/internal/media/dispatcher/50492/fullMembership card to Jack Ruby's Carousel Clubcirca 19623 1/2 × 2 1/4 in. (8.9 × 5.7 cm)Paper, PlasticLoaned Courtesy the Dallas County District Attorney's Office/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey PlazaL2017.1.13.240One small laminated Carousel Club membership card that originally belonged to Ray Hawkins. It was his Permanent Pass to Jack Ruby's Carousel Club. The card is horizontally oriented with text on the front and reverse.
Front of the card has text printed in green:
"Permanent Pass [underlined across width of card]
Please Admit Party of 4 or Less
Extend Special Consideration to Same
Courtesy of CAROUSEL CLUB
Pass Good Only by Person Registered with management
Name_________________
Bus. Address___________ No. 227
Signed_________________
Corner of Field & Commerce RI 7-2362
Valid any nite [sic] except Sat., Holidays & Special Occasions [underlined across width of card]
This Pass Revokable [sic], Discretion of Management".
Reverse of the card has text centered and stamped onto card in blue ink:
"Plastic Sealing Service
P. O. Box 4722 TA 4-5169
Dallas 6, Texas".
The name typed in black ink and all caps on the "Name" line is "RAY HAWKINS". The information typed in black ink on the "Bus. Address" line is "City Hall". Mr. Hawkins's signature is in blue ink on the "Signed" line. Ray Hawkins was part of the Accident Prevention Bureau, Traffic Division, Dallas Police Department. It is unknown why specifically Jack Ruby had this card in his possession at the time of his arrest on November 24, 1963.
No date specified on this object because there is no date printed on the card and it is unknown when these cards were created or printed. However, they cannot date later than November 24, 1963 because that is the date Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald, and as a result this object along with many others were taken as evidence from Mr. Ruby's car by the Dallas Police Department.
Card originally was part of the contents of a brown cardboard Polaroid box that included several identical cards advertising Jada at the Carousel Club, Permanent Pass cards for specific individuals to the Carousel club, and other papers. The box (L2017.1.13.1) was confiscated as evidence from Jack Ruby's vehicle by the Dallas Police Department.
This object was originally part of the evidence collected by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and specifically prosecutors Henry Wade and Bill Alexander during the investigation leading up to the Jack Ruby trial for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Card is in poor condition. Lamination is peeling apart, particularly on the right side. Severe yellowing around the edges of the card and color transfer evident on the reverse. (JM 08/24/2017)Documents656275.71501143008.890017780050543Card0E-10Laminated membership card to Jack Ruby's Carousel Club; issued to Ray Hawkins.
The card gives the Carousel Club address and phone number, is numbered 227, and indicates that Hawkins is welcome "any nite [sic] except Sat., Holidays & Special Occasions". The last line on the card reads: "This Pass Revokable [sic], Discretion of Management".
Ray Hawkins was part of the Accident Prevention Bureau, Traffic Division, Dallas Police Department. It is unknown why specifically Jack Ruby had this card in his possession at the time of his arrest on November 24, 1963; along with other items of personal property it was confiscated as evidence from Ruby's vehicle by the Dallas Police Department.
This object was originally part of the evidence collected by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and specifically prosecutors Henry Wade and Bill Alexander during the investigation leading up to the Jack Ruby trial for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Jack Ruby trialDA's Ruby fileEvidenceRuby, JackHawkins, RayDallas Police DepartmentCarousel ClubDallas County District Attorney's OfficeDallas City HallDallas Municipal BuildingDallasThis card is a good example of the relationship that Ruby often tried to build with Dallas law enforcement and news media. Some accounts suggest that virtually the entire Dallas Police Department was acquainted with Ruby at the time of the assassination. Testifying before the House Select Committee on Assassinations, Jack Revill, who had led the Dallas Police Department's internal investigation into the Oswald shooting, estimated that approximately 100 to 150 employees of the police department (out of about 1,200) knew Ruby in 1963. - Stephen Fagin, CuratorIn order to ensure its long-term care and preservation and to facilitate public access, the Dallas County District Attorney's Office placed their Jack Ruby Trial Collection (sometimes referred to as "the DA's Jack Ruby file") on long-term loan with The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in 2017. The Museum is working to make the entire collection accessible through this online collections database. To find out more about this collection or to access materials not yet included here, contact the Museum's Reading Room at readingroom@jfk.org. - Megan Bryant, Director of Collections & InterpretationThis item, along with materials from the DA's Ruby file (which is on loan to the Museum) and from the Museum's permanent collection, briefly appeared in a temporary display on the Museum's seventh floor in 2017. - Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections