Mike Miller Oral History

On April 29, 1972, the furnishings and fixtures of Jack Ruby's long-shuttered Carousel Club were sold at public auction in Athens, Texas. Following the Oswald shooting and the ultimate closing of the Carousel Club a short time later, club furnishings went into storage at a Dallas rental facility. Due to nonpayment of the rental fee, all of the forfeited property ended up at Athens Transfer and Storage Company in Athens. The auction included a wide variety of items, including multiple desks and chandeliers, a kitchen cookstove and sink, ice cream freezer, 68 tables, more than 100 chairs, a vacuum cleaner and, most notably, the large horse decoration from the Carousel Club's performance stage. An 800-pound steel safe, which was allegedly last opened by Ruby himself, was touted by the auction promoters as the centerpiece of the sale, though it was unfortunately stolen just days prior to the auction.

Mike Miller, who had been acquainted with Ruby in 1963, drove to Athens to attend the auction and won several lots, including a light fixture, soap dispenser and citrus juicer. He also paid $30 (approximately $220 adjusted for inflation) for multiple pieces of cardboard foam decorative bar trim from the Carousel Club, which he donated to The Sixth Floor Museum in 1997.

Tom Miller (no relation) also attended the 1972 auction as a travel writer and wrote about his experiences in the memoir, Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink: Offbeat Travels Through America's Southwest (2000). Tom Miller recorded an oral history with the Museum in 2011. For more information on his book, see this entry in the Museum's Library Collection: Bibliovation | Details for Jack Ruby's kitchen sink 

In 2021, the Museum acquired another item sold in that 1972 auction - a large metal cash register used at the Carousel Club. - Stephen Fagin, Curator