chapter 2, pp. 33–40, 44–48; Manchester,
Death of a President
, pp. 135–37, p. 152. “people stood on the awnings”: Janice Crabtree to “Dear Father,” November 27, 1963, attached to Janice Crabtree to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, May 28, 1963 [
sic
], Adult Letters, box 21, folder 164, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
“One Catholic nun”: Simon and Catherine O’Donohue to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, December 3, 1963; Sister Maura to Simon and Catherine O’Donohue, November 28, 1963, letters attached, Personal Remembrances, box 3, folder 23, Condolence Mail, JFKL. “then they were gone”: Crabtree to “Dear Father,” p. 4.
“Jacqueline Kennedy waved”: Warren Commission,
Report
, chapter 2, p. 49. “She anticipated the relief ”: “Testimony of Mrs. John F. Kennedy Before the Warren Commission,” in Warren Commission,
Report
, vol. 5, pp. 178–80; Manchester,
Death of a President
, pp. 153–58. “full of blood and red roses”: Theodore White, “Handwritten Notes of Camelot Interview with Jacqueline Kennedy,” Theodore H. White Papers, box 40, Camelot Documents, JFKL.
“Spectators reacted”: Manchester,
Death of a President
, pp. 153–58.
“Among them was Bob Jackson”: Warren Commission,
Report
, chapter 3, p. 65.
“felt like an ‘eternity’”: “Testimony of Mrs. John F. Kennedy Before the Warren Commission,” in Warren Commission, Report, vol. 5, p. 180. “news of the assassination attempt began to break”: Manchester,
Death of a President
, pp. 167–68, 189–90, 243–44; Erik Barnouw,
A History of Broadcasting in America
,
Vol. 3: The Image Empire. From 1953
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1970), p. 228; Bob Huffaker,
When the News Went Live: Dallas, 1963
(New York: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007).
“Calls for stretchers”: Mrs. Dorothy Smith to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Smith, December 4, 1963, Personal Remembrances, box 1, folder 1, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
“I saw your beloved”: Marie Davis to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, January 17, 1964, Unprocessed Letters, box 2, Condolence Mail, JFKL.
“I was watching the parade”: There was no live television coverage of the motorcade in downtown Dallas. Local radio stations did provide live coverage from reporters’ vantage points along the route. The Kennedys’ arrival at Love Field was covered live by local television, making use of pool cameras that were also stationed at the Trade Mart where the motorcade was headed. WFAA TV (Dallas Channel 8) interrupted its regular programming at 12:45 with the first UPI announcement. Its program director, Jay Watson, interviewed eyewitnesses, one young couple still visibly shaking as they recounted what they had just seen. Watson also interviewed Abraham Zapruder, who was filming the motorcade at the moment of the assassination. Huffaker,
When the News Went Live
, pp. 3–9; http://embedr.com/playlist/archives-of-wfaatv-dallas-jfk-assassination-footage.