Oswald’s Early Depository Employment and Irving Trips
During his first week at the Depository, Oswald became acquainted with Frazier, and arranged to ride with him to Irving on weekends. On Friday, October 18, Frazier drove Oswald to the Paine home for his birthday, where Marina and Ruth Paine held a small celebration. On Sunday, Oswald stayed with his daughter June and the Paine children while Mrs. Paine drove Marina to Parkland Hospital, where she gave birth to the couple’s second daughter Rachel. Oswald visited Marina in the hospital that evening, stayed overnight in Irving, and returned to Dallas the next morning.
Oswald’s Late October Political Activities
On the evening of October 23, Oswald wrote to Communist Party USA official Arnold Johnson stating he had attended an “ultra right” meeting led by Gen. Edwin A. Walker. Two nights later, he accompanied Michael Paine to an American Civil Liberties Union meeting at Southern Methodist University, where he pushed back against a claim that John Birch Society members were not anti-Semitic, stating he had heard anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic remarks at Walker’s meeting. Later in the evening, he discussed Marxist views with multiple attendees including Bell Helicopter employee Frank Krystinik, identifying as a Marxist but not a Communist, praising President Kennedy’s civil liberties work, and acknowledging U.S. civil liberties superiority over the Soviet Union. Krystinik testified Oswald did not appear to fully understand the views he was espousing. Oswald spent the following weekend at the Paine home after Marina and Rachel returned from the hospital, and obtained post office box No. 6225 at the Terminal Annex Post Office Station on November 1, registering it for mail for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee and ACLU. He spent that weekend in Irving as well.
Early November FBI Surveillance and Soviet Embassy Letter
The FBI had tracked the Oswalds’ activities, with Dallas office records noting Oswald’s subscription to the Worker, Fair Play for Cuba Committee involvement, and prior travel to Mexico. FBI agents visited the Paine home on November 1 and November 5, speaking briefly with Mrs. Paine when Oswald was not present. Mrs. Paine recorded the lead agent’s name and phone number, and Marina recorded his license plate number, both of which they reported to Oswald. Oswald was troubled by the FBI’s attention, stating they were trying to inhibit his activities, and wrote to the Soviet Embassy in Washington claiming an agent had warned him that FPCC activity in Texas would draw further FBI scrutiny, and that the agent had suggested Marina could defect to the U.S. under FBI protection. He requested updates on the family’s Soviet entrance visa status. Marina testified the statements Oswald attributed to the FBI were never made.
Oswald’s Mid-November Driving Test Attempts
On Friday, November 8, Oswald rode with Frazier to the Paine home as usual. On Saturday, Mrs. Paine drove him to the Texas Drivers’ License Examining Station, which was closed for election day. He stayed at the Paine home through Monday, November 11 (Veterans Day), and received a second driving lesson from Mrs. Paine over the weekend. Oswald did not visit Irving the following weekend, as Marina had asked him not to come because Michael Paine (with whom he had a poor relationship) would be there for his daughter’s birthday, and she felt a 3-day prior visit had already strained Mrs. Paine’s hospitality. Oswald called Marina Saturday afternoon to say he had returned to the licensing station that morning but left due to a long line.
Oswald’s Late November Name Dispute and Final Irving Trip
On Sunday, November 17, at Marina’s request, Ruth Paine called Oswald at the Beckley Avenue number he had provided, and was told no one by that name lived at the address. The next day, Oswald called Marina; when she expressed distress over the missing name at the address, he became angry, stated he was using a fictitious name, and said she should not have called the Beckley number. He did not call the following day, an unusual break in contact. On the morning of Thursday, November 21, Oswald asked Frazier to drive him to Irving that evening, saying he needed to pick up curtain rods. His unannounced arrival surprised the household, as he usually requested permission to visit in advance; the women assumed he came to make amends for the prior argument over his fictitious name. He told Marina he was lonely after missing the prior weekend and wanted to make peace, played with his daughter on the lawn before dinner, and asked Marina to move to Dallas with him, which she refused. After supper, he watched television while the women cleaned and prepared their children for bed, and went to bed early at around 9 p.m.
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