Mr. PIC. Well, we were from the time of his death, placed in two
boarding schools prior to Bethlehem, this Infant Jesus, and the other
one I don't recall the name of, the other one being a day school.
Mr. JENNER. Sort of a day school, your mother took you in the morning
and brought you back. That is two of the boys, not Lee?
Mr. PIC. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. He was almost a suckling child?
Mr. PIC. I don't remember. I don't see how he could have been there.
Now this day school was prior to Infant Jesus, it had to be. We went
to Infant Jesus and out of there back home for a year or so where we
attended Washington and then into Bethlehem.
Like I said before, we were constantly reminded we were orphans and had
financial difficulty.
Mr. JENNER. Excuse me, sir; when you just talked about Washington and
Bethlehem you put Washington before Bethlehem, and this morning you put
Washington into Bethlehem.
Mr. PIC. No, sir; we went to Washington before Bethlehem.
Mr. JENNER. I think you will find that the record of this morning, I am
pretty sure, will show a different sequence. That is your impression,
that you went into Bethlehem a few months after your stepfather died?
Mr. PIC. No, sir; Infant Jesus.
Mr. JENNER. Infant Jesus. I see. Go ahead. You are right.
Mr. PIC. We were constantly reminded we were orphans and there were
financial difficulties, and I was rather young, I don't remember
too much about this, but it was always something to do about money
problems. We kind of liked Infant Jesus, it wasn't bad at all. We had a
pretty good childhood while we lived on Bartholomew Street, there were
no major problems there. And even at Bethlehem we both, Robert and I
enjoyed Bethlehem. I mean we were all there with the kids with the same
problems, same age groups, and everything. Things for myself became
worse when Lee came there, that is why I know he wasn't there too long.
Mr. JENNER. Tell us about it?
Mr. PIC. At Bethlehem they had a ruling that if you had a younger
brother or sister there they had bowel movements in their pants the
older brothers would clean them up, and they would yank me out of
classes in school to go do this and, of course, this peeved me very
much, and I wasn't but 10 or 9 or 11.
Mr. JENNER. He was only 3 years old?
Mr. PIC. Yes; but I was 10. And they did quite a few things like this.
If there was an older brother or sister there they had to take care of
the younger child. The people there didn't all the time.
Mr. JENNER. Was this 7-year spread as the years went on between you and
Lee, did that affect your relationship with him as distinguished from
your relationship with your brother Robert who was only 2 years younger?
Mr. PIC. Well, anything I was involved in Robert always was. Lee was
left out because of the age difference. Robert and I went to all these
homes together and all the schools together. Lee didn't, of course.
Mr. JENNER. During the course of the years your companions and friends,
I assume were different, that is you and Robert on the one hand?
Mr. PIC. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. And Lee on the other?
Mr. PIC. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. His life differed a little from yours too, didn't it, that
is at the outset of this early period your mother, except for this
period at Bethlehem, when he was there, except for his being withdrawn
for a few weeks at a time, he was largely with her?
Mr. PIC. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Living with her?
Mr. PIC. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. And did she express problems on her part with him?
Mr. PIC. Well, she referred how would she work and take care of a child
and things like this, both. It would seem that the problem with Robert
and I was easier to solve than the problem with Lee.
Mr. JENNER. I interrupted you. Go ahead with your account.
Mr. PIC. Well, up until we left Bethlehem, I can only recall three
places of employment for Mrs. Oswald, one being Oswald's notion store
which was 1941-42, thereabouts.
Mr. JENNER. While you had the Bethlehem house?
Mr. PIC. No; that was before Bethlehem.
Mr. JENNER. I don't mean Bethlehem, Bartholomew Street?
Mr. PIC. Yes; after we were placed in Bethlehem she was a manager of
Princess Hosiery on Canal Street and Pittsburgh Plate and Glass Co., I
don't remember which one came first.
Mr. JENNER. Myrtle Evans referred to Pittsburgh Plate and Lillian
Murret referred to Pittsburgh Plate. You do recall that?
Mr. PIC. Yes, sir; in fact, I think at the time she worked at
Pittsburgh Plate she was going with Mr. Ekdahl. In fact, I think I
remember him driving us over there or something once.
Mr. JENNER. When you were at Bethlehem, did your Aunt Lillian ever have
occasion to visit?
Mr. PIC. She never visited us that I recall. We visited her many times.
Mr. JENNER. While you were at Bethlehem?
Mr. PIC. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Do you recall Myrtle Evans visiting on any occasion?
Mr. PIC. I don't remember. Wait a minute. Myrtle Evans, is she kind of
heavy?
Mr. JENNER. She is now.
Mr. PIC. She was then too, that is the same one.
Mr. JENNER. Energetic?
Mr. PIC. Yes; I remember a Myrtle.