325 East 92nd Street, New York
Wednesday, August 20, 1952: After previously quitting her job at Evands and Associates, Marguerite sells the house at 7408 Ewing (Armstrong, 42), and moves to New York where she and LHO live for a time with John and Margaret Pic at 325 East 92nd Street (WCR, 675).
Marguerite Oswald: Robert joined the Marines in July of 1952… the main thing was to be where I had family. And I moved to New York for that reason.
John Pic: August 1952, my mother and Lee came to New York. We [Pic and LHO] met in the street and I was real glad to see him and he was real glad to see me ... I think a matter of a few days or so I took my leave. Lee and I visited some of the landmarks of New York, the Museum of Natural History, Polk's Hobby Shop on 5th Avenue. I took him on the Staten Island ferry, and several other excursions we made.
… it wasn't but a matter of days before I could sense they moved in to stay for good, and this not being my apartment, but my mother-in-law's apartment, my wife kind of frowned upon this a little bit. We didn't really mind as long as my mother-in-law wasn't there, but she was due back in a matter of a month or so … I remember one conversation in the car that she [Marguerite] reminded me that even though Margy was my wife, she wasn't quite as good as I was, and things like this. She didn't say too many good things about my wife. Well, naturally, I resented this, because I put my wife before my mother any day.
Things were pretty good during the time I was on leave. When I went back to work I would come home my wife would tell me about some little problem they would have. The first problem that I recollect was that there was no support for the grocery bill whatsoever. I don't think I was making more than $150 a month, and they were eating up quite a bit, and I just casually mentioned that and my mother got very much upset about it.
So every night I got home and especially the nights I was away and I would come home the next day my wife would have more to tell me about the little arguments. It seems it is my wife's impression that whenever there was an argument that my mother antagonized Lee towards hostility against my wife. My wife liked Lee. My wife and I had talked several times that it would be nice if Lee would stay with us alone, and we wouldn't mind having him but we never bothered mentioning this because we knew it was an impossibility. It got toward schooltime and they had their foothold in the house and he was going to enroll in the neighborhood school, and they planned to stay with us, and I didn't much like this. We couldn't afford to have them, and took him up to enroll in this school.
Monday, September 8, 1952: LHO enrolls at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran School on Watson Avenue in the Bronx.
1455 Sheridan Avenue, Apt. F, Bronx, New York
Friday, September 26, 1952: Marguerite withdraws LHO from Trinity which probably coincides with their move to an apartment at 1455 Sheridan Avenue in the Bronx. The impetus for the move is an incident that occurred a few days before in which LHO allegedly threated Margaret Pic with a knife (WCR, p. 676; WCT John Edward Pic, 11 H 38-39). Marguerite told a different version of the incident saying that Margaret Pic had struck LHO.
Critics point out that Margaret Pic never mentioned this incident during her Secret Service interview shortly after the assassination and John, while remembering reports of LHO’s bad behavior, couldn’t recall his using a knife in a threatening way during his own FBI interview. Additionally, the critics maintain that much of the information about the incident came from hearsay reports by members of Margaret’s family. For a summary of the arguments of the critics in this matter see Parker, Lee Harvey Oswald's Cold War Volume I, p. 98 (Kindle Version). Note that Doris Ebel, Margaret Pic’s sister, told the FBI that she had gone to visit her sister during the time in question and found her crying. Margaret then explained that LHO had threatened her with a knife. Ebel was impressed enough by the incident that she went to LHO and admonished him for his behavior. Additionally, while Marguerite disagreed with the details and implications of the incident, she never denied that an incident involving a knife took place.
John Pic: It seems that there was an argument about the TV set one day… between my wife and my mother. It seems that according to my wife's statement that my mother antagonized Lee, being very hostile toward my wife and he pulled out a pocketknife and said that if she made any attempt to do anything about it that he would use it on her, at the same time Lee struck his mother. This perturbed my wife to no end. So, I came home that night, and the facts were related to me. I asked her [Marguerite] about the incident and she attempted to brush it off as not being as serious as my wife put it. That Lee did not pull a pocketknife on her. That they just had a little argument about what TV channel they were going to watch. Being as prejudiced as I am I rather believed my wife rather than my mother.
