W. Michael Tumlinson Oral History
Object number2017.001.0045
Date04/28/2017
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject
W. Michael Tumlinson
Oral history interviewer
Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file)
DimensionsDuration: 26 Minutes
Collections
DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with W. Michael Tumlinson. Six years old in 1963, Tumlinson stood with his grandparents in front of the Dal-Tex building at the corner of Houston and Elm Streets when the assassination took place.
Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on April 28, 2017 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is twenty-six minutes long.
Curatorial CommentaryDespite being at the corner of Elm and Houston Streets with his grandparents when shots were fired at the Kennedy motorcade, W. Michael Tumlinson recalls very few details from the assassination beyond general noise and confusion. Most vividly he recalls being told to stay with his grandmother Marie while his grandfather, Dallas pharmacist William Rather (1906-1991), ran with other eyewitnesses towards the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza. Interestingly, Tumlinson has another connection to the assassination because his late grandfather was second cousin to CBS News reporter Dan Rather, who rose to national prominence during media coverage of the assassination in Dallas. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
