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Typed draft of a newspaper article by Dallas Times Herald reporter Jim Lehrer
Typed draft of a newspaper article by Dallas Times Herald reporter Jim Lehrer

Typed draft of a newspaper article by Dallas Times Herald reporter Jim Lehrer

Object number1996.003.0133
Date11/22/1963
ClassificationsDocuments
Creator
Author
ObjectDocument
Credit LineJohn Schoellkopf Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper
Dimensions11 3/4 x 8 1/2 in. (29.8 x 21.6 cm)
Collections
  • "On Assignment: Dallas Times Herald 1963"
  • All Online Objects
DescriptionA one-page carbon copy of a draft of an article, typed in black on tan copy paper, written by Jim Lehrer for the Dallas Times Herald on November 22, 1963. The article describes efforts taken by the Secret Service to protect President Kennedy the day of the assassination. Lehrer lists precautions that were made such as inspecting food, crowds, and newsmen. He ends with a note of appreciation to the Secret Service men for their work in Dallas. The full text reads: "security--new top By Jim Lehrer staff writer Despite the extensive and [crossed out text] painstaking steps taken by the vaunted Secret Service, tragedy struck in [crossed out word] downtown Dallas. The President’s [crossed out word] protectors had checked minutely over seemingly everything--the food the Kennedy's were to eat, the flowers they would sniff and admire, the friends who would cheer, the opponents who would jeer, the roads they would travel and the newsmen who would report the story. Tragically one link was missing. The quiet-spoken, raincoat wearing men of the Secret Service had been the marvel this week of local law enforcement officers and other observers for their thoroughness. pickup x x x 5th graf x x x First, there were several sites x x x"
Curatorial Commentary
Jim Lehrer, an Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist best known for the long-running PBS NewsHour program and for moderating presidential debates (1988-2012), was a reporter at the Dallas Times Herald in 1963. Assigned to Dallas Love Field on November 22, 1963, he witnessed the Secret Service remove the bubbletop from the presidential limousine shortly before the Dallas motorcade. Following the assassination, he covered the scene at Dallas police headquarters.

Mr. Lehrer recorded an oral history interview with the Museum in November 2013, which may be accessed in the Museum’s online collections database here: Jim Lehrer Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.

More objects related to Jim Lehrer may be found here: Thesaurus – Vocabularies – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. - Riley Harris, Collections Cataloger

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