I attended the breakfast the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, at the Texas Hotel in Fort Worth. I was 14 years old at the time and accompanied my Father, the late Robert (Bob Kragen) who managed to save some history with his movie camera. Also, in attendance with us was the late Robby Anton, son of Charles and Shirley Anton. Dad, quite an accomplished photographer, was able to get choice seats due to his friendship with Pete (do not recall last name) the catering manager of the hotel who wanted to make sure that close up pictures were taken of him serving the President and First Lady. The film, perhaps 5 minutes, captured some excellent shots of the event and especially of Jackie Kennedy entering the room as she was late in arriving.
My Father, never the type to seek fame or fortune, made numerous copies of the film and gave them to various family members and friends. One friend happened to be Congressman Jim Wright who as we all know was part of the group of dignitaries with the President. Many years later I received a call from my aunt, Ruth Bernstein, now deceased, that the film was being shown on “Good Morning America” and due to leaving early for work, I missed it. Good Morning America had no idea as to who made the film but commented on the quality of it, especially pictures of Jackie. My aunt still had a copy of the film, which unfortunately I do not, and met with WFAA to authenticate it as the one made by my Father.
I looked into what was going on and learned that Jim Wright had donated his personal papers to the TCU library. The film was part of that donation. The showing of the film on Good Morning America and also the Today Show resulted from some Japanese filmmakers finding it in their efforts to produce a documentary on American First Ladies. They were especially impressed with the pictures of Jackie.
The film is still with the Jim Wright collection at the TCU library and if you do not have it, please make it a effort to do so. Dad never sought fame or riches, only an opportunity to share this momentous event in history. Fifty years later, I honor Dad and memory and President Kennedy’s along with Jackie, as I too seek to share with others this great, with a tragic ending, time in American history. Obviously,the entire event made an impact on me and still seems like yesterday.
The film is still with the Jim Wright collection at TCU.
I congratulate Fort Worth for making this tribute possible and plan to view it on a return visit home.
Thank you for allowing me to share.
Arnold Kragen – Santa Cruz, CA
