JFK Secret Service Agent & Author Paul Landis
WEDNESDAY, JUly 24 ON THE THURBER HOUSE LAWN
6:00 pm Picnic Social (Optional) | 6:30 pm Main Event
You will have the opportunity to ask the speaker questions after the event, purchase books, and get your books signed. Please bring a lawn chair or blanket with you.
NEW this year:
Kids’ Club: Parents/guardians: drop off your child/teen at Thurber Center (next door to Thurber House) to participate in fun activities while you enjoy the event! For more details, visit the “Kids’ Club” tab below.
New caterers: We’re mixing it up! This year, enjoy boxed meal options from old favorites Freedom a la Cart and Milo’s Catering, as well as new boxed meals from Apple Spice and City Barbeque. The Graeter’s Ice Cream truck will also make an appearance at our July 10 event with Connie Schultz.
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THE FINAL WITNESS
Dallas, Texas. November 22, 1963. Shots ring out at Dealey Plaza. President John F. Kennedy is struck in the head by a rifle bullet. Confusion reigns.
Special Agent Paul Landis is in the follow-up car directly behind JFK’s and is at the president’s limo as soon as it stops at Parkland Memorial Hospital. He is inside Trauma Room #1, where the president is pronounced dead. He is on Air Force One with the president’s casket on the flight back to Washington, DC; an eyewitness to Lyndon Johnson taking the oath of office.
What Agent Paul Landis saw is indelibly imprinted upon his psyche. He writes and files his report. And yet … Agent Landis is never called to testify to the Warren Commission. The one person who could have supplied key answers is never asked questions.
By mid-1964, the nightmares from Dallas remain, and Landis resigns from the Secret Service. It isn’t until the fiftieth anniversary that he begins to talk about it, and he reads his first books on the assassination. Landis learns about the raging conspiracy theories—and realizes where they all go wrong.
PAUL LANDIS
Paul Landis was a twenty-eight-year-old Secret Service agent in President John F. Kennedy’s Dallas motorcade on November 22, 1963. Landis is only one of two Secret Service agents still alive who accompanied Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, on that fateful day. Though Landis was a witness to the events that day, he was never interviewed by the Warren Commission, and has kept his recollections private until now, including details surrounding a key piece of evidence. Born in Toledo and raised in the Columbus suburb of Worthington, Paul Landis collected a degree in geology from Ohio Wesleyan in 1957. He now resides near Cleveland.
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‣ Picnic Social | 6:00-6:30 pm (Optional)
Enjoy a picnic dinner (ours or yours) and hang out on the lawn during this time frame (optional). Free tours of Thurber House will be available.
‣ Main Program | 6:30-7:30 pm
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the program! You will have the opportunity to ask the author questions after the event.
‣ Book Signing | 7:30 pm
Purchase books and get them signed by the author.
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‣ Full Summer Subscription for 2 (Event Only) | $210
($200 subscription, $10 Columbus ticket fee)
Perfect for couples and friends, this series subscription admits up to two (2) attendees to each of the six (6) Summer Literary Picnics (a $252 value!). *Does not include dinner, but you can add à la carte dinners using the “Dinner Upgrade” option.*
‣ Adult Admission (Event + Dinner) | $41
($20 ticket, $1 Columbus ticket fee, $20 dinner)
This ticket includes individual admission to the event, plus a catered boxed dinner with an entree, sides, and a drink. Regular, vegetarian, and vegan options are available; for menus, visit the “Dinner Menus” tab below.
‣ Adult Admission (Event Only) | $21
($20 ticket, $1 Columbus ticket fee)
This ticket includes individual admission to the event.
‣ 18 and Under Admission (Event Only) | $5.25
($5 ticket, $0.25 Columbus ticket fee)
This ticket includes individual admission to the event for attendees 18 and under. Note: this is a ticket to attend the event; Kids’ Club is a separate activity and is “pay what you can” (see below).
‣ Dinner Upgrade | $20
Add a boxed dinner to any 18 and Under ticket (or an Event Only ticket, if you change your mind later) for $20 per meal. You do not need to add a Dinner Upgrade if your ticket already comes with a dinner.
This upgrade includes one catered boxed dinner with an entree, sides, and a drink. Regular, vegetarian, and vegan options are available; for menus, visit the “Dinner Menus” tab below.
‣ NEW: Kids’ Club | Pay What You Can
Parents/guardians: drop off your child/teen at Thurber Center (next door to Thurber House) to participate in fun activities while you enjoy the event!
