Clash of the Cults

My annual visit to Dallas for the commemoration of the JFK assassination was a mixed bag. It was great to see all of my JFK friends, but Dealey Plaza was, once again, a complete travesty as two cults vied for prominence.

The first stop on the trip was to a service road near Midlothian Texas where there is a marker for Lee Bowers, who died in a car crash in 1966. Bowers worked in the Union Terminal Company's two-story interlocking tower behind the parking lot next to the Texas School Book Depository. He thought there were three shots but was unable to say where they came from because of echoes in the plaza.

You can read more about Lee Bowers here.

Researcher Dave Perry investigated Bowers' death.

Researcher Marshall Evans put up the marker in 2017.

I donned my CIA hat and gave a short talk about Bowers:

Then it was off to lunch at Penn to Paper, a restaurant that commemorates Penn Jones and his newspaper The Midlothian Mirror.

Inside the restaurant:

Then it was off to Dealey Plaza:

Bill Brown on the left with Robert Weingartner.

Imagine my surprise to see this graffiti on the back of the picket fence on the grassy knoll.

We then went to the Dallas Trade Mart where JFK was supposed to speak on November 22, 1963:

From left: Freda Dillard, Robert, Weingartner, Ed Murray, and Fred Litwin

On Thursday morning we went back to Dealey Plaza and I donned my CIA hat to make some videos. This one was about the umbrella man and it will be uploaded shortly:

Here is the entrance to the ramp which Jack Ruby used on his way to shoot Oswald:

A view down the ramp:

Ruby shot Oswald right where the grease mark is in the middle of the photo slightly to the right.

Imagine our surprise when we saw a robot just strolling down the street for a delivery:

Just down the block is the former Western Union office where Jack Ruby wired money to one of his strippers on the morning of November 24, 1963. It's now an empty storefront, but the Western Union mosaic is still there:

Then we went to Kaufman, Texas to visit with Mary Moorman, who is now 93 years old:

Of course, Mary took this famous photograph, just before the fatal head shot:

Here is Mary with Toni Glover who was a witness in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963, when she was eleven years old. They both remember three shots.

On Friday morning, Steve Roe and I were interviewed for the Oral History Project at the Sixth Floor Museum:

Steve donated a copy of the magazine with the ad for the revolver that Oswald ordered through the mail.

Then it was time for a short tour of Dealey Plaza by Jerry Dealey. Here is a photograph of the lovely Janet Banister, who is the grand niece of Guy Banister:

Here is Jerry conducting the tour:

Jerry's knowledge of the TSBD is second to none.

Then to Tenth and Patton where Bill put some finishing touches on the X where Tippit was shot:

In the afternoon, we stopped at the Texas Theater but it was closed. This event did sound interesting:

Then a quick visit to the rooming house:

Here is the living room with the actual furniture from 1963:

Oswald's bed:

On Saturday morning, November 22nd, we were off to Dealey Plaza:

This cult celebrating the "real JFK Jr." was out in force:

Here is the real JFK Jr:

I joined in the fun:

Here is a video of JFK Jr. and his story:

The real JFK Jr. with Judyth's cutout of JFK:

This fellow is always on the sidewalk in Dealey Plaza:

My friend Eric Dezenhall had the best comment about this photograph: The prisoner of belief.

At 10:18 AM, Judyth started setting up for her show:

The man with a beard is Kris Millegan, the publisher of Trine Day Books.

Robert Groden has the microphone:

A Secret Service man with a JFK Jr. groupie:

Gary Fannin and Tim Brennan had a table and they were selling their silly books. They think that there were 11 shots that day in Dealey Plaza:

At about 12:10 PM, some incredibly beautiful cars drove down Elm Street:

It was quite an auto show, and everybody's attention turned to them, rather than listening to Judyth. She was quite pissed and told the crowd it was intentional provocation.

At 12:30 PM, they tried to stop traffic:

Judyth then gave out flowers:

Once again, it was a total travesty. The speeches from Judyth and her associates were just ridiculous conspiracy nonsense. She was also angry at the procession of the cars and the fact that the JFK Jr. crowd were all over the plaza. It was a clash of cults, and we were all losers in the fight.

I don't know if I want to go back to Dealey Plaza for another commemoration. It's all so stupid and it's just become a ridiculous narcissistic display.

Later that afternoon, we went to the Sixth Floor Museum for an interview with Bob Jackson, a former photographer for the Dallas Times-Herald. He donated 15,000 photographs to the Sixth Floor Museum.

Here is Bob Jackson, who is now 91 years old, with Stephen Fagin, and you can see Jackson's famous photograph.

Here is a photograph of Barry Goldwater:

Here I am with Darwin Payne, a former reporter for the Dallas Times-Herald:

This woman was also in Dealey Plaza last year:

Then we met a rather sane guy on the knoll who was explaining the single-bullet theory. He was with a friend, and both of them had gone to school with John Hinckley, and they had their high school yearbook:

Hinckley is in the second row.

Previous Relevant Blog Posts

My Trip to Dallas

My 2024 trip to Dallas.

A Travesty in Dealey Plaza

My 2023 trip to Dallas.

The CIA's Dinner in Dallas 

Our terrific dinner at El Fenix in Dallas.

My Research Trip to NARA

My 2023 trip to College Park.

My Trip to New Orleans

My JFK buddies and I visited New Orleans.