My Search for John F. Kennedy at Harvard

I forgot to record the temperature for today, but there was a heat advisory warning so I assume the temperature went past 89 degrees. In light of this, I decided to take an impromptu trip to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts to look for sites visited by and honoring President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the late afternoon when the weather would be more tolerable as the sun would be setting over time.

I conceived of the idea the night before when I came upon a list at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library’s website entitled “John F.Kennedy’s Residences.” I found two buildings listed that I knew I could potentially visit. One was “Freshman Dormitory, Weld 32, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts” where Kennedy lived as a freshman student after he transferred from Princeton University from 1963 to 1937. The other listed was “Winthrop House, Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts” for his sophomore and senior years as an undergrad from 1937 until his graduation in 1940. As I saw those two sites listed and with a free afternoon, I decided make a pilgrimage to the campus of Harvard University.

I ended up taking a bus from the sidewalk two blocks from where I live. It was past 5:30pm so I knew I would arrive there just before 6:00pm just as most of the shops were closing for the night. As I sat on the bus, I felt as though I were sailing (as the Kennedy love to do literally) to history. Before I knew it, I was at Harvard Station in Cambridge and ascended into Harvard Square with my first glimpse of the Harvard Coop, my old sanctuary. It had closed the hour before so I could not go inside. I will return there at some point. Besides, today I was on a mission.

I immediately went to find Winthrop House, which was a five-minute walk from Harvard Station through John F. Kennedy Street and took a left on Memorial Drive. I found it easily, which was a surprise to me because I thought the search would be more difficult. Nevertheless, the first of the historical sites I was searching had been found. According to an article by Tom Acitelli, entitled “John F Kennedyin the Boston area, mapped,” “The rooms he occupied there are now called the Kennedy Suite, and the Kennedy School of Government uses them to house guest speakers.”

 As I looked upon the building, I began to imagine a young John F. Kennedy at the age of twenty-two, sitting at a desk, writing his thesis, which later became a book entitled “Why England Slept.” I wondered how he formulated his thoughts and recounted his experiences travelling through Europe on the Eve of the Second World War as he wrote his thesis. I have already ordered a copy of “Why England Slept” two days ago on eBay to add to my Kennedy Book Collection and some time after it arrives, I intend to take my copy of the book and photograph it in front of Winthrop House as if to say “Within the pages I hold in my hand are the words of the man who wrote them within those walls.”

After this, I went over to John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, via Dr Paul Dudley White Bike Path. There were groups of people having fun together and socializing. Children were running around playing games and having a good time. I sat at an area where I tried to quietly reflect on John F. Kennedy’s legacy, but there were people chatting nearby and I could not focus. I was annoyed that I could not sit and reflect. The last time I went there, some teenagers were skateboarding over the monument. "How dare they disrespect the memory of President Kennedy this way," I thought, "They should know better." I obviously couldn’t tell them to leave and I didn’t think they could be reasoned with. I decided instead to go somewhere else to reflect as I did today.

I then went to John F. Kennedy School of Government, just behind the park. According to Tom Acitelli’s article, “The Harvard school named for him actually predates Kennedy's entry into government. It was rechristened for the late president in 1966.” The Wikipedia page for the school states that “Harvard Kennedy School was originally the Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration, and was founded in 1936,” the same year Kennedy entered Harvard as a freshman.

I had only been inside the building only once. In fact, it was 4 years, 9 months, and 6 days before. It was on September 21, 2016 when I attended a forum featuring the former Prime Minister of Israel – Ehud Barak. The forum and my meeting with the former prime minister sparked an interest in foreign policy and inspired me to want to learn more about the world around me.

I felt that the sun would be out only for a little longer so I quickly made my way to Weld Hall, on the main campus called Harvard Yard, where Kennedy lived as a freshman. I imagined a young JFK walking quickly to his classes from his dormitory to avoid being late for class or laughing with his new college friends on the campus or perhaps sharing insights on the situation escalating in Europe. I wondered what it looked like inside, whether it still looked the same on the inside from Kennedy’s time there in 1936-1937 or where his college dorm room was. I may never know because I am not student there and have no access to enter the building to see for myself.

It was at this point where I decided to walk around some more to stretch my legs and to revisit other historic sites of interest that did not relate to JFK, like the Cambridge Common. However, I did wonder if these sites were in existence when he was a student at Harvard. What would he have thought as he would look at the statue of Abraham Lincoln? “Could I be as great as him?” I’m over thinking this. He probably did not think such thoughts. However, I can't help but wonder if he ever compared himself with his heroes.

On a side note, when I later returned to the place where I live, I discovered in Tom Acitelli's article that Kennedy was a member of the Spee Club, a "finals club while at Harvard, and was apparently fond of writing letters on Spee stationary." The location as listed in the article was (or is) at 76 Mt Auburn Street, also in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The next time I return to Harvard Square, I will make time to find that location. 

Anyway, as the sun began to set, I went back to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Park mainly to try to reflect again and was curious to see what the park was like just before dusk. 

(John F. Kennedy Memorial Park)

I became distracted. I safely walked across Memorial Drive to Dr Paul Dudley White Bike Path to view the setting sun in the orange sky making a silhouette of what I assumed to be of nearby Mount Auburn Hospital.

I also went up to sidewalk of Anderson Memorial Bridge to get a better view.

As the sky was turning dark, I went back to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Park to try to sit and reflect for a third time.

There were people sitting near me, chatting endlessly about something not worth talking about. I was inwardly angry. “Why are these people so ignorant?” I thought, “don’t they know who President Kennedy was, what he stood for, what he meant to our country?” As dusk settled in, I got up and walked away toward Harvard Square and decided it was time to return to the place where I live. As I was walking, I remembered something that Caroline Kennedy, JFK’s daughter, mentioned in 2011 about how her father’s time was passing into history. It took on a new meaning for me after meeting Jean Kennedy Smith, JFK’s last surviving sibling, some years ago and who had passed away last year. I feel that I need to do something to honor President Kennedy’s memory. I don’t know what I could do, but in the meantime, I’m going to start reading some of the books I have on him. I will not be a “tsundoku,” which is someone who likes buying books, but never reads them. I bought these books for a reason. I am determined to honor President Kennedy’s memory and tell his story and share his vision to “a new generation of Americans born in this century” to inspire them.

And so, to conclude this entry, I want to share the words that Caroline Kennedy spoke on the evening of October 3, 2011 on the publication of Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy: “Fifty years after my father’s presidency, so many people share his vision for America and are interested in learning about his administration. His time is really becoming part of history rather than living memory. In President Kennedy’s words: ‘Spirit and Example remain as vital as ever. Now when young people feel disconnected from politics, it is up to us as adults to reach across the generations and we commit ourselves and our country to the ideal of life.’ … The goals in his anniversary years are to stimulate interest in public interest and use the power of history to us solve the problems of our own time.”