Exploring JFK's Brookline - Another Kennedy Pilgrimage

Ten days ago, October 4, was the birthday of Joseph P. Kennedy III, former representative of the fourth district of Massachusetts to the United States Congress. He is the grandson of former Attorney General and New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968), grandnephew of President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009), and Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith (1928-2020). I met him nine years ago at a forum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. He was very kind to me, and I wish I got to interact with him more. As of this blog entry, he currently serves as the Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs.

It is on this day, ten days later on October 14, that I have chosen to visit Brookline once again to visit sites that were significant to Joe Kennedy's relatives here in Massachusetts. I have visited once before, in fact it was exactly two months and two days ago, only to visit the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, before moving on to other places in different locations on August 12th. However, this time I chose to stay within the vicinity of Brookline itself to see all of the significant sites there. For this trip, there would only be four places within walking distance of each other and all of them would be seen from outside. I would go in the early hours of the morning as there would be little traffic in area and as to not disturb the neighbors in the community.

I woke up earlier than I had planned so I thought it would be a good idea to finally fulfill this journey since I had the day off. I had an early breakfast, and printed out directions to my cites of pilgrimage. It was 47 degrees this morning when I left the house at 5:43 in the morning. It was still dark and no sign of daybreak. I soon boarded a bus to take me to Wellington Station at 5:46. At 6:01, I boarded the subway at Wellington Station and for the next twenty-six minutes, I sat in the subway reading a paperback copy of "JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, (1917–1956)" by Fredrik Logevall to familiarize myself with the early years of John F. Kennedy since I would be going to places, he would have been acquainted with as a child. 

According to the travel directions, I was supposed to get off at Roxbury Crossing at 6:27. I got out at 6:30 and after ascending unto the street, it was daybreak. The colors of the sky cast a marvelous silhouette of the Islamic Center of New England, reminding me of an ancient land I may never trod upon within my lifetime. Upon seeing the building, Duke Ellington's "Arabesque Cookie" (Arabian Dance) played within my mind as it reminded me of the scene in the 1992 biopic "Malcolm X" of when Malcolm made his pilgrimage to Mecca. To me, it was an enchanting sight to behold.

 At 6:44, the number 66 bus arrived three minutes after it was scheduled. I got on onboard and after twelve minutes I arrived at my first site of pilgrimage, which was Florida Ruffin Ridley School located at 345 Harvard Street. It was formerly known as the Coolidge Corner School and then it was called Edward Devotion School. I had been within site of the school building before on August 12 since there was a bus stop across the street, but I had not realized at the time that my bus stop was in front of the school where John F. Kennedy went to school as a child.

According to the National Park Service website, Devotion School (Ruffin Ridley School), is where "from kindergarten through third grade, John F. Kennedy attended his local public school, the Edward Devotion School, officially renamed the Florida Ruffin Ridley School in 2021.

This school had a promising reputation of academic excellence. By sending her children to this school, Mrs. Kennedy was allowing to become friends with all of the children in the neighborhood. As a young student here, Jack was a diligent reader and avidly read books, but would be known to zone out of focus, often staring off into space during class. His teachers hardly approved. One day, after school, Jack knew he was in trouble. His teacher was planning to walk to his house to tell his mother about his daydreaming habits. Jack quickly ran ahead of her, to speak with his mother before his teacher got to her. To defend himself, he told his mother, “You know, I’m getting on all right, and if you study too much, you’re liable to go crazy.”

At the Florida Ruffin Ridey School today, the students commemorate JFK. Each year, third graders spend time studying JFK and his legacy in Brookline and write about what JFK means to them."

From there, I walked for ten minutes along Stedman Street, Manchester Road, Babcock Street, and finally Freeman Street. It was at Freeman Street where I would arrive at my second site of pilgrimage that morning, which was once known as Saint Aidan's Church and Rectory.

