Billy Byars, Sr. - Revision history

Sneeuwbol: /* The November 22, 1963 Phone Call */ Kiwanis, not Rotary

2021-06-13T02:04:40Z

The November 22, 1963 Phone Call: Kiwanis, not Rotary

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:04, 13 June 2021
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	"The phone log for the [FBI] Director’s office shows that, aside from calls to Robert Kennedy and the head of the Secret Service, Hoover called only one man on the afternoon the President was shot – Billy Byars," Summers informs, a peculiar fact sometimes cited by conspiracy theorists to link the assassination to Hoover and to Texas oilmen. While many of Hoover's phone logs are online, that for November 1963 is not.<ref>[https://vault.fbi.gov/J.%20Edgar%20Hoover%20Appointment%20and%20Phone%20Logs%20/ FBI FOI Vault] J. Edgar Hoover phone logs</ref> Summers does not provide the time of the phone call.		"The phone log for the [FBI] Director’s office shows that, aside from calls to Robert Kennedy and the head of the Secret Service, Hoover called only one man on the afternoon the President was shot – Billy Byars," Summers informs, a peculiar fact sometimes cited by conspiracy theorists to link the assassination to Hoover and to Texas oilmen. While many of Hoover's phone logs are online, that for November 1963 is not.<ref>[https://vault.fbi.gov/J.%20Edgar%20Hoover%20Appointment%20and%20Phone%20Logs%20/ FBI FOI Vault] J. Edgar Hoover phone logs</ref> Summers does not provide the time of the phone call.

	That same day Senate candidate George H.W. Bush was giving a luncheon speech at the Blackstone Hotel to the Rotary Club ~~(or possibly~~ the Kiwanis Club, ~~sources vary) in Tyler~~. His wife Barbara recalls, "On November 22, 1963, George and I were in the middle of a several-city swing. I was getting my hair done in Tyler, Texas, working on a letter home."<ref>[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Barbara_Bush/WixyCQAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&bsq=%22Tyler,%20Texas%22 Bush, Barbara. Barbara Bush: A Memoir. United States: Scribner, 2015. P. 59]</ref>		That same day Senate candidate George H.W. Bush was giving a luncheon speech at the Blackstone Hotel to the Kiwanis Club in Tyler.<ref >Some sources say Rotary Club, but the ''Tyler Morning Telegraph'' 06 Nov 1963, Page 1, "Kiwanis Speaker", has the Tyler Kiwanis Club lunching on Fridays, and holding a reception at the Blackstone.</ref> His wife Barbara recalls, "On November 22, 1963, George and I were in the middle of a several-city swing. I was getting my hair done in Tyler, Texas, working on a letter home."<ref>[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Barbara_Bush/WixyCQAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&bsq=%22Tyler,%20Texas%22 Bush, Barbara. Barbara Bush: A Memoir. United States: Scribner, 2015. P. 59]</ref>

	Bush stopped his speech when news arrived of the assassination. His wife wrote a letter home, but Bush made a phone call to the FBI in Houston, telling of someone who had threatened to kill the president:		Bush stopped his speech when news arrived of the assassination. His wife wrote a letter home, but Bush made a phone call to the FBI in Houston, telling of someone who had threatened to kill the president:

Sneeuwbol: /* Friend of J. Edgar Hoover */ typos

2021-06-13T01:54:35Z

Friend of J. Edgar Hoover: typos

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	"Today, of all days, the damned airplane has to be late." He seemed unable to stop pacing back and forth cracking his knuckles. "But one thing may save us. Billy Byars and his wife from Tyler are coming to see the Old Man off, so maybe they can keep him entertained. Bain has arranged it so they can visit in the VIP room until the flight leaves."		"Today, of all days, the damned airplane has to be late." He seemed unable to stop pacing back and forth cracking his knuckles. "But one thing may save us. Billy Byars and his wife from Tyler are coming to see the Old Man off, so maybe they can keep him entertained. Bain has arranged it so they can visit in the VIP room until the flight leaves."

	G.G. "Billy" Byars was an oil millionaire from Tyler, Texas, 96 miles east of Dallas. He and his wife were old friends of the Director from La Jolla or somewhere.		B.G. "Billy" Byars was an oil millionaire from Tyler, Texas, 96 miles east of Dallas. He and his wife were old friends of the Director from La Jolla or somewhere.

