BETWEEN THE PAGES A Publication of the Friends of the Allen Public Library November/December 2017 Volume XIX, Issue VI Coming Up at the Library FOL Board 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 8, Mafia and James Henry Dolan President—Susan Jackson 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 9, JFK Reporter High Aynesworth VP - Noma Nabi 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 16, Secret Service Agent J. Walter Coughlin Secretary– Laura Wingler 7:30 p.m. Monday, November 20, Lee Harvey Oswald’s Girlfriend Treasurer—JJ Grilliette 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 10, Roy Rogers’ daughter presents Trail of Robin Hood movie 7:30 pm, Saturday, November 11, Pearl Harbor memories with Bill Hughes and Allen Com- Historian Sandy Wittsche munity Band 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 19, White Christmas screening Programs and Marketing Tom Keener Click on any item above and it will link you directly to the article. Community Liaison Always forgetting events you want to see? Print this page and stick it on your fridge! Open Hospitality For updates, go to AllenFriends.org or to the library’s calendar at AllenLibrary.org, then “Calendar.” Karla Warborg Ongoing Book Sale Alison McCullough Membership Endowment Fund Board News Russ and Jo Schenck The Friends of the Library Endowment Fund's Board of Managers ALLen Reads would like to announce its new name and logo! It will now be called Anita Moghe the Allen Library Endowment Fund (ALEF). Communications ALEF hosted its second annual Fall Fundraiser in September at Bed- open side Manor in Montgomery Farms. CocoaVina presented a special wine Newsletter and chocolate pairing event for the evening's guests. All proceeds from Bonnie Jay the event support ALEF's mission to increase the financial strength of Bach to Books the library and enrich its services and programs. Vicki Brown ALEF is very excited to announce its newest program, the Allen Library Board Library Robotics Program. With executive sponsorship by ALEF Board of Managers member Devita Widmer, Chair Vatsa Ramanathan, the program will offer robotics activities at no cost to Allen’s young resi- Kimberly Hinton dents. Please stay tuned for more details to come! Shahmeen Khan Diane Knaack Want more information about the Endowment Fund? Go to http://allenfriends.org/ Rekha Mathai endowment-fund/ or send an email to [email protected]. Michelle Perry Library Director Jeff Timbs Allen Public Library 300 N. Allen Dr. Allen, TX 75013 214-509-4900 Be sure to “like” us on our Facebook page—https://www.facebook.com/friendsoftheallenpubliclibrary and follow us on Twitter: @AllenFriends. BETWEEN THE PAGES Page 2 Mafia and JFK Reporter James Henry Dolan Hugh Aynesworth Hugh Aynesworth, author of November 22, 1963: Witness to History, was the only journal- ist to witness the assassination of President Kennedy and both the arrest and murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. He covered the assassination and its aftermath as a Dallas Morning News re- porter. A four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, Aynes- worth will speak at the library at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 9. With the sleuthing skills of a twentieth cen- tury Sherlock Holmes, Aynesworth was the first reporter to establish Oswald’s escape route and James Henry Dolan was associated with the top Mafia uncover his Russian diary. Reporting how Os- bosses during the time of the John F. Kennedy assassination. wald paid a threatening visit to the FBI office in His son Jim Dolan will share his perspective on his father and Dallas only days before the assassination, he those times at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 8, at the impressed the American public with his tenaci- library. ty. CBS News’ Face the Nation moderator/ Until the mid-1960s, the Dallas underworld enjoyed a tac- anchor Bob Schieffer declared, “Hugh Aynes- it agreement with law enforcement. For a price, some offic- worth knows more about this tragic story and ers looked the other way at drugs, alcohol, gambling and the reporters who reported it than anyone I prostitution violations. When the reigning Dallas underworld know. A splendid piece of work.” boss Benny Binion departed Dallas for Las Vegas, Mafia inter- est in Dallas surged. While in Dallas, James Henry Dolan worked for the Ameri- can Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA), a union for jugglers, strip- pers, and comics, and, more importantly, a front for the mob. Jim suspects his father’s assignment was to turn over the Dal- las underworld to Carlos Marcello in New Orleans. Dolan's aliases have included Jim de Lare, James Harry Dolan, Jim Dolan, Jimmy Dolan, and James Bradley. During the days immediately before and after the JFK as- sassination, James Henry Dolan was not living with