Leonard Hutchison, the Irving grocer
The Irving grocer, Leonard Hutchison, remembered refusing "Harvey Oswald's" request trying to cash a $189 two-party check. It was not a payroll check. Oswald got paid $1.25 an hour at the book depository. That kind of money was beyond his means.
Hutchison also said that Oswald always bought a gallon of milk and cinnamon rolls, and only on weekdays in the early morning. Not only did no one remember seeing Oswald bring home those items, but Oswald was only in Irving on the weekends.
Hutchison identified Oswald as weighing 155-160 pounds, and indicated that he had plenty of hair. He was intrigued by how Oswald never said a word to him -- not even hello or goodbye - except for the time he tried to cash that big check.
Given all the anomalies, including those that don't match Oswald's appearance as a 130-pound balding man, one has to wonder just who Hutchison saw. No matter who it was, "Harvey Oswald" wanted to be a memorable figure in Hutchison's eyes. Whether or not it was an impersonation, it was clearly a provocation.
Cliff Shasteen, the Irving barber
The barber Cliff Shasteen was also an important witness. Like many barbers, he knew many of the people in the neighborhood and was a good observer. Shasteen went on to be a member of the Irving city council. Both Bob Odum and Oswald got haircuts from Shasteen, although there's no proof they ever crossed paths.
Shasteen reported that Oswald drove Ruth Paine's car to the barber shop. He correctly identified Ruth Paine's car to the Warren Commission. "I'm sure it's a 1955 Chevrolet station wagon"either blue and white or green and white."
At first, I thought it was impossible that Shasteen had seen an Oswald impersonator. After all, Shasteen had seen Oswald close up. Shasteen said his brother-in-law lived right across the street from Ruth Paine.
But problems quickly pop up. Ruth Paine knew nothing about Oswald getting any haircuts, and denied ever lending Oswald her car. Whether or not Oswald had obtained a driver's license --and there is dispute on that subject -- it was not a good idea for Ruth to her car to a rookie driver.
One time, Oswald showed up for a haircut wearing distinctive yellow shoes. He also regularly showed up at the barbershop wearing khaki-colored coveralls. To my knowledge, no one else ever reported Oswald wearing or owning these clothes.
Shasteen was very certain that he and his fellow barbers saw Oswald for at least five haircuts, every two weeks, and thought that the visits might go back into the summer. That would be an impossible fit, given the undisputed facts. Oswald had been in New Orleans all summer, didn't return to New Orleans until the first week of October, and his last supposed haircut was on about November 8.
The barbers' memories did not corroborate Shasteen very well. Barber Bert Glover described Oswald as "ruddy", about 35 years old, and that he had seen him three times. You have to wonder whether Glover had seen the real Oswald. Another barber, Buddy Law, didn't remember Oswald at all.
Shasteen also said when he slipped out the night of November 8 to go to a football game, "Oswald really was inquisitive as to where I went. He wanted to know where I was going and what I was going to do"he asked this guy cutting his hair." Not only is this uncharacteristic of Oswald, but it was the polar opposite of the silent Oswald encountered by Hutchison. Again, it looks like an impersonation -- if it was merely a provocation, Oswald may have upped the ante by stealing Ruth's car! More shady activity going on during the weekend of November 8.Albert Bogard at the auto dealership
The next striking event, on November 9, brings to mind Ruth Paine's driving lessons with Lee.
Albert Bogard, an auto salesman at a Lincoln-Mercury dealership two blocks from the Texas Book Depository Building, reported that a man named "Lee Oswald" took a wild test drive of a new Lincoln Continental for thir teen miles, going between 60-85 mph. Oswald told Bogard that he was about to come into some big money.
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