Mrs. JOHNSON. About 21 years.
Mr. BALL. North Beckley?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir.
Mrs. BALL. You and your husband own that property?
Mrs. JOHNSON. I do; I owned it before I married. I don't own it. I am
paying for it but I had bought the property before I married Johnson.
Mr. BALL. What size house is that, how many rooms?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Well, it has about 20-odd--22 rooms.
Mr. BALL. 22 rooms?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. In October, last October, November, 1963, who lived there?
Mrs. JOHNSON. October?
Mr. BALL. Yes, October and November last year; you and your husband
lived there?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes; my husband and I; that's our home.
Mr. BALL. Anyone else live there with you?
Mrs. JOHNSON. I had a housekeeper.
Mr. BALL. What is her name?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Earlene Roberts.
Mr. BALL. Anyone else live there?
Mrs. JOHNSON. That's all except tenants.
Mr. BALL. Then you rented out rooms?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes; I rent out bedrooms, don't give board, just bedroom
and living room privileges.
Mr. BALL. How many tenants did you have in October last year?
Mrs. JOHNSON. You know, I'm sorry I didn't bring my register. I
couldn't tell you exactly; I imagine I had about 10 or 12.
Mr. BALL. Was it full?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No; I don't--I most always have vacancies.
Mr. BALL. You do?
Mrs. JOHNSON. I have had more even since this happened.
Mr. BALL. Oh, you have?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes; I have; people are funny about things like that, you
know.
Mr. BALL. Well, now, you knew Lee Oswald, didn't you?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Well, I just knew him when I seen him. I knew him as a
renter, that's all.
Mr. BALL. Where was he when you first met him, at what place?
Mrs. JOHNSON. At my home--I was between serving hours and I come home
for relaxation and to kind of help out. I cooperate in keeping the
house and seeing after it, too, and I had returned home that afternoon
and he seen the room for rent sign--the first time that he came by, I
happened to have just rented the last room that one time. Occasionally,
I will have them full and then they just go vacant; people just come in
and out, stay a week and then are gone, anyway, at that time, I didn't
have a room.
Mr. BALL. The first time he came to see you?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes: that's something about 3 weeks before he came back.
Mr. BALL. This was 1026 North Beckley?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. He talked to you?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes; the first time and the last time; the first time, he
told me he wanted a room and I told him I was very sorry, I just rented
the last room and he said he was very sorry, he wanted to get near his
work and he didn't have a car and it being on the bus line, he was
sorry he missed it. I said, "You noticed the sign." I hadn't had time
to take the sign up and I told him, "I will take the sign up and if you
notice the sign up again, you might stop by and I will have a room"
and sure enough, he came by this second time and so this tiny, little
room--it was at one time my library; that's what it was built for,
and he came by and I said I only have this small room at the present
time. I run an ad, it seems like, at that time, and I said I only have
the small room and he looked at it and said, "I will take this room
with the understanding I can have a larger room at the time you have
one go vacant" and I said to him that's agreeable, so, at the time, I
had other vacancies which in just 2 or 3 days I had two or three more
accommodations go vacant, so I told him I had other accommodations that
are larger and he said, "I find this room to be light and comfortable."
It was four windows on the outside wall; it was all light. He said, "I
find it to be light and comfortable and worth the money, if you don't
mind, I will remain in this room," so he didn't even look at the other
rooms. He just remained in that room, what I call my library. When I
utilized it into a bedroom, my father-in-law lived with a family of
people on a farm and they went to Arkansas to live and he was getting
old and he didn't want to be that far away from his son, so he wanted
to come and make his home with us and I fixed this little library
room--it was off and private from the other roomers--for "Pappy" to
sleep in and the living room for him to sit in and he was--that's about
9 years before he was deceased.
Mr. BALL. Do you remember the date Oswald rented the room?
Mrs. JOHNSON. October 14.
Mr. BALL. What time of day did he come by?
Mrs. JOHNSON. It was between 4 and 5 o'clock, I do know that because I
was home that day when he came back by and I said, when he came by, I
said, "You did come back by."
Mr. BALL. Was your sign out at that time?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes; it was; he seen the sign.
Mr. BALL. How much did you charge him?
Mrs. JOHNSON. $8 a week, refrigerator and living room privileges.
Mr. BALL. The refrigerator was located where?
Mrs. JOHNSON. In my kitchen--he wanted to know if he could put milk and
lunch meat in my refrigerator and I told him he could.
Mr. BALL. Did he tell you what his name was?
Mrs. JOHNSON. O. H. L-e-e [spelling].
Mr. BALL. Did he sign anything with that name?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir; I have it in my purse.
Mr. BALL. May I see it?
Mrs. JOHNSON. I will be glad to--I don't want you to keep it. I want
you to--I brought it for your information. I knew you was going to ask
that.