	In the American Airlines VIP room at Love Field an attractive middle-~~ages~~ lady wearing a mink coat threw her arms around the Director and said, "Welcome to Texas, J. Edgar!" Then she hugged Mr. Tolson. She was accompanied by a prosperous-looking man in a dark suit. These people were Mr. and Mrs. Billy Byars from Tyler.		In the American Airlines VIP room at Love Field an attractive middle-aged lady wearing a mink coat threw her arms around the Director and said, "Welcome to Texas, J. Edgar!" Then she hugged Mr. Tolson. She was accompanied by a prosperous-looking man in a dark suit. These people were Mr. and Mrs. Billy Byars from Tyler.

	The Director was delighted to see them. [...]		The Director was delighted to see them. [...]

Sneeuwbol: /* Angus Cattle Breeder */ Added Wynne as the Texas pavilion connection

2021-06-12T23:47:17Z

Angus Cattle Breeder: Added Wynne as the Texas pavilion connection

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:47, 12 June 2021
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	\| page=41		\| page=41
	}}</ref></blockquote>		}}</ref></blockquote>
	The boy with the golden shovel was a black pre-teen dressed in an Arabian Nights outfit with a turban, large hoop earrings, open vest, cummerbund and skirt or harem pants. Time-Life's archive includes a photo of the bull, the boy, and four gentlemen, one of whom is certainly Billy Byars, Sr.<ref>[https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/prize-bull/mAG_URdK9Y891g Prize Bull photo by John Dominis] Look for fifty-two, rotund, cheerful, unassuming and astute</ref> Besides earning a page in LIFE, Prince 105 TT's hotel stay was re-enacted a decade later in the Texas pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair.<ref>[~~https~~://nywf64.com/texas05.html ~~Texas Pavilion World's Fair~~]</ref>		The boy with the golden shovel was a black pre-teen dressed in an Arabian Nights outfit with a turban, large hoop earrings, open vest, cummerbund and skirt or harem pants. Time-Life's archive includes a photo of the bull, the boy, and four gentlemen, one of whom is certainly Billy Byars, Sr.<ref>[https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/prize-bull/mAG_URdK9Y891g Prize Bull photo by John Dominis] Look for fifty-two, rotund, cheerful, unassuming and astute</ref> Besides earning a page in LIFE, Prince 105 TT's hotel stay was re-enacted a decade later in the Texas pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair.<ref name=WFTexas>[http://www.nywf64.com/texas05.html "Texan with Big Dreams + Big Apple = Big Trouble"]</ref> Also partners in the bull was the prominent Wynne family, including Angus G. Wynne Jr., who built—and was bankrupted by—the Texas Pavilions.<ref name=WFTexas />

	A young man holds the bull's lead in several of photos in the Life archive.<ref>[https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/prize-bull/GAFVWJNg2MpqWQ Possibly Byars, Jr.] holding the bull's lead. The online photos have no captions identifying the subjects.</ref> He bears a distinct resemblance to adult photos of Byars, Jr., who was 17 at the time, and where else would the elder Byars's son and heir have been on such an occasion? There is no evidence as to whether the flair for publicity was the father's or the son's, but the later career of Byars, Jr., suggests the bare-chested boy with the golden shovel may have been his idea.		A young man holds the bull's lead in several of photos in the Life archive.<ref>[https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/prize-bull/GAFVWJNg2MpqWQ Possibly Byars, Jr.] holding the bull's lead. The online photos have no captions identifying the subjects.</ref> He bears a distinct resemblance to adult photos of Byars, Jr., who was 17 at the time, and where else would the elder Byars's son and heir have been on such an occasion? There is no evidence as to whether the flair for publicity was the father's or the son's, but the later career of Byars, Jr., suggests the bare-chested boy with the golden shovel may have been his idea.

