President's Commission on the Assassination of - The Warren Commission (Complete Edition)

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; the last 3 years.

Mr. Jenner. And, at this time, your brother Lee was enrolled in——

Mr. Oswald. West Ridglea Elementary School.

Mr. Jenner. So at this point each of you was attending a different school?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; that is correct.

Mr. Jenner. And Lee was 9 years old.

You continued at Arlington Heights Junior High School for how long?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir—W. C. Stripling Junior High School. For 1 year, the ninth grade.

If I may, sir, perhaps correct something—I don't know for sure which way it was. When I said Lee attended West Ridglea Elementary School, I think perhaps the first year he attended Arlington Heights Elementary School, because I don't believe the West Ridglea Elementary School was completed at that time.

Mr. Jenner. We might take you in sequence so that at least I don't get confused.

You spent a year at W.C. Stripling High School?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. So we now have—we are now into '49-'50, is that correct?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. Jenner. And after a year at W.C. Stripling High School, you enrolled where?

Mr. Oswald. At Arlington Heights High School.

Mr. Jenner. And that would be in the fall of 1949?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. And you attended Arlington Heights High School how long?

Mr. Oswald. I attended my sophomore year. In my sophomore year I started——

Mr. Jenner. Would that be 1951, the end of your sophomore year?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; 1950 would be the end of the school year. That summer there I started a job with an A&P Supermarket there in Fort Worth.

I might say along this period mother seemed to be having difficulty keeping a job or making enough money and so forth to raise us. I stayed out of school that next year and worked for A&P.

Mr. Jenner. Out of school 1950–51?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Did your brother remain in school—John?

Mr. Oswald. John at this time was in the Coast Guard.

Mr. Jenner. Already in the Coast Guard?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. All right. And you worked at the A&P during this period?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Did you contribute your earnings to your mother?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. They were probably not a great amount at this age. Do you recall what they were, per week?

Mr. Oswald. Perhaps my starting salary was somewhere around $48 a week, or something like that. I believe by the end of the year I had become a checker, and perhaps it was $65 or $70 a week.

Mr. Jenner. What proportion of that did you contribute to the sustaining of the family?

Mr. Oswald. I would say practically all of it, but what I needed for expenses, a little spending money.

Mr. Jenner. Do you know whether your brother John made an allotment of any kind to your mother or sent her any money?

Mr. Oswald. To my knowledge, he did not.

Mr. Jenner. Was there any illness or disability of any kind that contributed to your mother's difficulty in obtaining positions during this period?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; she was not disabled. I don't recall any particular length of illness that she had at this time that would not allow her to work.

Mr. Jenner. What was the reason, if you recall, she was having difficulty in obtaining work, or was there any particular reason?

Mr. Oswald. None that I recall, sir. No particular reason I can recall.

Mr. Jenner. Your brother Lee was living at home during this time?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Was he working after school, or making any effort to earn some money?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; he was not. He might have on occasion mowed somebody's lawn or something like that, where he would have a little spending money, or something. But nothing frequently, consistently.

Mr. Jenner. I see.

Proceeding with you, at the end of the school year '50-'51—I assume you continued working there the summer of '51?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. And did you reenter school that fall?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I did.

Mr. Jenner. Where?

Mr. Oswald. Arlington Heights High School.

Representative Ford. May I ask a question?

During this 1-year period that you worked for the A&P, Mr. Oswald, were you the principal source of income for your mother, Lee, and yourself?

Mr. Oswald. Mother was working. Whether or not I was making more than she was at that time, I do not know.

Representative Ford. She was working spasmodically or regularly during this period?

Mr. Oswald. I believe almost regularly, very little off. I cannot recall right now what she was doing. I think perhaps during this period she was selling insurance.

Representative Ford. While she was in this occupation, who took care of Lee?

Mr. Oswald. Well, no one did. Lee was, of course, at school. When he returned home from school in the afternoon, he managed for himself, until I or my mother returned home from work.

Representative Ford. He was 9 or 10?

Mr. McKenzie. Eleven years old.

Representative Ford. Thank you.

Mr. Jenner. I think Representative Ford's question may have been induced by the fact you said that at about this time of which we are speaking your mother was having trouble retaining her position or obtaining positions. I assumed from that, perhaps incorrectly, that there were gaps, there were times when she was not employed, and, therefore, did need you to remain out of school to help. Is that a fair statement?

Mr. Oswald. I would say that is a fair statement and generally so. A little more comes to mind there.

I believe, perhaps, that she might have been selling insurance. I think she was acting at that time as what you would call a hostess or a welcoming party for the city of Fort Worth. In other words, she went out and met new people coming into Fort Worth—something along that line. And apparently it wasn't very much money, very little. And I think during this period also she was trying to locate other types of work that would perhaps earn her more. I believe that would be more accurate to what I really had in mind, there.

Mr. Jenner. But during all of the period, from the divorce of your mother and Mr. Ekdahl, proceeding from that time forward, she again returned to what she had been doing prior to the marriage—that is, working to sustain the family?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; that is correct.

Mr. Jenner. And if I may use the expression you did, Lee was left to shift for himself during the daytime, get to school, get back to school, and be around until either you boys returned to the home or your mother returned to the home?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; that is correct.

Mr. Jenner. Because he didn't have anybody particularly assigned or who undertook to care for him?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir.

I might say you mentioned "you boys." Of course at this time John was in the Coast Guard, so it was either myself or my mother.

Mr. Jenner. And particularly during the year you were employed at the A&P, and your mother was also employed, then certainly during that period there was no one even available to take care of him, is that correct?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct.

Mr. Jenner. What were your hours?

Mr. Oswald. My hours varied somewhat. We had different types of shifts for different days. Normally perhaps from 7 to 4 or 5 o'clock, and on the weekends—stock day was Wednesday, when all shipments came in, to restock the store. That was Wednesday and Saturday. Usually they were long days. I worked from 7 o'clock to 8 o'clock or 9 o'clock at night. And on Saturdays practically always after the store was closed, we did the cleanup, and rewaxing the floors and sometimes it was anywhere from 10 to 10:30 at night, and perhaps even 11 o'clock before I was home.