Lemma Tole Oral History
Object number2013.001.0108
Date08/28/2013
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject
Lemma Tole
Oral history interviewer
Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file)
DimensionsDuration: 43 Minutes
DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Lemma Tole. A junior at Sunset High School in Oak Cliff in 1963, Tole observed the Kennedy motorcade near the corner of Main and Houston Streets and heard shots fired in Dealey Plaza. After the assassination, she and her friends lingered for over an hour in front of the Texas School Book Depository.
Interview recorded at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on August 28, 2013 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is forty-three minutes long.
Curatorial CommentaryA surprising number of Kennedy motorcade spectators on Main Street recall hearing shots or echoes of shots fired in Dealey Plaza. While some may have actually heard a motorcycle backfire amidst the crowd noise and associated it with gunfire after learning about the shooting, those standing at or near the intersection of Main and Houston Streets very likely heard at least part of the assassination as the sounds reverberated off of nearby buildings. In addition to Ms. Tole, the Museum has interviewed a number of Main Street ear-witnesses, including Katherine Adams, Joe Bagley, Ronald Duckworth, Peggy Hill, Ed Kadleck, Frances Moffeit, Victoria Rodriguez, John Seeligson, Jenny Taylor, William Kim Wade and Bill Wiseman. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
