The coffee, conversation and floor repair that led to the assassination of JFK

The random chain of events that resulted in Lee Harvey Oswald working at the Texas School Book Depository

By DON WILBURN

donaldfwilburn@gmail.com

Among the countless stories surrounding President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, one of the most significant that debunks most theories involves the seemingly random events and shoddy flooring that led Lee Harvey Oswald to work at the Texas School Book Depository – overlooking Elm Street, where the fateful motorcade passed 61 years ago on November 22, 1963.

In the weeks leading up to his employment, Oswald was in a precarious position. Jobless, penniless, and estranged from his wife, Marina, who was eight months pregnant and living with a friend in suburban Irving, Oswald found himself desperately seeking work. Despite his erratic history, a chance conversation over coffee played a pivotal role in landing him the job that placed him in the right – or wrong – spot in history.

A chance lead at a coffee gathering

On the morning of October 14, 1963, Marina and her host, Ruth Paine, were enjoying coffee with a neighbor. The discussion turned to Oswald’s dire need for a job. While two potential opportunities at a bakery and a gypsum plant were suggested, both were ruled out because Oswald didn’t know how to drive.

It was Linnie Mae Randle, another neighbor at the gathering, who mentioned that her brother had recently been hired at the Texas School Book Depository in downtown Dallas. She noted that the business was in its busy season and might need additional help. This casual remark set off a series of events that would alter the course of history.

At Paine’s urging, Marina called the Depository. Roy Truly, the company’s superintendent, agreed to interview Oswald the following day, October 15.

A job by luck, not design

Oswald’s interview with Truly was straightforward. He presented himself politely, calling Truly “sir,” which made a favorable impression. During the meeting, Oswald falsely claimed he had just left the Marines, omitting details of his dishonorable discharge. Crucially, Truly did not check his references, which might have revealed Oswald’s poor work history and questionable past.

Due to the fact that the depository was in the process of replacing its aging plywood floors and needed the extra help, Oswald was offered the job on the spot, a position filling book orders for $1.25 an hour. Although he found the work beneath him, his financial desperation forced him to accept.

A series of small decisions

Several coincidental factors led to Oswald being assigned to the Depository’s main location, situated on Dealey Plaza. Truly later admitted he had considered sending Oswald to another warehouse but ultimately decided the extra help was needed at the Elm Street facility.

In another twist, Oswald had nearly secured a different job just a week earlier as a typesetter trainee at a printing company far from Dealey Plaza. That opportunity fell through after the employer contacted a former supervisor who described Oswald as lazy and combative, advising against hiring him.

Had any one of these small, seemingly unconnected events played out differently – a different job, a different warehouse, if the floors of the warehouse had been in better condition or no mention of the Depository at that coffee gathering – Oswald might never have been in a position to fire on the president’s motorcade.

No conspiracy, just circumstance

Despite conspiracy theories suggesting Oswald’s employment at the Depository was part of a larger plot, the evidence suggests otherwise. It was a string of chance events, aided by desperate circumstances and indifferent decision-making, that placed Oswald in the sixth-floor window of the Depository on that tragic day.

History often hinges on the smallest of moments, and in this case, a casual conversation over coffee became a footnote in one of America’s most profound tragedies.

Mourners leaving flowers at the Texas School Book Depository one week after Kennedy’s assassination where Oswald fired three rounds from the sixth story window on the far right, second down of the seven story warehouse.

Photos provided by National Archives

A mugshot from Oswald’s arrest in New Orleans three months prior to the assassination of JFK. Oswald was cited $10 for disturbing the peace after being involved in an physical altercation with anti-communist protesters.