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J. Waymon Rose's journal of the Ruby trial

Object number2002.052.0155
Date02/28/1964 - 03/13/1964
ClassificationsDocuments
Author J. Waymon Rose
ObjectNotebook
Credit LineWaymon and Ann Rose Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper, Metal
Dimensions10 1/2 x 8 in. (26.7 x 20.3 cm)
DescriptionMohawk theme book used as a journal by Ruby trial juror, J. Waymon Rose. A salesman for a Dallas furniture manufacturer, Rose was selected as the tenth juror in the 1964 trial of Jack Ruby for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. At his wife's suggestion, Mr. Rose kept a detailed journal of his experiences during the course of the trial, detailing the living conditions and limited activities of himself and his fellow jurors as well as his personal thoughts on Jack Ruby, his attorneys and the trial as a whole. The journal contains 50 handwritten pages within a spiral-bound notebook of 76 pages.
Curatorial Commentary

J. Waymon Rose's wife Ann Rose began keeping a scrapbook when she heard the Kennedys were coming to Dallas.  She clipped newspaper articles about the Kennedys for several days before their visit.  After the assassination she continued clipping and saving articles.  Once her husband became part of the jury pool and eventually a juror for the Ruby trial, Ann Rose's scrapbooks took on new importance.  Her scrapbook of the jury selection process and coverage of the Ruby trial complements her husband's journal of his experiences as a juror, as does her own journal of that time. 

Mrs. Rose kept scrapbooks relating to the Kennedys, Jack Ruby, the Ruby trial and other assassination-related stories for more than 30 years before donating all of them to the Museum.  Her scrapbooks were featured in a 'Meet the Museum' program in December 2010. - Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections

I first met Waymon and Ann Rose in 2002, and they became dear personal friends over the years.

While Waymon served as juror #10 in the trial, his wife, Ann, attended several days of testimony.  Both kept diaries of their experiences and later donated them to the Museum.  In addition to the one-on-one oral histories that both Waymon and Ann recorded with the Museum, Waymon Rose has participated in many other programs at the Museum since 2004. - Stephen Fagin, Curator