Trombone with case, used at Fort Worth breakfast on November 22, 1963
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Trombone with case, used at Fort Worth breakfast on November 22, 1963
Trombone and original case owned by Eastern Hills High School student William Cravens in 1963. Cravens used this instrument as a member of the Eastern Hills High School band to perform at the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce presidential breakfast at the Hotel Texas on the morning of November 22, 1963. The band notably performed the last official rendition of "Hail to the Chief" prior to the Kennedy assassination.
Trombone with case, used at Fort Worth breakfast on November 22, 1963
11/22/1963
Metal
In case: 8 × 36 × 10 in. (20.3 × 91.4 × 25.4 cm)
William Cravens Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
2023.002.0001
Object featured in special exhibition, Two Days in Texas, November 8, 2023 through September 8, 2024.
This musical instrument had a unique journey from the Fort Worth breakfast to The Sixth Floor Museum nearly sixty years later. Donor William Cravens recalled that it was at one point stolen from his car, and he had to reclaim it from a pawn shop. He later donated the trombone to the Fort Worth ISD for other students to use, and it was in regular rotation for a number of years, used by dozens of band students who had no idea it had performed "Hail to the Chief" for President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Upon learning from his lifelong friend and fellow band student John Sparks that The Sixth Floor Museum was interested in acquiring an instrument used at the Fort Worth breakfast, Cravens set out to track down the trombone within the Fort Worth ISD. It was discovered in storage, having been retired from active use but thankfully not discarded, and Cravens reclaimed it and subsequently donated it to The Sixth Floor Museum in January 2023. William Cravens' 2023 oral history may be accessed here: https://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/73566. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
This is likely an Olds brand trombone. The whereabouts of the original 7/16ths mouthpiece are unknown, though an identical mouthpiece was acquired by the Museum when the trombone was placed on public display in 2023. - Ivy Albright, Collections Manager
Trombone with case, used at Fort Worth breakfast on November 22, 1963
Trombone and original case owned by Eastern Hills High School student William Cravens in 1963. Cravens used this instrument as a member of the Eastern Hills High School band to perform at the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce presidential breakfast at the Hotel Texas on the morning of November 22, 1963. The band notably performed the last official rendition of "Hail to the Chief" prior to the Kennedy assassination.
Trombone with case, used at Fort Worth breakfast on November 22, 1963
11/22/1963
Music
Fort Worth
Fort Worth breakfast
Trip to Texas
Kennedy, John F.
Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
Metal
In case: 8 × 36 × 10 in. (20.3 × 91.4 × 25.4 cm)
William Cravens Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
2023.002.0001
Object featured in special exhibition, Two Days in Texas, November 8, 2023 through September 8, 2024.
This musical instrument had a unique journey from the Fort Worth breakfast to The Sixth Floor Museum nearly sixty years later. Donor William Cravens recalled that it was at one point stolen from his car, and he had to reclaim it from a pawn shop. He later donated the trombone to the Fort Worth ISD for other students to use, and it was in regular rotation for a number of years, used by dozens of band students who had no idea it had performed "Hail to the Chief" for President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Upon learning from his lifelong friend and fellow band student John Sparks that The Sixth Floor Museum was interested in acquiring an instrument used at the Fort Worth breakfast, Cravens set out to track down the trombone within the Fort Worth ISD. It was discovered in storage, having been retired from active use but thankfully not discarded, and Cravens reclaimed it and subsequently donated it to The Sixth Floor Museum in January 2023. William Cravens' 2023 oral history may be accessed here: https://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/73566. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
This is likely an Olds brand trombone. The whereabouts of the original 7/16ths mouthpiece are unknown, though an identical mouthpiece was acquired by the Museum when the trombone was placed on public display in 2023. - Ivy Albright, Collections Manager
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