Rev. Eric Folkerth Oral History

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Videotaped oral history interview with Rev. Eric Folkerth. A local minister and singer/songwriter, Folkerth grew up in Dallas in the 1960s and 1970s with a sense of shame and guilt about the Kennedy assassination. After visiting The Sixth Floor Museum, he was inspired to write the song, “Sitting in the Trade Hall,” which he recorded and released in 2013. Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on October 4, 2022 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is fifty-six minutes long.

Object Details

Object title:

Rev. Eric Folkerth Oral History

Date:

10/17/2022

Medium:

Born digital (.m2ts file)

Dimensions:

Duration: 56 Minutes

Credit line:

Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Object number:

2022.001.0075

Curatorial Note:

For seventeen years (2001-2018), Rev. Eric Folkerth was pastor of Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas. As discussed in this oral history, Northaven was the church where 1963 pastor Rev. Bill Holmes preached a controversial sermon on the Sunday following the Kennedy assassination in which he revealed that some Dallas schoolchildren cheered news of the president's death. After portions of that sermon were broadcast on CBS News, Holmes and Northaven received international attention which, according to Folkerth, had a significant impact on the congregation that can still be felt nearly sixty years later. A 2008 Museum public program featuring Rev. Bill Holmes may be found here: An Evening with Rev. William A. Holmes - YouTube. Also discussed in this oral history was Holmes' successor at Northaven, the late Rev. Bill McElvaney. A 2013 public program featuring Rev. McElvaney may be found here: Living History with the Reverend William McElvaney - YouTube. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator