Jane Dryden Louis Oral History

Although some media accounts suggest that approximately 2,500 people were expected to attend the presidential banquet in Austin on November 22, 1963, the actual number was significantly higher. Prior to the trip to Texas, Governor John Connally told the press that while the goal for the fundraising dinner had been 2,500 tickets, he acknowledged that state Democratic leadership had "far exceeded" that number. According to a memo stamped Thursday, November 21, 1963, at 10:35AM, ticket sales at that time were at 3,580 with an anticipated 3,800 to be sold by the end of the day. Tickets would have continued to sell until the moment of the assassination in Dallas at 12:30PM on Friday, November 22. Thus, it is estimated that at least 3,500 to 3,800 people - and possibly as many as 4,000 - were expected at the Austin banquet. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Dr. Ellen Fitzpatrick's book, Letters to Jackie: Condolences from a Grieving Nation (2010), may be found here in the Museum's Library Collection: Bibliovation | Details for Letters to Jackie. Dr. Fitzpatrick participated in a public program at the Museum in 2010, which may be viewed here on the Museum's YouTube channel: Letters To Jackie: Condolences from a Grieving Nation (youtube.com). - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Jane Dryden Louis is one of fifteen oral history subjects who had their condolence letters to Jackie Kennedy published in the 2010 compilation, Letters to Jackie: Condolences from a Grieving Nation, edited by Dr. Ellen Fitzpatrick. Having personally written and mailed more than twenty-four letters to Mrs. Kennedy following the assassination, Louis certainly stands out as the most prolific individual featured in the collection. - Stephen Fagin, Curator