Jay and Erma Skaggs Oral History

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Jay and Erma Skaggs Oral History

Videotaped oral history interview with Jay and Erma Skaggs. Standing at the corner of Main and Houston Streets, the Skaggs heard shots fired at the Kennedy motorcade and remained in Dealey Plaza for over an hour after the assassination. Mr. Skaggs photographed the motorcade and the aftermath in Dealey Plaza, and he later donated these significant, previously unseen color images to The Sixth Floor Museum in 2002.Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on March 13, 2002 by Gary Mack and Stephen Fagin. The interview is two hours and two minutes long.

Object Details
Object title:

Jay and Erma Skaggs Oral History

Date:

03/13/2002

Medium:

Hi-8 videotape

Dimensions:

Duration: 122 Minutes

Credit line:

Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Object number:

2002.001.0009

Curatorial Note:

A little over thirty-eight years after the Kennedy assassination, Jay Skaggs brought a shoebox filled with slides and prints to The Sixth Floor Museum. While apologizing for not capturing any of the shooting on film, he very humbly shared that day a remarkable treasure trove of unseen color photographs of the Kennedy limousine on Houston Street and the aftermath of the assassination. Among this collection were the only known color photos of the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle being removed from the Texas School Book Depository. I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. Skaggs that day, and I will forever remember how increasingly ecstatic Curator Gary Mack became as he looked through the images. Mr. Skaggs generously donated the images on the spot, and we soon scheduled this lengthy oral history with Jay and his wife, Erma, who had never given any interviews about their memories of the assassination. Whenever I get asked if I think we'll see any new films or photographs of the Kennedy assassination come to light, I always point to the time when Jay Skaggs, shoebox under one arm, walked into the Museum's lobby. Jay Skaggs passed away on April 13, 2009. Erma Skaggs passed away on January 13, 2015. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator

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Jay and Erma Skaggs Oral History

Videotaped oral history interview with Jay and Erma Skaggs. Standing at the corner of Main and Houston Streets, the Skaggs heard shots fired at the Kennedy motorcade and remained in Dealey Plaza for over an hour after the assassination. Mr. Skaggs photographed the motorcade and the aftermath in Dealey Plaza, and he later donated these significant, previously unseen color images to The Sixth Floor Museum in 2002.Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on March 13, 2002 by Gary Mack and Stephen Fagin. The interview is two hours and two minutes long.

Object Details
Object title:

Jay and Erma Skaggs Oral History

Date:

03/13/2002

Terms:

Grassy knoll

Rifles

Oral histories

Skaggs, Jay

Skaggs, Erma

Texas School Book Depository

Dallas

Motorcade Spectators (OHC)

Dealey Plaza Eyewitnesses (OHC)

Medium:

Hi-8 videotape

Dimensions:

Duration: 122 Minutes

Credit line:

Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Object number:

2002.001.0009

Curatorial Note:

A little over thirty-eight years after the Kennedy assassination, Jay Skaggs brought a shoebox filled with slides and prints to The Sixth Floor Museum. While apologizing for not capturing any of the shooting on film, he very humbly shared that day a remarkable treasure trove of unseen color photographs of the Kennedy limousine on Houston Street and the aftermath of the assassination. Among this collection were the only known color photos of the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle being removed from the Texas School Book Depository. I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. Skaggs that day, and I will forever remember how increasingly ecstatic Curator Gary Mack became as he looked through the images. Mr. Skaggs generously donated the images on the spot, and we soon scheduled this lengthy oral history with Jay and his wife, Erma, who had never given any interviews about their memories of the assassination. Whenever I get asked if I think we'll see any new films or photographs of the Kennedy assassination come to light, I always point to the time when Jay Skaggs, shoebox under one arm, walked into the Museum's lobby. Jay Skaggs passed away on April 13, 2009. Erma Skaggs passed away on January 13, 2015. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator