Come join Ross Perot biographer Dave Lieber’s trip to Texarkana
Dave Lieber, author of the first Ross Perot biography in 25 years, shares a fun trip to Perot’s hometown.
In honor of Ross Perot’s 80th birthday in 2010 a short bridge connecting Walton and University Drives was dedicated.
What a great find! A Ross Perot history museum dedicated to his leadership. It’s situated in the library at Texarkana College, which Perot attended in the late 1950s before he went to the Navy.
My favorite is the recreation of Ross’ father’s cotton brokerage office. Ross said he got his Ph.D. in business watching his dad as a businessman. His father is at right.
Here I am at the re-creation of the business office.
Here’s his dad’s office.
Gabriel Perot’s family motto was “Sell it. You can’t eat it.” It referred to their trading at auctions. Buy something in the morning, but sell it by afternoon, because if you keep it, you got to feed it. The same goes for my Perot biography. I gotta sell it and don’t want to feed it.
Painting of Gabriel Ross Perot Sr.
His mother, Lulu May Perot.
This is the house where Perot grew up with his sister Bette. One of my favorite stories in my book is about how a Depression-era tramp explained to Mrs. Perot that a painted “X” on the curb was a signal to the train hoppers that if they knocked on the door they’d get fed. Ross asked his mother if she wanted him to erase the X. She said no son, these folks need help. They’re down on their luck. It was a lesson he carried with him the rest of his life.
If you visit the “Perot Family Campus” of the North Texas Food Bank in Plano, you’ll see this X sculpture outside the front door. It’s a testament to Mrs. Perot’s lesson about helping others. In February 2022, the Perot family donated $10.5 million to the food bank.
Here are some of my favorite parts of the museum. Start with this photo of Perot and Steve Jobs. In a forgotten piece of American high-tech history, after Jobs was fired from Apple he created another computer company called NeXT. Perot was a 16% investor, sat on the board and mentored Jobs. When Jobs returned to Apple, he credited Perot with helping him keep his head above water. Jobs later said that the iPod, iPhone and other Apple products used NeXT innovations. Interestingly, in his long life Perot never owned or used a personal computer. Hard to believe because Ross created the computer services industry.
More Ross Perot Book/Play FUN...
WATCH: The author talk about Perot at the church that hosted the legend’s funeral.
You can’t have a Perot museum without some of his wonderful little sayings.
Of course, here’s one of the great events in Perot’s life — the rescue of two EDS executives kept hostage in an Iranian prison. Note that Paul Chiapparone has a mustache. Perot was no fan of beards or mustaches. Colonel Bull Simons at right led the risky mission.
Great photo of the entire Perot family.
I also visited the Perot Theatre. Ross and Margot Perot invested $800,000 to restore the theatre to its original glory. This is where his parents went to watch movies.
One of my dreams is to have my play — PEROT! American Patriot — performed at his hometown theater.
A couple of unanswered questions were answered. For example, I knew Perot wanted to join the Navy because a fellow in Texarkana looked incredibly cool in his uniform. Now I know his name, Josh Morriss, Jr. I also learned exactly how long it took Ross to earn his Eagle Scout badge. An amazing 13 months.
Of course, the highlight for me was fact-checking my book and my play about Perot. My research held up. I studied the entire museum and was happy to see that I didn’t get anything wrong. Phew.
More Ross Perot Book/Play FUN...
WATCH: The author talk about Perot at the church that hosted the legend’s funeral.