Activities are open to kindergartners and up and the cost is “pay what you can.” Drop off time is between 6:00-6:20 pm at Thurber Center (91 Jefferson Ave.). Once the main event concludes, your child(ren) will be escorted over to meet you.
Please note:
This program is only for children of those who have Thurber House event tickets.
A parent/guardian must be on site at the event at all times.
For allergy reasons, no food is permitted at Kids’ Club. Your child(ren) is/are welcome to eat dinner on the Thurber House lawn with you during the picnic social (6:00-6:20 pm).
Note: Some walk-in Event Only tickets will be available at the event (space permitting). However, we strongly encourage you to register in advance. All Event + Dinner tickets and Dinner Upgrades must be purchased at least several business days in advance.
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The caterer for this picnic is… Apple Spice!
If you’d like a boxed dinner for this event, make sure to select an Event + Dinner ticket when you order. Dinners must be purchased by 10 am on July 22 for this event.
‣ Regular menu:
Café club sandwich on honey wheat bread (cured ham, oven-roasted turkey breast, crispy bacon, lettuce, and cheddar cheese with signature sauce)
Pasta salad
Potato chips
Dill pickle
Cookie
Choice of drink: water, pop, etc.
‣ Vegetarian menu:
Egg Salad Sandwich (egg salad topped with Swiss cheese and avocado on crisp lettuce served on sourdough bread)
Fresh fruit
Potato chips
Dill pickle
Cookie
Choice of drink: water, pop, etc.
‣ Vegan menu:
Super Food Salad (A super antioxidant mix of kale, baby spinach, and red cabbage, topped with dried cranberries, raspberries, almonds, with raspberry vinaigrette)
Fresh fruit
Carrot chips
Choice of drink: water, pop, etc.
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‣ NEW: Kids’ Club | Pay What You Can
Parents/guardians: drop off your child/teen at Thurber Center (next door to Thurber House) to participate in fun activities while you enjoy the event!
Activities are open to kindergartners and up and the cost is “pay what you can.” Drop off time is between 6:00-6:20 pm at Thurber Center (91 Jefferson Ave.). Once the main event concludes, your child(ren) will be escorted over to meet you.
Please note:
This program is only for children of those who have Thurber House event tickets.
A parent/guardian must be on site at the event at all times.
For allergy reasons, no food is permitted at Kids’ Club. Your child(ren) is/are welcome to eat dinner on the Thurber House lawn with you during the picnic social (6:00-6:20 pm).
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‣ Location: All Summer Literary Picnics take place on the Thurber House lawn (77 Jefferson Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215).
‣ Rain site: In the event of rain, Summer Literary Picnics are held at Thurber Center (91 Jefferson Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215), the building directly north of Thurber House.
‣ Free parking on Jefferson Avenue: Free street parking is available all along the Jefferson Avenue oval. Note: Only the spots along the one-way oval are free; the spots along the two-way ends of Jefferson Avenue (near Broad Street and Long Street) are not free.
‣ Free parking off N. 11th Street (behind Thurber House): Free visitor parking is also available in the small lot directly behind Thurber House, accessible off N. 11th Street and located here.
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For any questions that are not answered here, please contact Jess at jcox@thurberhouse.org or 614-412-5955.
‣ How will I receive my tickets? You will receive an email order confirmation containing your ticket(s). You can print or show your ticket(s) on your phone. If you are unable to do so, we will manually check you in.
‣ Can I order tickets by phone? Yes, although online orders are encouraged. To order by phone, call 614-412-5955.
‣ Can I purchase books and get them signed at the event? Yes, books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
‣ How do the picnic dinners work this year? If you order a ticket that includes a dinner or a dinner upgrade, your boxed meal comes with an entree, sides, and a drink. Regular, vegetarian, and vegan meal options are available. At this time, we cannot accommodate allergies.
‣ Is outside food/drink permitted? Yes! You have the option of bringing your own picnic dinner.
‣ Do I need to bring a chair with me? Please plan to bring your own lawn chair or blanket. A limited number of extra chairs will be available.
‣ Is there a bathroom? Yes, bathrooms will be available.
‣ Will Thurber House be open for free tours? Yes, the Thurber House museum will be open for free tours during the picnic social.
‣ What is your refund policy? All ticket sales are final and non-refundable.
‣ What is the Columbus ticket fee? The total ticket price includes the Columbus Arts and Culture Fee as required by the City of Columbus. The Arts and Culture Fee provides public funds to support artists and arts/cultural organizations like Thurber House that educate and engage audiences of all ages. Click here for more information.
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Disclaimer: Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by event and program speakers in all mediums are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Thurber House, its affiliates, or its staff/board.
