Zimmerer photograph turns up in Nebraska City
Letter offered support for man who broke the color barrier at a flagship Southern university amid 1962 riots
By News Channel Nebraska
NEBRASKA CITY – Photographs of a man, who corresponded with James Meredith on the day he enrolled at the University of Mississippi on Oct. 1, 1962, amid riots to break the color barrier in a flagship Southern university, have turned up in Nebraska City.
T.G. Zimmerer’s letter to Meredith expresses support for his enrollment and admiration for his courage. The letter has been preserved by the University of Mississippi as part of a collection showing national attention on integration. The Seatle, Wash., address on the photos in Nebraska City is the same as the address preserved by the university.
Please accept my most
sincere congratulations for
your brave firm stand against
the crazy nuts in Oxford!
A great many of us Northerners
believe that a goodly percentage
of the Southerners are “cracked” when
it comes to the racial question!
No person who hates his fellowman
because of his color is a Christian or an intelligent being!
I offered up my Holy Communion
for your safety and success!
Most sincerely, T.G. Zimmerer
However, there appears to be no connection between T.G. Zimmerer and the Zimmerers with known backgrounds to Nebraska City.
- Frank Zimmerer was a watercolor artist with murals at Clemmy Holmes Ford and Pioneer Theater.
- Anton Zimmerer was a German immigrant who worked in tailoring and hardware.
A newspaper notation says Dr. and Mrs. T.G. Zimmerer of Nebraska City were to spend the winter of 1965 in Florida with daughter and son-in-law Mr. and Mrs. William Golding.
However, subsequent newspaper articles identified the man as C.G. Zimmerer, not T.G.
In 1942, Miss Jeanette Zimmerer, daughter of Dr. C.G. Zimmerer, married William Golding.
Miss Mary Margaret Zimmerer, the bride’s sister, was maid of honor.
In 1955, an article identified Jeannette Zimmerer’s husband as William Golding, a Lincoln Journal executive.
The photos found in Nebraska City included wedding photos taken in April of 1937. T.G. Zimmerer is pictured with his granddaughter-in-law Nora Lee Roberts.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1402&context=mercorr_pro