"Where Were You? November 22, 1963" Program

This daytime program at the Old Red Courthouse in Dealey Plaza, hosted by the late Gary Mack, featured several speakers who also recorded oral histories with The Sixth Floor Museum. Former Dallas police detective Jim Leavelle recorded an oral history in 2002 (James Leavelle Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (jfk.org)) and participated in a number of Museum programs over the years, including a 2007 conversation with the late Eddie Barker (A Conversation with Jim Leavelle and Eddie Barker (youtube.com)) and a 2012 panel discussion about the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald (Oswald Has Been Shot! (youtube.com)). Jim Leavelle passed away at the age of 99 on August 29, 2019.

Steve Landregan, assistant administrator for professional services at Parkland Memorial Hospital in 1963, recorded an oral history in 2002 (https://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/21501). He also participated in multiple public and educational programs at the Museum, including this Living History conversation in 2016: Living History with Steve Landregan (youtube.com). Steve Landregan passed away on November 25, 2018.

Among the audience members who volunteered to share their recollections was Buddy Frazer, former chair of the Dallas County Historical Commission. Frazer, who donated an audio reel of his high school pep rally on the day of the assassination, recorded an oral history in 2018: Buddy Frazer Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (jfk.org). Buddy Frazer passed away on April 9, 2023.

Another audience member who shared memories was Charles W. Powers, a local historian and longtime tour guide with the Dallas Historical Society. He recorded an oral history in 2009.

At the conclusion of the program, Gary Mack is thanked by Lisa Hembry, president of the Dallas Historical Society. Although she does not share her memories during this program, she saw the Kennedy motorcade as a high school student. She recorded an oral history in 2012 (https://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/36605) and returned to the Museum in 2024 to participate in a public program: Living History: JFK Motorcade Spectators (youtube.com). - Stephen Fagin, Curator  

The distinctive Old Red Courthouse in Dealey Plaza was constructed in 1892 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. A color photograph of the courthouse from 1963, taken by Jerry Mainer, may be seen here: https://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/21313. The Museum has recorded several oral histories with individuals who were at Old Red at the time of the assassination, including Dallas social worker Gretchen Coben: Living History with Gretchen Coben (youtube.com).

This 2002 public program took place in the lobby on the first floor of the former courthouse. A few years later, between 2005 and 2007, the building was extensively renovated. It opened to the public as the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture in 2007. The museum closed in 2021. As of fall 2024, Old Red is again being renovated as the new home of the Texas Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Gary Mack passed away on July 15, 2015 at the age of 68. Mack developed a research interest in the Kennedy assassination in the 1970s and, after a career in broadcasting as an announcer, camera operator and producer, joined the Museum's staff in 1994 as archivist. He was named curator in 2000. One month after his passing, the Museum held this memorial tribute program: Gary Mack Memorial Tribute (youtube.com).

This 2002 public program at the Old Red Courthouse is actually the Museum's earliest recording of Gary Mack, although he participated (off camera) in a couple of oral history tapings in the 1990s. Gary's first gallery talk at The Sixth Floor Museum was recorded almost exactly two years later in August 2004. He subsequently participated in several Museum programs and panel discussions until his passing in 2015. - Stephen Fagin, Curator