/internal/media/dispatcher/47766/fullProgram book from appreciation dinner for Albert Thomas in Houston, 11/21/196311/21/1963Overall: 11 x 8 1/2 in. (27.9 x 21.6 cm)PaperAmy Cameron Stubblefield Family Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza2002.070.000101 program book for Albert Thomas Appreciation Dinner held on November 21, 1963 in Houston, Texas at the Sam Houston Coliseum.
Front cover has depiction of Capitol building printed in black with the words "GOLDEN 27" outlined in a mustard yellow ink.
The booklet pages are stapled together along the spine with two staples.
On the bottom of the inside front cover are a couple sentences acknowledging President and Mrs. Kennedy as guests and Congressman Thomas as serving the 8th Congressional District of Texas.
Page one has a black and white photograph of Congressman Albert Thomas sitting behind a telephone, holding a pen in his right hand, with dark-rimmed glasses resting atop a pile of files. He wears a lighter colored three-piece suit, a white pocket square, and a bowtie.
Page two has the same image of U.S. Capitol building in yellow (mustard) ink above a biography of Representative Thomas's career. This page folds out to the center of the program.
Page three is the Program page. The Head Table attendees are listed above the program agenda that lays out the order of events for the dinner. This page folds out to the center of the program.
When pages two and three are opened, the insides of the pages become a four-page layout of building projects supported by the U.S. Government; "many of which were activated through the efforts of Congressman Thomas". Above the black and white photographs of these building projects, across pages one to three is printed: "Albert Thomas / Harris County's Greast Asset".
Page four shows "Albert Thomas The Family Man" with three black and white photographs of Rep. Thomas with various family members.
The inside of the back cover shows seven black and white photographs of "Albert Thomas / The Legislator". The photograph in the top left corner is Rep. Thomas with among others President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson.
The back cover lists "THE ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE" and "THE PRINTED PROGRAM COMMITTEE".
Dinner organized by local democrats to help convince Rep. Thomas to run for another term in Congress.Documents6622921.590000000027.940000000021742ProgramProgram book from an appreciation dinner for Congressman Albert Thomas at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, TX on November 21, 1963. President Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon Johnson, and Lady Bird Johnson all attended and spoke at this dinner before traveling on Air Force One to Fort Worth, Texas. The front cover of the program has a sketch of the U.S. Capitol building and the words "GOLDEN 27" printed underneath. The inside of the program acknowledges the Kennedys as guests, presents biographical information about Representative Thomas, and outlines his achievements. Local Texas democrats organized the dinner to convince Representative Thomas to serve again for the 8th Congressional District of Texas.Trip to TexasKennedy, John F.Johnson, Lyndon B.Johnson, Lady BirdKennedy, JacquelineThomas, AlbertU.S. House of RepresentativesU.S. CongressFort Worth Chamber of CommerceHoustonAlbert Richard Thomas (1898-1966) served as the U.S. representative from Texas's 8th district, covering much of Houston, from 1937 until the time of his death. He is credited with bringing the Johnson Space Center to Houston. By the fall of 1963, sixty-five-year-old Thomas was considering retirement. The appreciation dinner in Houston on November 21, 1963, attended by more than 3,200 people, was organized by local Democrats as a way of persuading Thomas to run for re-election, which he did (winning 77% of the vote in 1964). At the time of his death two years later, he was the eleventh in seniority in the U.S. House of Representatives. -- Stephen Fagin, CuratorObject featured in special exhibition, Two Days in Texas, November 8, 2023 through September 28, 2024.