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Typed draft of a newspaper article by Vivian Castleberry
Typed draft of a newspaper article by Vivian Castleberry

Typed draft of a newspaper article by Vivian Castleberry

Object number1996.003.0073
Date11/22/1963
ClassificationsDocuments
Author
Creator
ObjectDocument
Credit LineJohn Schoellkopf Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper
Dimensions12 x 8 1/2 in. (30.5 x 21.6 cm)
Collections
  • "On Assignment: Dallas Times Herald 1963"
  • All Online Objects
DescriptionA one-page carbon copy part of a draft of an article, typed in black on tan copy paper, written by Vivian Castleberry for the Dallas Times Herald on November 22, 1963. The article narrates scenes from the Dallas Trade Mart luncheon after the assassination. Castleberry describes what would have been the President's private office, detailing the design of the space, including the rocking chair, and the presents left for the President, First Lady, and their children. She also highlights the somber mood of the Dallas Trade Mart. The full text reads: "vivians [line of crossed out text] President Kennedy never sat in the rocking chair or used his private red telephone, provided for him on the first floor of the Dallas trade mart. The air of emptyness there was typical of the vast courtyard mart surrounding it. All week the Nesbit E. Dickey company had worked to provide the special setting in case the President needed to confer with the white house. The rocking chair was ample and gold trimmed black in an early American design. It was covered in the fabric the President and Mrs. Kennedy had said they liked best. And early American printed linen in tones of red, muted green, beige and black. The rug beside the chair bore the seal of the state. On an adjacent table waited two large pink wrapped packages that were to have been special gifts to the President and Mrs. Kennedy. A small black hat with a thatch of orange yarn hair topped the President’s gift. And Jackie's package had turkish towel pigtails falling from a red hat. monday is young birthday 3 caryolyn is wed and abe 6/"
Curatorial Commentary
This object is featured in the Museum's special exhibit, "On Assignment: Dallas Times Herald 1963," which opened on April 29, 2026.
The Museum's John Schoellkopf Collection includes a number of typed notes and draft stories from November 22, 1963, as well as newspaper proofs, a pencil mock-up of the intended front page and other Dallas Times Herald documents related to the weekend of the Kennedy assassination. John L. Schoellkopf (1938-2018) had a remarkable career at the Dallas Times Herald, starting out as an intern while attending Southern Methodist University in 1957. By the time he left journalism in 1970 for a career in business, farming and politics, he had risen to become the Dallas Times Herald vice president of administration. At the time of the Kennedy assassination in 1963, he was the paper's assistant city editor. Schoellkopf later ran for Dallas mayor and served on the board of a number of organizations including the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Theater Center and the Texas State Historical Association. Schoellkopf recorded an oral history with The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on June 11, 1996. - Stephen Fagin, Curator 
Vivian Castleberry is considered the "grandmother of women journalists in Dallas." She was the longtime editor of women's news at the Dallas Times Herald. On the day of the assassination, she was waiting at the Trade Mart to cover First Lady Jackie Kennedy's visit to the city. After the shooting, Castleberry worked in the Times Herald newsroom and wrote several human-interest stories that weekend.

As a longtime friend of the Museum, she recorded several oral history interviews and programs. Her interview from June of 2015 may be viewed on the Museum’s online collection database here: Vivian Castleberry Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.

More objects related to Mrs. Castleberry, including the Museum’s Vivian Castleberry Collection (1991.002) can be found here: Results – Advanced Search Objects – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. - Riley Harris, Collections Cataloger