Presented here are three press documents pertaining to late President John F. Kennedy’s “Texas Welcome Dinner” that was to be held at the Municipal Auditorium in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. The President and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson were to be celebrated during the fundraiser that was expected to welcome almost every elected official in Texas as well as numerous members of the press. Sadly, President Kennedy was assassinated prior to the dinner, and Lyndon B. Johnson would be sworn in as President in the ensuing tumult caused by Lee Harvey Oswald’s actions at Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Texas, that shook the country and brought America to a standstill. Two 8 ½ x 14-inch press documents are typed on white paper and feature the itinerary of the President and his motorcade, the order of the motorcade and who will be involved, and the highlights of the event, with Texas Executive Committee Chairman Eugene Lock stating “We expect a big turnout of Democrats for the dinner” in one press document. The document states that hotel accommodations were filling up and that the Democratic Party urged its members and voters to turn out in force to support the President’s visit. The last document is an 8 ½ x 11-inch press document announcing the President’s motorcade route through Austin and how a press room would be set up for local and national press at the nearby Commodore Perry Hotel and at the Municipal Auditorium. One of the 8 ½ x 14-inch press documents contain curling of the corners and small brown stains on the bottom edges and corners. The press documents from President Kennedy’s cancelled “Texas Welcome Dinner” are in good condition and are a glimpse into the plans that were forever altered on one of America’s darkest days.

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