Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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'Umbrelli By Margaret Gentry Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON ? By his own description, Louie Steven Witt is an exceedingly private person. But once, just once in his 53 years, he slipped out of the mold to stage a modest political protest. For that, his name will be forever recorded in the annals of the investigation of President John F. Kennedy's murder. This mildmannered fellow has turned out to be the "sinister umbrella man," but he seems not to have a sinister bone in his body. THE "UMBRELLA MAN" theory lay in ruins after Witt's testimony Monday before the House Assassinations Committee. Today the committee was to examine other conspiracy theories which have arisen despite the Warren Commission's conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, killed Kennedy. The "Umbrella Man" theory was the oddest of all. But the committee, realizing that many apparently wild spy tales have turned out to be true, decided it could not be dismissed out of hand. The theory was based on photographs showing a man raising and twirling an umbrella ( near Kennedy's limousine at the time he was shot to death in Dallas on Nov. 22,1963. It wasn't raining, so conspiracy theorists argued that '35S5 casing lOO styles of Tee-shirts He<x< rolling paper unisex jewelry black lights \ IP% off on a GET TOTA AUTHORIZED SERVICE i man' theo the man had to be either firing a poison dart through his umbrella or signaling someone else to fire a rifle. THE "UMBRELLA MAN" remained anonymous until the committee distributed the pictures and issued a public appeal for information about him this past July. Witt, a Dallas warehouse manager, saw the pictures and news stories and realized to his chagrin that he was the "umbrella man." Having no particular interest in the assassination case, "I drifted along all of these years without coming across any of these theories. Had you never found me, I would have been far happier than I am at this moment," he lamented. Well, what exactly was he doing !1L 1L I. 11? n wiuj uie umureua anyway: I was carrying that stupid umbrella intent upon heckling the president with it/' he explained. WITT HAD heard that umbrellas "were a sore spot with the Kennedys" dating from the years family patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy was the U.S. ambassador to England and had supported British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policies toward Adolf Hitler. Joseph Kennedy suffered from the criticism when Cham oeriain s policies were later jaild U19molnSt. - Jr!'_ ^quarters for Parap imported bamboo curtc . ( (ypant&r (fiyb-cr a./.v/ a II merchandise with L SYSTEM El With l AT \ 911 "WE LIS > ry invalid i castigated as appeasement. Because Chamberlain often carried an umbrella, his critics made the umbrella the symbol of the policies they hated. Someone had told Witt the Kennedys had been irked by a previous umbrella-brandishing demonstration. And if he could only remember who it was, he said, "I'm sure I would have ti&en the umbrella and clouted him over the head with it in the past two weeks." When he went out to see the Kennedy motorcade on his usual noontime walk, Witt planned to stage an umbrella protest himself. "Being a conservative, I sort of placed Kennedy in the liberal "J was carrying that stupid umbrella intent upon heckling the 1 . i . cc president with, it. ?Louie Witt category and I personally never thought too much of liberal politics in general." IT WAS an impulsive act, he said, the first, last and only one of his life. "I am not a person who wants to bring himself into notice." And it may have been the most Personalized To Your Specification henaiia Jns -A- fish nets posters incense Student LP. FFICIENCY technics by Panasonic w/ewi 2714DevineSt. 771-7340 23 YEARS SAME LOCATION FEN WE SERVICE" MnMMMaMHOHMaNnHnMMMHn In JFK assa private protest demonstration of the whole turbulent 60s. Witt said he deliberately chose an un crowded spot along Dealey Plaza so his "big, clumsy umbrella" would attract as little attention as possible. When Kennedy came into sight, Witt was struggling to raise the umbrella, heard what sounded like firecrackers, realized from all the commotion that "something terrible had happened," and sat down on the curb in stunned silence for a few moments. He said he felt his own protest was "a bad joke gone sour." WITH WITTS explanation on the record, there remained only the matter of the umbrella and whether there was a weapon inside. Witt had brought it along. It was an ordinary black umbrella, decrenit from 15 vears' use. and now labeled with a committee exhibit sticker. No, he said, he really didn't want to demonstrate how he had raised it in his protest because "that would just be more fodder for an over-eager press back in Dallas to continue to embarrass me and my family." STRUGGLING TO contain his amusement, the chairman, Hep. Louis Stokes, D-Ohio, called on a staff member to open the umbrella II ZIP-KLEENl DftY CLEANING I 1 hour cleaning I 4 hour loundry I 6 days a week I M-F fy SAT. p.m. I'm J Saluda at Gree I I 256-i l Phone ahead ffc I Bring this c I FREE ICE | CO, I with any sand 1 i CUP THIS ssination "because if we don't, someone will say we didn't open it because there was a gun in it." Then, as committee aide Cynthia Cooper tussled with a sticky release button, Stokes noticed the umprella was pointing directly at him. "Maybe you ought to turn the other way with it," he told her, though bursting into guffaws as he said it. As she shifted the line of fire, the contraption suddenly sprang open, then flipped inside out, baring nothing more sinister than its bent and tarnished ribs. The room rocked with laughter. Witt wasn't laughing. "WELL," STOKES Chuckled, "I guess there's no gun in it." As the hearing ended, Stodes thanked Witt for clearing up the mystery and asked if he had anything to add. Only this, Witt replied, "If the 'Guinness Book of World Records had a category for people doing the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong place, I would be No. 1 in that position with not even a close runner-up." jGrfiPSSS 1 I U Gr*?n at SolCdo^ ' ?| " \\K7. Pftintt ' ! >?*/ i wn iis? m Columbia. S.C g mon.-Sat.\ / Sun. P I 12:00-9:30 2:00-6:00 1 3 T-SHIRTS ONLY I J .$1.50 with ad. 1 ??i pjjn B n * Five Points J I S681 | L A H >i jusier service j id and get a I : CREAM j ME I | I I wich purchase J coupon... .....j