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"Memories From Dealey Plaza" Program

Object number2013.001.0006
Date01/26/2013
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject Bill Newman
Oral history interview subject Gayle Newman
Oral history interview subject Rickey Chism
Oral history interview subject Pierce Allman
Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file)
DimensionsDuration: 57 Minutes
DescriptionVideotaped panel discussion with eyewitnesses to the assassination of President Kennedy, presented as the closing program of the 14th annual Legacies Dallas History Conference. The Sixth Floor Museum was an institutional sponsor of this event and recorded the panel discussion as part of the Oral History Project. Stephen Fagin moderated the conversation featuring Dealey Plaza eyewitnesses Bill and Gayle Newman, Pierce Allman and Rickey Chism. Program recorded at the Hall of State at Fair Park in Dallas on January 26, 2013. The panel discussion is fifty-seven minutes long.
Curatorial Commentary

Although all of these panelists participated in multiple oral history recordings at The Sixth Floor Museum over the years, this was the only time that they came together as a group for an eyewitness panel discussion.

Pierce Allman recorded an oral history in 1995 (Pierce Allman Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (jfk.org)). He also participated in five Museum programs between 2006 and 2016, including this 2014 Living History public program: Living History with Pierce Allman (youtube.com). He passed away on November 29, 2022.

Rickey Chism, alongside his late mother, Marvin Faye Chism, recorded an oral history in 2012 (Marvin Faye and Rickey Chism Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (jfk.org)). On his own, Rickey also participated in three Museum programs, including this 2013 eyewitness panel discussion: JFK Assassination 50th Anniversary Media Open House - Eyewitness Panel (youtube.com).

Bill and Gayle Newman recorded oral histories in 1993 (Bill and Gayle Newman Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (jfk.org)) and 2003 (Kennedy Assassination: Bill and Gayle Newman, Part 1 | C-SPAN.org). Together, separately, and even alongside their two sons, the Newmans have participated in a dozen Museum programs over the years, including this 2013 panel discussion with the entire family: Living History with The Newmans (youtube.com). - Stephen Fagin, Curator   

An edited and illustrated transcript of this program was published in the Fall 2013 issue of Legacies Dallas History Journal. It may be found here at the Portal to Texas History at the University of North Texas: Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 25, Number 2, Fall 2013 - Page 34 - The Portal to Texas History (unt.edu). - Stephen Fagin, Curator