Sneeuwbol: /* The leading citizen of Tyler, Texas */

2021-01-31T13:01:40Z

The leading citizen of Tyler, Texas

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:01, 31 January 2021
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	Hoover biographer Summers calls him "Humble Oil millionaire Billy Byars.”<ref>{{cite book \|title=Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover \|last=Summers \|first= Anthony \|year=2003 \|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons \|location=New York\|isbn=0-399-13800-5 \|page=329}}</ref> A history through 1948 of Humble Oil (which changed its name to Exxon in 1973) lists not a single Byars among the founders, officers, or executives. <ref>{{cite book \|title=History of Humble Oil & Refining Company; a study in industrial growth \|last=Larson \|first=Henrietta M. \|coauthors=Porter, Kenneth Wiggins \|year=1959 \|publisher=Harper \|location=New York \|id= ASIN: B0006AVIDM}}</ref>. Whatever his Humble connection, there is no question that Byars was a rich and prominent oilman.		Hoover biographer Summers calls him "Humble Oil millionaire Billy Byars.”<ref>{{cite book \|title=Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover \|last=Summers \|first= Anthony \|year=2003 \|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons \|location=New York\|isbn=0-399-13800-5 \|page=329}}</ref> A history through 1948 of Humble Oil (which changed its name to Exxon in 1973) lists not a single Byars among the founders, officers, or executives. <ref>{{cite book \|title=History of Humble Oil & Refining Company; a study in industrial growth \|last=Larson \|first=Henrietta M. \|coauthors=Porter, Kenneth Wiggins \|year=1959 \|publisher=Harper \|location=New York \|id= ASIN: B0006AVIDM}}</ref>. Whatever his Humble connection, there is no question that Byars was a rich and prominent oilman.

	Mr Byars adopted his son Billy, Jr, in 1936 and the next year, in the midst of the Depression, built a very substantial house in Tyler, Texas, where he was to live until his death in 1965 <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050830061056/http://www.historictyler.org/spring_tour/tour_2004/summers_2004/ Historic Tyler on Tour, 2004]</ref>. Bainbridge says the house had 16 rooms, describing it and other Texas millionaires' homes as modest in comparison with Gilded Age palaces.<ref name=Bainbridge />		Mr Byars adopted his son Billy, Jr, in 1936 and the next year, in the midst of the Depression, built a very substantial house in Tyler, Texas, where he was to live until his death in 1965 <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050830061056/http://www.historictyler.org/spring_tour/tour_2004/summers_2004/ Historic Tyler on Tour, 2004]</ref>. Bainbridge says the house had 16 rooms, describing it and other Texas millionaires' homes as modest in comparison with Gilded Age palaces.<ref name=Bainbridge /> Modesty is relative, "During the reign of their daughter, Betty, as Rose Queen, the back yard was used for several large parties, one of which featured a replica of the set from "Showboat." It was during this reign in 1959 that Ronald Reagan was guest speaker at the Rose Festival Men's Luncheon."<ref>"Byars-Summer Home Included In '89 Tyler Heritage On Tour". ''The Tyler Courier-Times''. 3 Apr 1989, Page 10</ref>

	Byars's office was in downtown Tyler, in the Citizens Bank Building.[https://archive.org/details/nsia-dallas-freedom-forum/page/n63/mode/2up] Bainbridge describes Byars's office and routine:		Byars's office was in downtown Tyler, in the Citizens Bank Building.[https://archive.org/details/nsia-dallas-freedom-forum/page/n63/mode/2up] Bainbridge describes Byars's office and routine:

Sneeuwbol: /* The leading citizen of Tyler, Texas */ More roles listed in obituary

2021-01-31T11:59:23Z

The leading citizen of Tyler, Texas: More roles listed in obituary

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	In 1950, the "B. G. Byars Power Drilling Co." was listed among "concerns in the oil industry using Beechcrafts".<ref>[https://archive.org/details/newsweek36julnewy/page/n229/mode/2up/ advertisement "Beechcraft Serves the Nations Industries"] Newsweek, July 17, 1950, p.57</ref> Bainbridge put the annual operating cost of such aircraft as $45,000 and up, depending on the model.<ref name=Bainbridge />		In 1950, the "B. G. Byars Power Drilling Co." was listed among "concerns in the oil industry using Beechcrafts".<ref>[https://archive.org/details/newsweek36julnewy/page/n229/mode/2up/ advertisement "Beechcraft Serves the Nations Industries"] Newsweek, July 17, 1950, p.57</ref> Bainbridge put the annual operating cost of such aircraft as $45,000 and up, depending on the model.<ref name=Bainbridge />

			Byars' obituary recalled that,"The Byars' visited the Eisenhowers at the White House in 1959 for a rest after their daughter, Emily Elizabeth, had reigned at Tyler's annual Rose Festival."<ref name=obit /> It also said that, "In addition to his business interests, Mr Byars served as a member of the board of directors of the University of Dallas and a member of the board of advisors of Northland College in Ashlani, Wis. He also served as an officer of the Edna Gladney Home in Fort Worth and was a former member of the Tyler Welfare Board. He was also a former president of Willow Brook Country Club and a member of the Tyler Petroleum Club, the Tyler Club, and the Dallas Petroleum Club.<ref name=obit /> His son Billy, Jr. was adopted through the Edna Gladney Home.