According to the National Park Service website, St. Aidan's Church “was Brookline's third Catholic Parish (St. Mary's (1852) being the first and St. Lawrence's (1897) the second). The church building, designed by architects Maginnis and Walsh in the Medieval Revival style, was built in 1911.

During the Kennedy family's residence in Brookline from 1914 to 1927, Saint Aidan's was an integral part of their daily life. John F. Kennedy was baptized here on June 19, 1917.

The original structure of the church still stands, converted into 59 mixed income housing units in 1999.”

 Although I was already aware that it had already been converted into housing units twenty years ago, I was struck by architecture of the building. I ended up taking more photos around the building because I was so impressed with the design. I had to be careful as this was now private property.  

It became hard to believe that this was where the Kennedy Family once worshipped and practiced their religious faith. This place must have been special to them. Before I left, I noted the front doors of the building. I imagined a young Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy walking up these very steps and through those very doors with their children to celebrate mass on Sundays and for special occasions, such as baptism of their children.

I walked up Babcock Street to look for my third location. Along the way, I found myself lost. I asked a pedestrian and after several minutes we figured out that I missed the street I was supposed to take left at. I had to turn around and look for it. I thanked the pedestrian for her help and soon enough, I found Abbottsford Road.

I walked up the quiet street to locate my third site of pilgrimage. At first, I walked past it, not knowing what it looked like and there was no marker indicating was it was. As I walked back in the opposite direction, I finally found it. The third site of pilgrimage was 51 Abbottsford Road. I only took three photos as this was a private residence and I left very quickly afterwords.

The location at corner of Naples Street & Abbottsford Road site was The Kennedy Family's Second Home. 

According to the National Park Service website, “in 1920, the Kennedy family outgrew their first home at 83 Beals Street in Brookline. When they moved, Mrs. Kennedy was expecting her fifth child, Eunice, and they later had Patricia and Robert in this home. The couple wanted to stay in Brookline, as it was a developing neighborhood, in walking distance to the nearby Catholic Church, and allowed Mr. Kennedy a short commute to work. They could now afford this home because of Mr. Kennedy’s continued success at work, and wise investments. He was one of the country’s youngest bank presidents, an investor, and a leader in the motion picture producing industry. The home symbolized the family’s growth.

Mrs. Kennedy admired the porch that still wraps around the front of the home today. The new outdoor play space gave the children the welcomed opportunity to play together outside. On this porch, Mrs. Kennedy could supervise all of her children at once, and as they became boisterous, she remembered sometimes dividing the porch so each child could have his or her own space to play. Imagine four or five children, partitioned off on the porch, playing happily as Mrs. Kennedy sat in the center, talking with the passerby and playing with the children. She took full advantage of the neighborhood, as when the mailmen, ice deliverers, milkmen, and neighbors stopped by, Mrs. Kennedy asked her children to practice their manners, and greet them politely. As the children grew older, Mrs. Kennedy placed a bulletin board near the dining room, and pinned current events newspaper clippings, and magazine articles to it. She would expect that her children would read them throughout the day, and be ready to discuss their opinions at dinnertime, encouraging them to articulate their thoughts and argue their perspectives. The family lived in this home until 1927, when Mr. Kennedy decided to move them to New York, claiming that Boston was no place to raise an Irish family.”

To complete my Brookline sites of pilgrimage to honor the Kennedy Family, I then walked to 83 Beals Street, also known as the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

I had visited the site before and had documented my experience in a previous blog entry. This time the fence that encased the property was removed and the house was finally renovated. Though it was still closed due to a shortage of staff, there was a small ray of hope. 

According to the sign in the parkway, they anticipate opening once again for tours on October 19th of this year. Now that I know, I will certainly make time to go on a tour of the house so I can document the experience for another blog entry, learn some new facts about my favorite president, and to make new memories. I will return here soon.