Marguerite Oswald: ...it was not a kitchen knife it was a little pocket knife, a child's knife, that Lee had. So she hit Lee… Lee had the knife in his hand. He was whittling… when this incident occurred. And that is what it occurred about, because there was scraps of the wood on the floor. So when she attacked the child, he had the knife in hand. So she made the statement to my son that we had to leave, that Lee tried to use a knife on her… He did not use the knife… he had an opportunity to use the knife… So immediately then I started to look for a place.
The National Banker's Life Insurance Company of Texas lists Marguerite's address as 325 E. 92nd St., NY.
Tuesday, September 30, 1952: LHO enrolls at Public School 117 in the Bronx (WCT Marguerite Oswald, 1 H 227; CE 1384, 22 H 697).
Monday, October 13, 1952: Marguerite starts work at the Lerner Store on East 42nd Street.
Tuesday, October 28, 1952: The National Banker's Life Insurance Company of Texas lists Marguerite's address as 1455 Sheridan, Apt. #F, Bronx, NY.
825 East 179th Street, Apt. 3C, Bronx, New York
Tuesday, January 13, 1953: After LHO is absent from P.S. 117 47 out of 62 days (Bugliosi, 529), the Board of Education's Bureau of Attendance conducts a hearing on the matter, which is adjourned until the 20th. At about this time, Marguerite and LHO move to 825 East 179th Street in the Bronx (CE 2224, 25 H 125; CD 165, 14). According to a 2013 New York Times article ("Bronx Tale of a BB Gun and Infamy in the Making"), in 1984 Phillip Jacobs, who was the landlord at 825 East 179th Street in 1953, allegedly told his grandaughter during interviews conducted for a school project that LHO had shot a BB gun at the building "pinging the dark brick, piercing the windows, even targeting the elderly women." Such a story would seem to be a confirmation of LHO's violent tendencies. But Jacobs "declined to say much" when the New York Times interviewed him after the assassination. Similarly, even though Jacobs told his grandaughter that he confronted the Oswalds about the BB gun, he told the FBI in 1963 that he "could not personally recall Mrs. Oswald" and "had no contact with the tenants." Additionally, there is no evidence that LHO had access to or owned a BB gun.
Friday, January 16, 1953: Marguerite phones the Community Service Society to ask for help regarding LHO's truancy and an appointment is made for January 30th.
Tuesday, January 20, 1953: The Bureau of Attendance puts LHO on probation after he and Marguerite fail to show for the hearing.
Friday, January 23, 1953: A caseworker from the Community Service Society speaks to representatives of P.S. 117 and the Attendance Board about LHO's case.
Monday, January 26, 1953: Edwin A. Ekdahl dies.
Tuesday, January 27, 1953: The Bureau of Attendance holds another hearing for LHO and his probation is continued with prosecution on the next violation.
John Pic reenlists in the Coast Guard (Armstrong, 51).
Saturday, January 31, 1953: The Community Service Society closes the case on LHO after he and Marguerite fail to show for the previous day's scheduled appointment.
February, 1953: On a Sunday, John and Margaret visit Marguerite and LHO.
John Pic: As my wife and I walked in, Lee walked out and my mother informed us that he would probably go to the Bronx Zoo. We had Sunday dinner, and in the course of the conversation my mother informed me that Lee was having a truancy problem and that the school officials had suggested that he might need psychiatric aid to combat his truancy problem. She informed me that Lee said that he would not see a head shrinker or nut doctor, and she wanted any suggestions or opinions from me as to how to get him to see him, and I told her just take him down there. That is all I could suggest… Lee was still the boss. If he didn't want to go see the psychiatrist, he wasn't going.
Saturday, February 7, 1953: Marguerite leaves her job at the Lerner Store.
Monday, February 9, 1953: The National Banker's Life Insurance Company of Texas lists Marguerite's address as 825 East 179th Street, Apt. 3C, in the Bronx.
Tuesday, February 17, 1953: Marguerite begins work at Martin's Department Store in Brooklyn.