	== Business by phone and handshake ==		== Business by phone and handshake ==

Sneeuwbol: /* Death */

2021-01-31T11:46:23Z

Death

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:46, 31 January 2021
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	== Death ==		== Death ==
	Billy Goebel Byars, Sr. was born October 6, 1901 in Guthrie, Kentucky, and came to Tyler from Texarkana in 1932. He died on his birthday in 1965, in Tyler, with services at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35418934/billy-goebel-byars Find A Grave]</ref><ref>''Tyler Morning Telegraph''. 7 Oct 1965, Page 1</ref> His wife Emily survived him, living to 1979. The ''New York Times'' index lists no obituary, but the ''Tyler Morning Telegraph'' put his death on the front page.		Billy Goebel Byars, Sr. was born October 6, 1901 in Guthrie, Kentucky, and came to Tyler from Texarkana in 1932. He died on his birthday in 1965, in Tyler, with services at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35418934/billy-goebel-byars Find A Grave]</ref><ref name=obit>"B.G. Byars Dies Here at Age 64",''Tyler Morning Telegraph''. 7 Oct 1965, Page 1</ref> His wife Emily survived him, living to 1979. The ''New York Times'' index lists no obituary, but the ''Tyler Morning Telegraph'' put his death on the front page.

	== References ==		== References ==

Sneeuwbol: /* Death */ birthplace and funeral details

2021-01-31T11:43:54Z

Death: birthplace and funeral details

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:43, 31 January 2021
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	== Death ==		== Death ==
	Billy Goebel Byars, Sr. was born October 6, 1901 and died on ~~the same date~~ in 1965.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35418934/billy-goebel-byars Find A Grave]</ref> His wife Emily survived him, living to 1979. The ''New York Times'' index lists no obituary.		Billy Goebel Byars, Sr. was born October 6, 1901 in Guthrie, Kentucky, and came to Tyler from Texarkana in 1932. He died on his birthday in 1965, in Tyler, with services at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35418934/billy-goebel-byars Find A Grave]</ref><ref>''Tyler Morning Telegraph''. 7 Oct 1965, Page 1</ref> His wife Emily survived him, living to 1979. The ''New York Times'' index lists no obituary, but the ''Tyler Morning Telegraph'' put his death on the front page.

	== References ==		== References ==

Sneeuwbol: /* Business by phone and handshake */ spelling

2021-01-16T03:16:13Z

Business by phone and handshake: spelling

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:16, 16 January 2021
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	The informal manner of business of Byars, Sr. may have served Byars, Jr well when he entered a line of business where written contracts were unenforceable. Again we turn to Bainbridge:		The informal manner of business of Byars, Sr. may have served Byars, Jr well when he entered a line of business where written contracts were unenforceable. Again we turn to Bainbridge:
	<blockquote>As a rule Byars stays in his office until noon, handling correspondence, discussing deals with employees, and transacting business on the telephone. “At least fifty percent of ou deals are made by phone,” he ~~ways~~. His afternoons are generally spent reconnoitering Royal Oaks, a twelve-hundred-acre ranch he owns, a few miles outside Tyler, where he raises prize-winning cattle. While there, he keeps on doing business by means of a dozen or so telephone calls. Almost all his contacts are with other old hands at the oil game. “Oilmen like to deal with other oilmen,” he said one afternoon at the ranch. “That’s because it’s easier to deal with someone who knows the ropes the way you do. People who aren’t in the game don’t know how deals work ...”~~<br/>~~		<blockquote>As a rule Byars stays in his office until noon, handling correspondence, discussing deals with employees, and transacting business on the telephone. “At least fifty percent of our deals are made by phone,” he says. His afternoons are generally spent reconnoitering Royal Oaks, a twelve-hundred-acre ranch he owns, a few miles outside Tyler, where he raises prize-winning cattle. While there, he keeps on doing business by means of a dozen or so telephone calls. Almost all his contacts are with other old hands at the oil game. “Oilmen like to deal with other oilmen,” he said one afternoon at the ranch. “That’s because it’s easier to deal with someone who knows the ropes the way you do. People who aren’t in the game don’t know how deals work ...”
	:[...]		:[...]
	The oilman’s approach to business is genuinely casual, as is indicated by, for instance, the opinion that Byars once rendered on the value of a legal contract. “A contract in the oil business,” he declared, isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. All it’s for is to remind you of the terms you agreed on.”		The oilman’s approach to business is genuinely casual, as is indicated by, for instance, the opinion that Byars once rendered on the value of a legal contract. “A contract in the oil business,” he declared, isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. All it’s for is to remind you of the terms you agreed on.”

