/internal/media/dispatcher/72798/fullBill Holt Oral History06/26/200841 MinutesBorn digital (.m2ts file)Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza2008.001.00510Oral History with Bill Holt
Holt was credit manager for the Texas School Book Depository from 1970 to 1978 and was involved in the company's move from their Dealey Plaza warehouse to a new location in Dallas. Over the years, he heard many assassination-related stories from fellow co-workers and managers.Oral Histories634200E-100E-1026469Oral history0E-10Videotaped oral history interview with Bill Holt. Holt was hired as credit manager at the Texas School Book Depository less than a year before the company moved out of the infamous 411 Elm Street warehouse. He worked for the company for approximately nine years and heard many assassination-related stories from fellow co-workers and managers.
Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on June 26, 2008 by Associate Curator Stephen Fagin. The interview is 41 minutes long.Dealey PlazaAssassinationOral historiesHolt, BillTexas School Book DepositoryHistory of 411 Elm Street and The Sixth Floor Museum (OHC)During this oral history, Mr. Holt recalls that he was hired by the Texas School Book Depository Company in July 1970. However, based on his recollections, it was likely July 1969. Holt vividly recalls working for a time inside the infamous 411 Elm Street warehouse shortly before the Texas School Book Depository Company moved to a new facility on Ambassador Row in Dallas. This move was finished by the spring of 1970, and the 411 Elm property was swiftly sold at auction to music promoter Aubrey Mayhew. If hired in the summer of 1970, Holt would never have worked in the 411 Elm warehouse.
When Holt was hired as the company's credit manager, he gave little thought to the building's infamous connection to the Kennedy assassination. "I just thought it was an everyday place," he recalled. However, he soon discovered that there was persistent tourist interest in his workplace. He remembered, "Got my picture made several thousand times coming in and out of the building at lunch." -- Stephen Fagin, Curator