Although my pilgrimage in Brookline was supposed to take less than half an hour to accomplish, it took me fifty-two minutes to complete my sojourn here. To walk where the past walked. To know that things happened here that history has recorded is a thing of awe and wonder.

I walked up Harvard Street and waited for the number 66 bus arrive, which it did about 8:12. I got onboard and after sixteen minutes of waiting, I got off the bus stop located at JFK Street and Eliot Street in Cambridge, near Harvard University. I was going to begin another pilgrimage for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who stayed at Adams House as an undergraduate student in the early 1900s. However, there was construction around the site, so I decided to return next year in 2024 to accomplish this new pilgrimage.

My pilgrimage to Brookline was completed, but there was one more task I wanted to finish. I decided to go to Mount Auburn Cemetery to pay my respects once again at the final resting place of Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr., among the most famous historians of his time and had known President John F. Kennedy since his time in Harvard. 

I wanted to visit today in part because of his association with President Kennedy, his birthday is tomorrow (October 15), to honor his memory, and also as an epilogue for today's journey.

I arrived at Mount Auburn Cemetery at 8:52 in the morning. There was some construction around the visitor's area, so I had to take alternative route to my destination. Along the way, I heard some singing in the air. For a moment I thought I was hearing things, but the singing was real. The singing voice was so lovely. It reminded me of a scene in Disney's 1959 animated film "Sleeping Beauty," in which Prince Philip is riding alone on his horse in the forest and hears the sound of Princess Aurora's voice. He becomes enchanted and goes in search of the singer. 

In the real world, the beautiful voice I heard sound almost like Princess Aurora's voice. Like Prince Philip, I want in search of the singer. When I passed Linden Path, I found the singer. She was dressed in black, singing, "Ave Maria" by herself. She did not see me at first, I went to find a hidden area so I could listen and hear her sing. I tried to be discreet. As I was walking, she discovered me listening. I immediately apologized and told her that she had a lovely voice. She graciously thanked me and told me she was practicing for a performance at a funeral service later that day. I apologized again and bid her a nice day. She seemed like a very nice person and very friendly.

At 9:15, I arrived at the final resting place of Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr. once again. It had been one month and twenty-one days since my last visit there.

As I did on my last visit, I then took photos of my hardcover copies of his books (three of them this time) at his grave for a social media post I intend to share on his birthday tomorrow, which I mistakenly thought was today.

I sat for an hour there just meditating and thinking about what I would write for this blog entry and how to conclude it. I returned to the place where I live just before noon. Although Arthur Schlesinger's birthday is tomorrow, I realized that today is also the 133rd birthday of Dwight David Eisenhower, Five-Star Army General in the United States Army, Supreme Allied Commander during the second world war, & 34th President of the United States. To conclude this blog entry, I recognize that though this is a blog entry on my pilgrimage to visit sites associated with President Kennedy, I decided to share words spoken by President Eisenhower simply because it is his birthday. Though was also well acquainted with President Kennedy, he was not held in regard by Arthur Schlesinger.

Here are words in which former President Eisenhower, after he left office, delivered at Grinnell College on May 13, 1965. I think also reflects President Kennedy's desire to see young people in active service:

 "All around you at this moment are problems that arouse in you an ardent wish that you might participate directly and actively in their solution. Your idealism and enthusiasm for justice seem to require of you some personal and public proof of their existence within you. This is entirely natural and laudable. And I, for one, would never attempt to quench or even to dampen the ardor of youth. But I would point out to you that in the long years ahead, countless calls will be made upon you for a deep and sympathetic understanding, a thorough knowledge and a generous wisdom of what America is and what it should be.

Not to be able to answer those calls capably, when they arise, will be more tragic for you as individuals and for your country, than to miss a present chance to demonstrate publicly your instinctive reactions. By no means, in so speaking, do I advocate a do-nothing attitude about current public affairs. I only urge that now you ready yourselves to help solve the nation’s inevitable and sometimes dismaying problems of your time."