Mr. BALL. Now, is this in his handwriting?
Mrs. JOHNSON. This "O. H. Lee" is in his handwriting and this other is
in the housekeeper's handwriting--Mrs. Roberts.
Mr. BALL. And these are the rates you gave him?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. I would like this marked as an exhibit to this deposition.
Mark this Exhibit A.
[Exhibit so marked.]
Mr. BALL. Could we make a copy of this and return this to you, Mrs.
Johnson?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes; I have been told that I could sell this and I
haven't gotten any money. I think about $30 is what I have received,
all the trouble and all I've had and I've had to take the rugs up once
or twice. People like to have driven us crazy before we asked for any
information what to do. I hated to be rude to people. I didn't know
what to do but they got so----
Mr. BALL. We will make a picture of this and give it back to you.
Mrs. JOHNSON. May I have something to erase this November 13, 15--I
got that wrong, anyway. I was looking at the calendar and this, I
was thinking it was November 13 that he left--he left my place on a
Wednesday before this assassination on Friday.
Mr. BALL. That was the last time you saw him?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yeah; the last time I saw him was on a Wednesday
but my housekeeper seen him on a Friday morning right after this
assassination, he came by the house hurriedly.
Mr. BALL. Were you at home at the time?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No; I wasn't. I was at my restaurant, so I got this
copied wrong. It was November 20; the assassination was on the 22d and
he left my house on the 20th and then didn't return until right after
this assassination.
Mr. BALL. By this, you mean the last time you saw him was Wednesday,
the 20th?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. He did not come home on Thursday night?
Mrs. JOHNSON. He did not; no, sir.
Mr. BALL. The 21st?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Friday, the 22d, you did not see him, either?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No; I didn't. The housekeeper did.
Mr. BALL. We will make a copy of this and give the original back to
you and we will mark this "A." Did he sign that "O. H. Lee" in your
presence?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. On that day?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir; the day he rented the room, they sign the
register--they sign the register before I accept any money.
Mr. BALL. I'm talking about this "O. H. Lee" signature on this
document; he signed that on that date?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did he give you the money?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. $8?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever know his true name was Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No; not until we saw his picture flash on the television
as the officers were out. Those particulars was found in his pocket
after he killed Tippit, after his arrest. So I came from the
restaurant, I guess 1 or 1:30, and these officers were there 1:30 or 2,
something like that, anyway, it was after this assassination, and as I
drove in, well, the officers were there and they told me that they was
looking for this character and I told them I didn't think I had anyone
by that name there but we went through the register carefully two or
three times and there was no Oswald there and I had two new tenants,
rather new tenants, so we had carried them around the house to show
them and we was going to start in the new tenants' rooms and my husband
was sitting in the living room and seen this picture flash on the
television and he said, "Please go around that house and tell him it
was this guy that lived in this room here"; and it was O. H. Lee.
Mr. BALL. That is the first time you learned his name was Oswald?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. You knew him as O. H. Lee?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes; I knew him as O. H. Lee.
Mr. BALL. The first time you knew the man to be Lee Harvey Oswald that
you had known as O. H. Lee?
Mrs. JOHNSON. That's right.
Mr. BALL. Were you there when Oswald brought his clothes into the room?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No; what do you mean?
Mr. BALL. Now, you rented the room to him on the 14th?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Did he move in on that same day?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir; and he had his clothes with him.
Mr. BALL. He had his clothes with him?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir; he just had a little old bag of clothes, these
little bags you get when you are in the service.
Mr. BALL. A duffelbag?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. That's all he had?
Mrs. JOHNSON. That's all he had.
Mr. BALL. He was there only--you say he rented it on the 14th of
October?
Mrs. JOHNSON. He rented the 14th of October.
Mr. BALL. Then he paid his rent every week until when?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Every week, every week, I tell you, when he rented the
room, he told me that he was--I told him the rules of the house before
I accepted any renter I rent to, I tell them the rules of the house.
Mr. BALL. What did you tell him?
Mrs. JOHNSON. That we definitely do not entertain in bedrooms, strictly
the living room, and, too, they cannot come in intoxicated. If they
drink, they must sober before they come in and I do not allow drinking
at the home. That's the rules of the house and he accepted it.
Mr. BALL. He was there a little better than a month?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Five or six weeks?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes; he was.
Mr. BALL. Did he eat any of his meals there at the home?
Mrs. JOHNSON. He had sandwiches and had milk. He drank about a half
gallon of sweet milk a day. He kept a half gallon of sweet milk in my
refrigerator a day and he kept lunch meat.
Mr. BALL. Anything else?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Jelly and preserves, something like that.
Mr. BALL. Did he eat in the evening after work?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes; he did, most every afternoon.
Mr. BALL. He ate where, in his room?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Sometimes take it in his room, but he was just spotless
with it.