Thursday, March 12, 1953: A petition is filed in the Domestic Relations Court which states that LHO is ,"excessively absent" and "beyond the control of his mother" and a warrant is issued to be executed on March 19.
Monday, March 23, 1953: LHO registers at P.S. 44.
Thursday, April 16, 1953: After having been picked up pursuant to a warrant, LHO is remanded to Youth House for three weeks of psychiatric study.
Marguerite Oswald: They took Lee from me in the courtroom, two men, officers, presumably. Then I went into another office and here was Lee. Lee was wearing his brother's Marine ring, just an ornament ring. They gave me Lee's ring and the things he had in his pocket, and told me that Lee was going to be at this home [Youth House] … And gave me a slip of paper and told me when I could visit Lee. And that was all I knew at this particular time. The child was immediately taken, and I was told to visit the child… So I had to stand single file approximately a block and a half, sir, with Puerto Ricans and Negroes and everything, and people of my class, single file, until we got to the main part of this building, which had a wire, a very heavy wire, partition wire, a man sitting back of the desk, but a man in the front of the gate that let me in.
I had packages of gum and some candy for my son. And I sat down there. And the gum wrappers were taken off the gum, and the candy wrappers were taken off. And my pocketbook was emptied. Yes, sir, and I asked why. It was because the children in this home were such criminals, dope fiends, and had been in criminal offenses, that anybody entering this home had to be searched in case the parents were bringing cigarettes or narcotics or anything. So that is why I was searched. So I was escorted into a large room, where there were parents talking with their children. And Lee came out. He started to cry. He said, "Mother, I want to get out of here. There are children in here who have killed people, and smoke. I want to get out." So then I realized--I had not realized until I went there what kind of place we had my child in… And I hope someday to rectify this, because I think conditions of this kind in our United States of America are deplorable. And I want that to go down in the record.
Friday, April 17, 1953: LHO is examined by Dr. Irving Sokolow, a psychologist, and subjected to a battery of tests.
Report of Irving Sokolow: He achieved an I. Q of 118 on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children (abb.) indicating present intellectual functioning in the upper range of bright normal intelligence. All his scores were above the average for his age group, appreciably so in the verbalization of abstract concepts and in the assembly of commonly recognizable objects. His method of approach was generally an easy, facile and highly perceptive one. Although presumably disinterested in school subjects he operates on a much higher than average level.
The Human Figure Drawings are empty, poor characterizations of persons approximately the same age as the subject. They reflect a considerable amount of impoverishment in the social and emotional areas. He appears to be a somewhat insecure youngster exhibiting much inclination for warm and satisfying relationships to others. There is some indication that he may relate to men more easily than to women in view of the more mature conceptualization. He appears slightly withdrawn and in view of the lack of detail within the drawings this may assume a more significant characteristic. He exhibits some difficulty in relationship to the maternal figure suggesting more anxiety in this area than in any other.
Tuesday, April 21, 1953: LHO's Probation Officer, John Carro, interviews Marguerite.
Thursday, April 23, 1953: John Carro interviews LHO .
Monday, April 27, 1953: Marguerite sells the Birchman Street house in Fort Worth (Armstrong, 53).
Tuesday, April 28, 1953: A member of the Youth House staff recommends LHO see a caseworker because of his problem behavior.
Staff Report: Lee has constituted a problem here of late. He is a non-participant in any activity on the floor. He has made no attempts at developing a relationship with any member of the group and at the same time, not given anyone an opportunity to become acquainted with him. He appears content just to sit and read whatever is available. He has reacted favorably to supervision; does what is asked of him without comment. There appears to be nothing on the floor of interest to him. Each evening at 8:00 PM he asked to be allowed to go to bed. Members of the group appear to respect his seclusiveness. Perhaps this boy should have a talk with his Case Worker-perhaps he will become more communicative from this point.
Thursday, April 30, 1953: Evelyn Strickman, having been previously assigned as LHO's caseworker, interviews both LHO and Marguerite. Her remarkable report offers a detailed analysis of the psyche of both LHO and Marguerite.