Sneeuwbol: /* The November 22, 1963 Phone Call */

2021-01-15T16:27:11Z

The November 22, 1963 Phone Call

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:27, 15 January 2021
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	The Blackstone Hotel was at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Locust Street.<ref>[https://tylertexasonline.com/tyler-postcard-collection-hotels-motels.htm Postcards of the demolished Blackstone Hotel]</ref> On the next block was the Citizens' Bank Building where Billy Byars had his office, and certainly had J. Edgar Hoover's phone number. With a long history of political activism and gifts, Mr. Byars of the B.G. Byars Drilling Company would likely have been at the Rotary luncheon, and at the head table with his fellow oilmen. His friendship with Hoover was known to the newspaper publisher (see letter above) and likely to everyone else in town, given his talent for self-promotion.		The Blackstone Hotel was at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Locust Street.<ref>[https://tylertexasonline.com/tyler-postcard-collection-hotels-motels.htm Postcards of the demolished Blackstone Hotel]</ref> On the next block was the Citizens' Bank Building where Billy Byars had his office, and certainly had J. Edgar Hoover's phone number. With a long history of political activism and gifts, Mr. Byars of the B.G. Byars Drilling Company would likely have been at the Rotary luncheon, and at the head table with his fellow oilmen. His friendship with Hoover was known to the newspaper publisher (see letter above) and likely to everyone else in town, given his talent for self-promotion.

	A memo a week later from Hoover ~~refers to~~ "Mr. George Bush of the Central Intelligence Agency"<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/11/us/63-fbi-memo-ties-bush-to-intelligence-agency.html "'63 F.B.I. Memo Ties Bush to Intelligence Agency"] N.Y.Times, July 11, 1988, Section A, Page 15</ref>		A memo a week later from Hoover says the bureau briefed "Mr. George Bush of the Central Intelligence Agency" on the reaction of Cuban exiles to the assassination.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/11/us/63-fbi-memo-ties-bush-to-intelligence-agency.html "'63 F.B.I. Memo Ties Bush to Intelligence Agency"] N.Y.Times, July 11, 1988, Section A, Page 15</ref>

	If George Bush had urgent information of the highest importance for the FBI, the quickest and perhaps most discreet way to transmit it to the head of the FBI that day in Tyler would be to adjourn to his colleague Billy's office, let Billy place a call to Hoover's office, and wait for a call back, which would appear on the log as being to Byars. The time of Hoover's call to Byars would reinforce or undermine the theory. If personal calls to Hoover were logged, there might be record of a prior call from Byars.

			If George Bush had urgent information of the highest importance for the FBI, the quickest and perhaps most discreet way to transmit it that day from Tyler to the head of the FBI would be to adjourn to his colleague Billy's office, let Billy place a call to Hoover's office, and wait for a call back, which would appear on the log as being to Byars. The time of Hoover's call to Byars would reinforce or undermine the theory. If personal calls to Hoover were logged, there might be record of a prior call from Byars.

	== Death ==		== Death ==

Sneeuwbol: /* Friend of J. Edgar Hoover */

2021-01-15T16:22:07Z

Friend of J. Edgar Hoover

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:22, 15 January 2021
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	Byars had also met Jack Ruby, who would kill Lee Harvey Oswald. (Summers, p. 329)		Byars had also met Jack Ruby, who would kill Lee Harvey Oswald. (Summers, p. 329)

	~~Byars was one of Lyndon Johnson’s financial backers when the Texas Senator sought the Presidential nomination in 1960. (Summers, p. 263-264)~~

	== The November 22, 1963 Phone Call ==		== The November 22, 1963 Phone Call ==