/internal/media/dispatcher/75920/fullJohn M. Connally Oral History12/14/2017Duration: 13 MinutesBorn digital (.m2ts file)Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza2017.001.01160Videotaped oral history interview with John M. Connally. A cousin of Texas Governor John Connally, John M. Connally served as campaign manager for the governor’s brother, Wayne Connally, when he unsuccessfully ran for Texas lieutenant governor in 1972. On the day of the Kennedy assassination, John M. Connally observed the presidential motorcade—and waved at his cousin—on Main Street.
Interview conducted at The Conservatory retirement home in Plano, Texas on December 14, 2017 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is thirteen minutes long.
Oral Histories724260E-100E-1054107Oral history0E-10Videotaped oral history interview with John M. Connally. A cousin of Texas Governor John Connally, John M. Connally served as campaign manager for the governor’s brother, Wayne Connally, when he unsuccessfully ran for Texas lieutenant governor in 1972. On the day of the Kennedy assassination, John M. Connally observed the presidential motorcade—and waved at his cousin—on Main Street.
Interview conducted at The Conservatory retirement home in Plano, Texas on December 14, 2017 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is thirteen minutes long.
Oral historiesCampaignMotorcadeMain StreetAssassinationConnally, JohnDallasDallas and 1960s History and Culture (OHC)Motorcade Spectators (OHC)White House and State Officials (OHC)During this 2017 outreach visit to The Conservatory retirement community in Plano, I recorded four oral histories with residents and staff members. - Stephen Fagin, CuratorJohn M. Connally passed away on December 25, 2020. - Stephen Fagin, CuratorSince 2010, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza has actively engaged in community outreach to grow the institution's ongoing Oral History Project. Unlike the one-on-one interviews recorded onsite at the Museum or via Zoom or telephone, community outreach recordings are typically brief, on-the-spot reflections of President Kennedy and the weekend of the assassination that, on average, run between five to fifteen minutes. During a typical outreach visit to a retirement home, church or community center, I give a half-hour presentation about the assassination and the Museum's project and encourage those in attendance to add their voices to this tapestry of living memory. Following the program, somewhat like a doctor's office, I call on volunteers to sit down with me one-on-one, one after another to briefly share their memories. These impromptu recordings have, over the years, uncovered a wealth of untold stories and hidden gems. Among the dozens of everyday memories of hearing about the Kennedy assassination at work, in a restaurant or at school, are a number of Kennedy motorcade spectators, Parkland Hospital personnel, attendees of the Fort Worth breakfast or Dallas Trade Mart luncheon, acquaintances of Jack Ruby, Peace Corps volunteers, civil rights activists and even one local FBI agent, long since retired from the Bureau. It has been an honor to record these and other unique stories related to the life, death and legacy of President Kennedy and the broader history and culture of the 1960s. If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and are interested in scheduling an oral history outreach visit for your retirement community or organization, please contact oralhistory@jfk.org. - Stephen Fagin, Curator