An Update on Kennedy Interest

Today would have been the 94th birthday of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (1929 to 1994), former First Lady of the United States from her husband John F. Kennedy’s inauguration on January 20, 1961, until his assassination on November 22, 1963. She passed away at the age of 64 on May 19, 1994, when I was only eight years old. Sadly, I did not know of her until after she passed into history. It was not until 1999, when I saw a PBS documentary called "Jackie: Behind the Myth," that I first began to learn more about her. 

Initially, I learned that she was deeply interested in history, books, art, and other intellectual pursuits. She was intelligent, witty, charming, and graceful. In my twenties I bought a DVD copy of that same documentary through eBay, and over the years I met two people who knew her personally: Harris Wofford, civil rights adviser to her husband, and Jean Kennedy Smith, her sister in law. I have also seen artifacts significant to her life and her years as First Lady, but more on that later.

While this blog entry is posted on her birthday, it is not entirely about her, though her memory plays an important role. Over the past several months I have acquired five books relating to the Kennedys and visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston three times this year on July 4, July 16 (my birthday), and July 25. On all three occasions it rained heavily. At this rate, if there is ever a drought in Boston, I suspect I would only need to make another trip to the library for the skies to open.

In truth, I made those trips to take photographs of artifacts related to the Kennedys so I could create content for my social media pages on Twitter and Instagram. The inspiration came from a unique friendship that grew out of a shared devotion to the Kennedys. To protect her privacy, I will call her “Jackie.”

“Jackie” is a young woman whose Instagram page is filled with images of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and heartfelt expressions of admiration for her. Back on April 22, she posted a video of her Kennedy book collection set to the song Make Your Own Kind of Music by Cass Elliot, I reached out and showed her photos of my own Kennedy collection. She seemed impressed. Since I had duplicates of several Kennedy books, I offered to send them to her. She graciously accepted.

In early July, I sent her books on John F. Kennedy, some I already owned and others I ordered after reviewing her collection. She received them just before my birthday. In gratitude, she posted what I had sent on Instagram, six days before the day itself.

I sent her eight books in total, including titles I knew she did not own. Along with the books, I sent a DVD copy of JFK: Like No Other, the PBS American Experience documentary from 2013 that remains my favorite among Kennedy films. Five people I have personally met were interviewed in that special, and I wanted her to feel connected to that through our friendship.

She surprised me in return by making a special birthday post on Instagram. I was touched. It truly made my day, especially since it rained nonstop on July 16.

Six days later I sent her eleven books about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. One of them was an extra copy I already had (Grace and Power by Sally Bedell Smith), while the others I ordered specifically so she could add them to her library. The package arrived on July 24, coincidentally the sixtieth anniversary of young Bill Clinton meeting President Kennedy at the White House. Though the delivery was scheduled for July 27, to my astonishment the books arrived three days early. “Jackie” delightedly posted about them that very day.

I also included a DVD copy of Jackie: Behind the Myth as a companion to the JFK film I had given her. In gratitude, she posted her gift today in honor of Mrs. Onassis’s birthday. I should note that Jackie herself likely would not have appreciated many of these biographies, which she often saw as intrusive. Still, I think she would have been pleased to know that friends were connecting through books, since she was a true lover of them.

From April until now, “Jackie” and I have been corresponding about our mutual interest in the Kennedy family. Since she lives in another state and has never been to Massachusetts, I began sharing photographs of my own books, my visits to Harvard University and the JFK Library, and even photos of moments I had with people who knew and worked with President Kennedy. Through this correspondence, she indirectly inspired me to seek out new places, not just for myself, but to share them with her so she could see what I was experiencing from afar.

On the night before my birthday, though I was tired, I went to a one-night event at TD Garden called the Jim Irsay Collection. This traveling exhibition featured treasures from pop culture, twentieth century music, and American history. I went specifically to see items related to President Kennedy, though I also photographed other artifacts for future posts. Among the Kennedy items I saw and photographed were his White House rocking chair, his wooden cigar box, a ticket for the Texas Welcome Dinner scheduled for the night of November 22, 1963, and a Stetson hat custom made for him by Governor John Connally, which was a gift he tragically never received.

The very next day, on my birthday, I returned to the JFK Library.

Despite the rain, I took photographs of artifacts linked to Mrs. Onassis to share on social media for her birthday. These included her baby brush, her first communion book, her 1940 to 1941 report card, her Georgetown University diploma, her summer in Europe journal with her sister Lee, her camera from her Washington Times Herald days, three First Lady outfits, a painting she made for President Kennedy in 1961, and even the Emmy Award she received for her televised White House tour.

I shared these discoveries with “Jackie,” hoping she would feel as though she were on a private tour. Her delight made the effort worthwhile.

This friendship is unlike anything I have had before. Though there are many admirers of the Kennedys across the world, I never personally connected with someone over this shared interest until now. She has indirectly encouraged me to explore places I had not yet visited, and to plan new journeys to Brookline, Hyannis Port, and beyond, not just for myself, but to share with her. It feels like charting untraveled territory for someone who cannot yet see it herself.

This year has been an extraordinary one for my love of history. I have acquired new Kennedy books, created content for social media, visited the JFK Library multiple times, and most importantly gained a friend who shares these passions. In this way, I feel indebted to the memory of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. She graced history, but she also, indirectly, graced my life. As Senator Edward Kennedy said of her in 1994, “She graced our history. And for those of us who knew and loved her, she graced our lives.”

To close this entry, I want to share a quote attributed to Mrs. Onassis, fitting for her birthday: “You have to be doing something you enjoy. That is a definition of happiness: Complete use of one’s faculties along lines leading to excellence in a life affording them scope. It applies to women as well as to men. We cannot all reach it, but we can try to reach it to some degree.”