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To our amazement, this
sectioned white picket fence from Dealey Plaza, though a critical
component in endless conspiracy theories about the JFK assassination, was
never dismantled and replaced until January 11, 2000 -- meaning that for
over 36 years it remained in place and intact, looming over the infamous
grassy knoll as it did on November 22, 1963 when America lost its
innocence and the world changed forever. For all that time, it stood as a
reminder of one of the darkest days in history, when a young and
idealistic president's life was snuffed out by an assassin's bullet. While
it seems only logical that such a landmark would have been transported to
the Smithsonian, perhaps its power to spark debate about the "official"
government explanation of the assassination rendered it unfit for such
commemoration. Rather, the powers that be -- still holding to the Warren
Report's sole gunman conclusion -- have preferred to let the fence simply
rot away. And it nearly did. When finally taken down, a tour guide in
Dealey Plaza asked an employee of J&M Fence Company, which had begun
dismantling it, what he was going to do with the the fence. He responded
that he was going to throw it in a dump. The tour guide asked if he could
have it instead, and became the owner of a piece of Americana like no
other, able to salvage over 93% of the lumber. The fence then went into
storage, and when the storage fees were not paid, the fence was sold at a
public sale to our consignor. While reviving the tragedy, the fence is
also unquestionably a monument. For JFK conspiracy buffs, it also offers a
chance to find clues about the still unexplained events in Dallas that
dark day. While the official story is that Lee Harvey Oswald fired the
fatal shot from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, polls
show that up to 90 percent of Americans believe there was a conspiracy. If
so, the fence would have provided a natural shield and a perfect angle for
shooting, on an incline a mere hundred feet or so from the car. Also
remember that a crowd of people ran up the grassy knoll instinctively
believing the shots came from behind the fence; some swore they saw a
"puff of smoke" rising from it. There is also the Zapruder film showing
JFK's head jerking "back and to the left" and ballistic and acoustic
analyses of police tapes that led the House Select Committee to conclude
there was a 96 percent probability of a second gunman. Moreover,
digitalized photographic study has unearthed the wraithlike figure of a
man possibly clad in a police uniform (aka "Badgeman") firing a rifle.
There was eyewitness testimony about men who passed themselves off as CIA
agents refusing to allow anyone access to the railroad yard area behind
the fence before the shooting. A man named Ed Hoffman, ignored by the
Commission, was quoted in an article included with the extensive
documentation and LOAs accompanying the fence that he actually saw a man
assemble a rifle from pieces in a brown paper bag and rest the gun on the
pickets of the fence, then after shooting toss it to another man and run
off. But what of the fence itself? Are there any clues to be gleaned from
it? We can't answer that, of course, but perhaps someone can through a
meticulous examination. What we can tell you is that, cosmetically, the
fence has been repaired a number of times over the years and thus few of
the pickets are believed to be original, thus the snow white color seen in
old pictures has been replaced by faded gray or bare brown wood pickets.
Some sections have holes and shaved off slats, though for the most part
the fence remains quite sturdy. The most striking aspect may be the reams
of graffiti written on it by tourists through the years, both American and
otherwise. This includes names, symbols, dates, Biblical passages, simple
tributes like "RIP, JFK" and opinions like "Oswald Was Framed" and "Blame
the Government." One bit of homemade poetry reads "They shall be same
though they sink through the sea, They shall rise again." Sections of the
fence can of course be reassembled and displayed in full. Each section is
approx. 70" wide and 55", four sections in all making for a total area
appox. 23' wide. While the fence has undergone repairs, the wooden cross
members that make up the main frame, and the metal posts, are original and
predate 1963. The last time the pickets were replaced was in 1993.
Included are LOAs from Ronald D. Rice (Dealy Plaza Tour Guide) relating
how he came to salvage the fence, and from others involved in the
transaction, a large schematic diagram of Dealey Plaza showing the exact
route of the motorcade, various conspiracy theory materials, and a DVD
with bonus material from the Oliver Stone movie "JFK." A President died
that day, but the history and speculation embodied by this most famous
picket fence in America will live forever.
Reserve: $5,000
Number of Bids: 14
Price Realized: $32,664.47 |
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