his wife and children at their home in Oak Cliff. After JFK was mur- dered, the FBI descended upon the Dolan house and searched Aynesworth later worked for the Washing- it, but James Henry Dolan had vanished. ton Times, Newsweek magazine, and ABC’s Jim Dolan notes, “I will present my memories of this peri- 20/20. Penning The Vengeful Heart (2000) od and we will walk through some of the material gathered and Ted Bundy: Conversations with a Kill- by the government and other researchers into the period er (2000), his investigative skills unraveled trag- 1958-1963. Even after his death in 1984, details have ic details of the Ted Bundy saga. emerged from my father's life which point to the dense cloud Copies of November 22, 1963: Witness to of coincidence that have caused many to conclude a conspira- History will be available for purchase and sign- cy in the assassination.” Jim is interested in talking to anyone ing at the event. who knew his father and has stories to share. All Bach to Books performances are sponsored by the Friends of the Allen Public Library and the City of Allen. Sometimes others participate in sponsoring, and are noted accordingly. All Bach to Books presentations are free and open to the public, and most are available on Channel 16 and on youtube. For more information about any Bach to Books performances, please call 214-509-4911. BETWEEN THE PAGES Page 3 Secret Service Agent Lee Harvey Oswald’s Girlfriend J. Walter Coughlin In her memoir Lee and Me: How I Came To Know, Love, And Lose Lee Harvey Oswald, Judyth Baker insists that Oswald did not murder President Kennedy in No- J. Walter Coughlin, former Secret Service agent vember of 1963. to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, Vice President Humphrey, and other dignitaries, shares his memo- ries of those harrowing times at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 16, at the library. Coughlin was a U.S. Secret Service agent from 1961 to 1977. Coughlin was a member of the advance team for Kennedy’s famous trip to Berlin. It was here where the President delivered one of the more famous speeches in American history, declaring “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner) to an enthusiastic crowd. This was before the unification of Germany, when West Berlin was surrounded by communist East Germany. Protecting the President here was a daunting task. Walter accompanied the President as the motorcade drove by the Berlin wall. Walter describes the President and First Lady John and Jackie Kennedy as most respectful and affa- ble. Come hear Judyth recount her story at 7:30 p.m. In November 1963, Walter was assigned to the Monday, November 20, at the library. For security rea- Secret Service detail during President Kennedy’s sons, Baker lives overseas and rarely makes live Ameri- stop in San Antonio. As the Kennedys flew to Ft. can appearances, so take this rare opportunity to hear Worth for the next part of the Texas tour, Walter her speak. departed for Washington, D.C., where he heard the Baker met Oswald in 1963 while working for Dr. Al- devastating news of the President’s death. ton Ochsner, the former president of the American Can- Later, Walter protected President Johnson and cer Society, and they became romantically involved. Vice-President Humphrey. He accompanied Humph- Baker explains that Oswald was also part of the Ochsner rey to Viet Nam and his visit to the Democratic Na- project. According to her book, the cancer research tional Conven- helmed by Ochsner was connected to efforts in bringing tion in Chica- down Cuba's then-president Fidel Castro through biolog- go in 1968. ical means. The goal of the project was to inject the In 1973, guerrilla leader with a fast-spreading cancer. Walter was Baker argues that Oswald was not the confused psy- assigned the chopath depicted in history books but was an undercov- agent in er double agent. "The Lee Oswald I knew admired the charge of the President and risked his life to save the President," Baker Dallas office. said. She notes that he told her of the Kennedy assassi- After retiring nation plot in conversations they had up to two days from the Se- before November 23, 1963. cret Service, Two days after Kennedy's murder, Oswald was shot he served as a to death by Jack Ruby, denying Americans the oppor- security con- tunity to see a criminal trial that would have explored sultant. the evidence against Oswald. Copies of her book will be available for purchase and signing. All Bach to Books performances are sponsored by the Friends of the Allen Public Library and the City of Allen. Sometimes others participate in sponsoring, and are noted accordingly. All Bach to Books presentations are free and open to the public, and most are available on Channel 16 and on youtube. For more information about any Bach to Books performances, please call 214-509-4911.