Color photograph of Dallas Trade Mart luncheon on November 22, 1963

This photograph was taken by Walter de Lima Meyers at the Dallas Trade Mart luncheon on November 22, 1963, as the Rev. Luther Holcomb (at podium), then director of the Dallas Council of Churches, led the attendees in a moment of prayer after word of the assassination reached the luncheon. He said in part, "Let us pray. Oh God, none of us can find words to express the deepest feelings of our heart. We realize this is a time of mourning, and yet we would each come, relying upon the faith that we possess, we would each come with perhaps the most earnest prayer that we've ever offered in behalf of our president, our governor, the members of their families." Once his prayer concluded, luncheon guests slowly began to exit the Trade Mart. The tall, balding man to the right of the podium in this image is J. Erik Jonsson, co-founder of Texas Instruments in Dallas. At the time, Jonsson was president of the Dallas Citizens Council and had greeted the Kennedys upon their arrival at Dallas Love Field. The following year, Jonsson became mayor of Dallas and served until 1971. Another identifiable person in this image is Vivian Castleberry, women's news editor at the Dallas Times Herald. Castleberry is seen in the center of the extreme left side of this image, wearing a red suit and hat. Castleberry loved this image, often pointing out that while everyone else was bowing their head in solemn prayer, she can be seen writing in her reporter's notebook. - Stephen Fagin, Curator