My father's connection to November 22,1963

Bert Elmo Glover 1931-2003

Although my father grew tired of talking about it after many years of interviews by FBI agents I still find it interesting to know that he had cut Oswald's hair before that day in Dallas in '63. My father's barber chair sat in front of a sink and mirror just like many did. Above the mirror was a picture of the frigate he served on in the Navy during the Korean War. So my father knew something about serving our country.

He would tell us when we were young that he cut Oswald's hair and we didn't understand the meaning of it. I would see Frazier, the man that took Oswald to work that day, in his shop from time to time when I would be there sweeping the floor or the occasional shoe shine. He was a distant man who would not join in the conversation when there was others present but when he was alone with my father they would talk and laugh and enjoy each other's company. I think in some small way my father knew what time answering the same questions year after year had done to him.

When he talked about Oswald he said they would have lively conversations about politics and that once or twice they had to ask Oswald to leave. My father didn't take fools well. Though a Republican, at least I believe he was, he had respect for President Kennedy due to his service in the Navy during World War II and the other barbers did too and they didn't allow anyone to talk down about him or America too often.

Oswald's wife was staying in a house around the corner from the barber shop with Miss Ruth Payne. I met Miss Payne a couple of times too at football games or at diners where we would go eat for lunch. She was a nice woman too.

Back to the FBI interviews now, when I first started searching for our family tree I found an odd link that said Warren Commission on it. I didn't pay it any attention at first then I opened it and couldn't believe what I saw. It was my dad's, Buddy Law's and Cliff Shasteen's interview reports.(report is linked here) I  read it and printed it out and took it to work to show my co workers and when I was off that night I took it to my parent's home to show them. He wasn't interested at all in it but my mom did read it that night.

My father was a barber in Irving,Texas for over 40 years and many times had cut hair of 3 generations of the same family. They all called him Bert and he knew each of them by their names too. He would talk about high school football, fishing in the gravel pits or local politics since his boss was a city councilman in the city.

When he retired my brother brought his son to see him for one last haircut and I was there for a burr for old times sake. I haven't grown my hair back since and now I'm not sure it can grow long enough to not be called a burr.

The day after he retired he went to the doctor and they told him he had cancer. He had the surgery to remove half of his lung on the day the plane crashed on Long Island in New York. We watched the news while he was in surgery. He would go on doing his chemotherapy treatments for about 18 more months. My parents even moved back to his hometown for retirement and drove the 250 miles round trip to get his treatments for a while.

He knew they weren't working and decided one day that he had had enough of them and that drive. He met it on his own terms and was ready for whatever would come his way. The weekend before he passed we sat at the dining room table and I told him I was sorry for disappointing him when I had and I also told him he could quit fighting it whenever he was ready. Leaving them after our visit that weekend was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

Anyway, that next week on Tuesday my brother called and told me he was gone. The next night while we were at the viewing the Iraq war started. My brother in law Rick was in the Marines and stationed at the Pentagon working for intelligence at the time and told us that he could tell us now that it was started. We sat up late into the night talking about my day and watching the news show us what was happening in Baghdad.

I know I have rambled but I thought I would talk about the man my father was for a bit after telling you about the biggest bit of history of his life. My father never knew the things that I found out later about our family tree which include an interpreter for Ben Franklin, Revolutionary War Colonel in the militia, Civil War Colonel and even a martyr in England for religious reasons by Bloody Mary. Somehow he lived his life like the people I have learned about since his passing by serving this great country and teaching Sunday School for a time. He was always happy and would talk to a tree if it said hi to him. I live each day trying to be like him but I will always fall short of that goal. I love him more and more each day and talk about him more each day too. For me it doesn't get easier to live without him. Every time there is a John Wayne movie on or I hear a Hank Williams Sr. I think about the times we had just talking and watching a movie or sitting and listening to the Grand Ole Opry and he is with me.