Mr. BALL. Did he eat in the kitchen with it sometimes?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Occasionally, if there was no one in the kitchen, he
would sit in the kitchen, but if there was anyone in there, he would
take it in his room and every bit of that was put in the trash can. He
never kept anything cluttered, never kept anything outside, no papers,
books, or nothing.
Mr. BALL. Did you see him eat anything but lunch meat?
Mrs. JOHNSON. I never did, just lunch meat, all he ever put in there
and preserves, I think he had some preserves and milk; but he put about
a half gallon of sweet milk in that box each day.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever see him eating his evening meal?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Well, I don't think I had seen him but I have seen him
come in and get the lunch meat and carry it into his room.
Mr. BALL. Did he go out nights, any?
Mrs. JOHNSON. I just really never did see that man leave that room.
Mr. BALL. After he came back from work?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes; he stayed very closely but he did tell me he would
be leaving to go home over weekends--no; he didn't say "home," he said,
"I will leave to go to Irving over weekends and won't return until
Monday."
Mr. BALL. Was he gone almost every weekend?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Every weekend but one and that was the weekend previous
to the assassination.
Mr. BALL. What did he do that weekend?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Well, I actually didn't see him leave the house but I
know he did because I heard some of the renters say they seen him leave
and I also heard--remember something that he went to the rifle range--I
read he was at the rifle range.
Mr. BALL. You say you did not see him leave. Were you there over the
weekend?
Mrs. JOHNSON. I surely was.
Mr. BALL. But you did not see him leave?
Mrs. JOHNSON. That's right.
Mr. BALL. You say you heard some people say that; who said that?
Mrs. JOHNSON. I have read.
Mr. BALL. Don't tell me what you read.
Mrs. JOHNSON. I actually read it in the newspaper; I just don't
remember.
Mr. BALL. Is there anybody that you know of at your house that you say
saw Oswald leave the house the weekend before the assassination?
Mrs. JOHNSON. I'm trying to think. I just don't believe that I remember
anyone who said definitely that they seen him leave.
Mr. BALL. Did anybody tell you that lived in your house there?
Mrs. JOHNSON. They could come in and out that door and we never would
notice it because the house is large and we stayed a lot in the back of
the house.
Mr. BALL. You mentioned rifle range. Where did you get information that
Oswald went to a rifle range?
Mrs. JOHNSON. I read it in the paper.
Mr. BALL. Did anybody in your house tell you he went to a rifle range?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever see him go to a rifle range?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did he ever tell you he went to a rifle range?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No, sir; that man never talked; that was the only
peculiarity about him. He would never speak. If we would speak to him
and some of the men renters he would speak to the housekeeper and I
everytime we would speak and we would speak to him just most every time
we would meet him and, of course, he would speak after we would speak,
but he would come in and watch television maybe 30, 40 minutes at a
time and never speak to a man.
Mr. BALL. He would watch television sometimes?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir; watch television with the other men renters
and he wouldn't speak to them. Maybe they would speak to him but he
wouldn't speak.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever see him with a rifle?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Never did; and he never brought that rifle in my house;
I just know he never had that rifle in there. He could have had this
pistol, I don't know, because they found the scabbard.
Mr. BALL. The pistol holster is what they found?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Pistol holster is what I'm trying to say.
Mr. BALL. They found that after the assassination?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes sir; I seen the holster.
Mr. BALL. Had you ever seen it before?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No, sir; he kept that packed away. We never go through
people's personal things. I instruct my housekeeper never go through
people's personal things. We are not in a position to do that and it's
rude and we do not.
Mr. BALL. How is this room furnished that Oswald rented?
Mrs. JOHNSON. A very small room; it had an old fashioned clothes
closet that had a place to hang your clothes and drawer space for your
underwear, your socks and everything, and then it also had a cabinet
space anyone could have stored food or, well I mean bundles of things,
you know, and then I had a dresser and a bed and a heater and a little
refrigerated unit.
Mr. BALL. A refrigerating unit?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir; a window unit.
Mr. BALL. You mean it cooled the room?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir; and it had curtains and venetian blinds.
Mr. BALL. What kind of curtains did it have?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Well, it just had side drapes and panels.
Mr. BALL. Were the curtains on curtain rods?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. They were in the room when he rented it?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did Oswald ever talk to you about redecorating his room?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No, sir; never mentioned it.
Mr. BALL. Did he ever talk to you about putting up new curtains in his
room?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did he ever tell you he was going to get some curtain rods?
Mrs. JOHNSON. No; he didn't.
Mr. BALL. The room had curtain rods on the window when he came in there?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir; sure did.
Mr. BALL. Also curtains?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Was there one weekend when he was gone in which he didn't
return on Monday but he came back the next day, on Tuesday?
Mrs. JOHNSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Was there?