DescriptionLetter sent to Reverend William A. Holmes of Northaven Methodist Church from Gloria Johnston Wise of Dallas.
Letter is handwritten on lined yellow legal paper and reads as follows:
"Dear Bill
Congratulations on your statement chastising Dallas. I agree completely and thought this terrible thing might cause the Charter Assoc. (or powers that control Dallas) to take a stand or action to control the extremists. But apparantly this hasn't happened. I can give you other instances of cheering in the classrooms if you need them. I'm going to complain to Eddie Barker of KRLD not showing your statement locally. We must all work together to try to change this city.
Gloria Johnston Wise
3444 University"
Envelope is hand-addressed to:
"Rev. Wm. Holmes
9018 Aldwick Dr.
City"
Envelope is postmarked: "DALLAS, TEX. / 500 PM / 29 NOV 1963 / 3A" and stamped with a 5 cent U.S. postage stamp commemorating the "Alliance for Progress".
A note in red on the front of the envelope reads: "other examples in Dallas."
Curatorial Commentary
When I first interviewed Rev. Holmes in March 2007, he was surprised to hear that there was still historical interest in his controversial sermon from the weekend of the Kennedy assassination. He and his wife soon decided to donate to the Museum the collection of more than 450 letters and cards that they received from around the world after excerpts of the sermon were broadcast on CBS.
Although several letters were critical of Holmes, the vast majority supported his beliefs as expressed in the sermon. Holmes was most proud of the letter he received from Christian philosopher Paul Tillich (1886-1965), while his children were thrilled with the letter from actor Hugh Brannum (1910-87), who played "Mr. Green Jeans" on the children's program "Captain Kangaroo." - Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator
