Posted on 05/13/2005 11:43:13 PM PDT by kingattax
Conspiracy theorists and collectors, take note: A section of fencing from the infamous grassy knoll in Dallas' Dealey Plaza is going up for auction.
The weather-beaten picket fence, along with its metal posts, goes up for bid Sunday at the Lelands.com online auction house. Bidding on the fence from the scene of President Kennedy's Nov. 22, 1963, assassination runs through June 16.
"It's an iconic item, in a macabre sort of way," said Simeon Lipman, director of Americana at the Long Island-based auction house.
The fence was rescued from the junk heap five years ago by Dealey Plaza tour guide Ronald D. Rice. When a construction crew began dismantling the fence to replace it in January 2000, Rice grabbed four sections each nearly 6 feet long and 4 1/2 feet high and put them into storage.
When the storage payments were not made, the fence was sold at public auction to Daniel Moses, who approached Lelands last year about selling it off, Lipman said.
Although the section of fence is indisputably from the Dallas location, there are questions about whether it's the fence that was standing on Nov. 22, 1963. The curator at the Sixth Floor Museum overlooking Dealey Plaza says many of the fence's wooden pickets were replaced over the years.
Lelands agrees that pickets snatched by souvenir hunters or ruined by the weather were replaced, but maintains "the wooden cross members that make up the main frame and the metal posts are original and predate 1963."
Several of the pickets have JFK-related graffiti, including the message, "Oswald Was Framed." Conspiracy theorists have long suggested a second gunman might have hidden behind the fence.
The minimum opening bid for the fence is $5,000, although Lipman acknowledged he had no idea what kind of bidding might ensue. "It's impossible to say with such a unique item," he said.
The same wooden picket fence that was there in 1963 was still there in 2000???
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I've been to Dealey Plaza twice and have found the grassy knoll to be errie, especially when you stand behind the fence and imagine what it must have been like on November 22.
This fence is still in good shape,what a bizarre story.
From what I read, parts of the car WERE replaced after the assassination.
IIRC, Oliver Stone did a lot of sprucing up in Dealey Plaza to make it look like November 1963 again for his movie "JFK". There is clearly a scene where Kevin Costner and his co-star are standing behind the picket fence and imagining what a shooter could do from there. I'll be the first to tell you that you can't believe what you see in the movies but I do remember stories around 1990 when the movie was shot how Dealey Plaza would be getting a face lift courtesy of Stone and his movie producers.
IOW, I suspect the picket fence got a major repair job around 1990 and so there could be some boards that are still authentic next to others that are not. When I visited Dealey Plaza myself in the late 1980s I took some pictures of the fence and there were numerous slats missing.
IIRC, the limousine was disassembled and not put back into circulation. Some theorize this was to hide any evidence that might conflict with the "official" version.
OK, I don't follow this stuff too close. Are you saying the SS man shot Kennedy?
Today it is out of commission and I believe has the hard top attached. I saw some letters (pictures of them) in a book dealing on car crash culture and there was a chapter on the Kennedy assassination.
I can try to locate my copy and post some relevant text later.
Chapter 16 "SS-100-X" by Pamela McElwain-Brown
p.186-7:
Copy of F. Vaughan Ferhuson's internal memo to Rod M. Markel of the Ford D.C. Office, December 18, 1963:
"On November 23rd... I was at the garage only about one hour that day, but while I was there Morgan Geis contacted the Secret Service and told them to have me make arrangements to replace the windshield.
The following day, when I returned to the garage, the unit was no longer under guard. The Secret Service has cleaned the leather upholstry the day before, but underneath the upholstery buttons dried blood was still in evidence. On my own initiative, I pulled up these upholstery buttons and with a knife removed the caked blood around them. At this time, there was a heavy odor of dried blood still noticeable. There was a large blood spot on the floor covering which the Secret Service had not been able to remove, but I did nothing further about it that day.
IN response to my call of November 25, personnel from Arlington Glass came to the White House garage that same day to replace the windshield. The Arlington Glass personnel advised Morgan Geis and me that removal would cause additional damage to the windshield but Geis told them to go ahead and remove it anyway. The Arlginton Glass personnel did remove it by putting their feet against the insideof the windshield and pushing it out. In doing so, additional cracks formed (ownward to the bottom of the windshield). A Mr. Davis of the Secret Service then took the windshield and put it in the stockroom under lock and key and I have not seen it since.
[snip] On November 26th, late in the afternoon after I had left, the carpet, masking and binding arrived at the garage from Hess and Eisenhardt. When I got to the garage on the 27th and was told that the carpeting material was in. I contacted Morgan Geis who arranged with the White House upholstery man to receive the metal piece containing the carpet, remove the old carpeting, replace it with the new carpet, and return the piece to me for reinstallation of the 'Bbbletop.' This upholsterer did not complete the job until late Friday afternoon the 29th.
On the morning of December 2nd, the re-carpeted piece was delivered to me by a Secret Service agent named Davis and I then reinstalled it. Also on the 2nd of December I noticed that the two lap robes had a few blood spots on them but, more than that, were soiled from handling and required cleaning. Two White House chauffers were detailed to take the lap robes to Fort Myer for cleaning. There persons remained wwith the lap robes until they were cleaned and returned the same day.
I think this represents a complete account of changes made in the 'Bubbletop' since November 22. F.V. Ferguson"
Also on page 184 of this book:
The Continuing Mystery
"Additional hanges were made to SS-100-X after the 'Quick Fix', immediately following the assassination. The 'R2'; fix involved updating the air-conditioning system, strengthening the rear deck lid with fiberglass to accomodate LBJ's jumping or sitting on it, removing all dents and repainting the vehicle from Kennedy's midnight blue to black. President Nixon used SS-100-X in his 1968 inaugural ceremony and on other occasions as well. The limousine was kept in service until the Carter administration. It was retired in 1977, but, out of respect to the Kennedy family, was not displayed until John Jr. turned twenty-one in 1983."
I gather it is at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan at this time.
Thanks.
'Powder burns' and all?
/sarc
Howdy,
I saw your article about "the fence on the grassy knoll".
Just thought you should know that one of the most important parts of that fence goes onto Ebay tonight at 8:00pm PST. IT'S THE STEEL FENCE POST FROM THE 10 FOOT WEST OF THE FENCE CORNER LOCATION WHERE THE HSCA ruled in 1978 that the "Grassy Knoll Gunman" fired from (96% probable). This is a very rare chance for someone to own a piece of US history. NO BULL!
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