March 1954 Case Dismissal
The New York court dismissed Lee’s case on March 11, 1954.
Beauregard Junior High School Years
Lee and his mother initially stayed with the Murrets at 757 French Street in New Orleans. Lee enrolled in the eighth grade at Beauregard Junior High School on January 13 and completed the year without apparent difficulty. He entered the ninth grade in September with mediocre but acceptable marks. On October 1954 achievement tests, he did well in reading and vocabulary but poorly in mathematics. On his June 2, 1955 “personal history,” he listed favorite subjects as civics, science, and mathematics; least favorite as English and art. His vocational preferences were biology and mechanical drawing, with post-high-school plans of “military service” and “undecided.” He listed reading and outdoor sports (especially football) as recreations and answered “no” to whether he had any close friends in school.
New Orleans Social Behavior and Reading Habits
Those who knew Lee in New Orleans remembered him as a quiet, solitary boy who made few friends. He was briefly a member of the Civil Air Patrol, considered joining an astronomy student organization, and occasionally played pool or darts with his friend Edward Voebel. He read extensively, including Communist literature from the public library, and walked or rode a bicycle, sometimes visiting a museum. He was not unusually argumentative or belligerent except with his mother, but did not avoid fights, which came frequently perhaps due to his aloofness and traces of a northern accent. His only close friendship, with Voebel, arose when Voebel helped tend his wounds after a fight. Friends of Mrs. Oswald thought Lee was demanding and insolent toward her and that she had no control over him.
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