Friday, May 1, 1953: Dr. Renatus Hartogs, a court appointed psychiatrist, examines LHO and prepares his report. Hartogs diagnosis was “personality pattern disturbance with schizoid features and passive aggressive tendencies.” Read the complete report HERE. During an FBI interview and his Warren Commission testimony, Hartogs overstated his findings suggesting his report stated that LHO was "potentially dangerous" and suffering from "incipient schizophrenia." Hartogs' remarks were made without the benefit of a review of the report he had filed ten years earlier. See Parker, Volume I, p. 126 (Kindle Edition) for a critical discussion of Hartogs.
Saturday, May 2, 1953: Marguerite ends her employment with Martin's Department Store.
Thursday, May 7, 1953: LHO is released from Youth House and appears before Justice McClancy, who warns him he will have to attend school. He starts school at P.S. 44 later in the day.
Sunday, May 10, 1953: A seminal event in the life of LHO takes place when he is handed a pamphlet about the pending executions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (Davison, 54-55; CE 1385, 22 H 703).
LHO: I’m a Marxist. I became interested about the age of fifteen. From an ideological viewpoint. An old lady handed me a pamphlet about saving the Rosenbergs. I looked at that paper and I still remember it for some reason, I don’t know why.
Saturday, May 9, 1953: Marguerite begins work for the Lady Orva Hosiery Co. During her employment, she would work at all three stores operated by the company.
July, 1953: Robert takes leave from the Marine Corps and visits Marguerite and LHO who would show him around the city (1 H 301-302, WCT Robert Edward Lee Oswald; Oswald with Land and Land, 61). Note that John Pic placed this leave much earlier than Robert, in late 1952 or early 1953.
Monday, September 14, 1953: LHO enters P.S. 44 for the Fall semester (WCR, 678).
Thursday, September 24, 1953: Marguerite phones John Carro to say that she would miss that day's court date. At the hearing, LHO's probation is extended.
Wednesday, October 21, 1953: Carro receives a progress report from P.S. 44 that indicates that although LHO's attendance has improved, his behavior is still unsatisfactory.
H. Rosen-Teacher: During the past 2 weeks practically every subject teacher has complained to me about the boy’s behavior. He had consistently refused to salute the flag during early morning exercises.… He spends most of his time sailing paper planes around the room. When we spoke to him about his behavior, his attitude was belligerent. [When] I offered to help him, he brushed out with, “I don’t need anybody’s help!”
Thursday, October 29, 1953: Marguerite phones Carro to say she would be unable to appear in court that day. At the hearing, LHO's probation was extended until November 19.
Thursday, November 19, 1953: Carro contacts Mr. Rosen of P.S. 44 who indicates that LHO's behavior has improved. At a hearing that day, the judge orders that probation be extended and that LHO be referred to the Court's Treatment Clinic and the Big Brothers Organization.
Tuesday, December 15, 1953: William E. Grote, a representative from Big Brothers, leaves a business card after finding no one home at the Oswald apartment.
Thursday, December 17, 1953: Marguerite calls Grote and expresses her displeasure with their offer to help LHO.
William Grote: She seemed quite disturbed saying something to the effect that how long was this thing going to last because since the boy had returned from Youth House, he had been attending school each day and from all accounts was doing well.
Wednesday, December 23, 1953: Grote again finds no one home at the Oswald apartment.
Saturday, December 26, 1953: Marguerite ends her employment with Lady Orva Hosiery.
Monday, January 4, 1954, 7:30 PM: Grote calls on Marguerite who relates to him her plan to move to New Orleans. Grote advises her to contact Carro before leaving the city.
Tuesday, January 5, 1954: Marguerite phones Carro's office and states that she intends to leave the city. That same day, Marguerite phones Grote at Big Brothers and advises that she plans to leave for New Orleans before the 15th of the month.
Wednesday, January 6, 1954: Grote calls on Marguerite and again explains that she must get permission from the court to leave the city, but she expresses her skepticism regarding a court appearance.
Sunday, January 10, 1954: Grote learns from Carro's office that Marguerite has apparently left the city .
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