Boyhood in Brookline Lesson Plan Photographs

The front of a grey, two story house, partially obscured by a tree, viewed from the street. — The John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site, birthplace of President John F. Kennedy, at 83 Beals Street, Brookline, Massachusetts.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A photo of the home’s front hallway, with a staircase on the right. A black candlestick style telephone sits on a table in front of a mirror. The kitchen is partly visible in the background. — The front hallway of the Kennedy home, as viewed from the front door.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

This home looks as it did when the Kennedy family lived here, from 1914 to 1920. The objects in the home will give you insight into how people lived during this era.

For example, the telephone you see on the left was manufactured by Western Electric between 1915 and 1920. This type of telephone is named the “candlestick” phone because of its shape. To use it, the caller would hold the “candlestick” to their mouth to speak into, while holding the receiver up to one ear to hear the other party. You may notice that the phone has no numbers to dial; to place a call, the caller would speak to a switchboard operator, who would then call the desired number.

When John F. Kennedy was born in 1917, there were roughly 1.3 million telephones in Massachusetts, one phone for every three people in the state. The hallway telephone is one of two in the home; the other sits in the parents’ bedroom upstairs. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. worked as both a bank president and as an assistant general manager at a Quincy shipyard when he lived on Beals Street with his family. Having two telephones at home would have assisted him in operating these businesses.

A photo of a small kitchen with off white walls. On the left is a black stove, on which sit a bucket, a beanpot, and a teakettle. In the back left corner is a cabinet, containing glass jars, ceramics, fine china, and other utensils. — Kennedy family kitchen.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A photo of a large black stove, containing an oven, several burners, and compartments over the stovetop, whose chimney pipe connects to the wall. On the stove sit a bucket, a beanpot, and a tea kettle. A ladle hangs from a hook on the side of the stove. — Gold Medal Glenwood cast-iron stove.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A photo of items on a wooden tabletop, including a dish of plastic eggs, a bowl of plastic vegetables, antique deviled ham cans, a glass milk bottle and mason jars, a wooden rolling pin, a pail, a metal stirring bowl, and a food chopper. — Kitchen table.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A photo of a metal food chopper clamped to a table, consisting of a funnel, grinding chamber, clamp, and crank. An axle runs through the chamber connecting the blade to the crank, which hangs parallel to the body and has a wooden handle. — Universal Food Chopper.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A photo of a countertop holding a toaster with a perforated metal design, a clock, and eight cans, labeled ‘Original Deviled Ham’ and ‘Underwood Co Boston Mass’ featuring a red devil standing with his arms out. — Hotpoint "Tick Tock" toaster, a clock, and Underwood deviled ham cans on the kitchen counter.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A photo of a dining table, set with china, glasses, and silver utensils. By a lace curtained window sits a low table with two chairs, set with silver porringers and utensils. — Kennedy family dining room.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A photo of a small wooden table and two chairs, set with silver porringers, a bowl, spoons, napkin rings and cloth napkins. The table sits on a rug by a window, next to a china cabinet and behind a regular sized table. — Children's table.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A black and white photo of two boys, one taller, standing with their arms around each other’s shoulders, wearing shorts and tee shirts under tank tops, barefoot on a grassy lawn. A large white house is in the background. — Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and John F. Kennedy in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, ca. 1925.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

Joe Jr., around ten years old, poses with his younger brother Jack, around eight years old, in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, where the Kennedy family often spent their summers, circa 1925. The two brothers were close as well as competitive.

A photo of a sunlit room with a piano, fireplace, couch, armchairs, and lamps. Rugs cover the floor, paintings hang on the walls. Japanese vases and a clock sit on the fireplace mantle. By the piano are books in a bin, family photos, and a flower vase. — Living room.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A painting of a white harnessed horse being ferried across a river by four men in a pole boat. A thatched boathouse and rowboat, brush, reeds, and three wading cows are on the river’s edge. Cottages and trees fill the background, and a partly cloudy sky. — Print of The White Horse by John Constable, 1819. Oil on canvas.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A black and white family photo. A man in a dark suit and glasses sits by a woman with short hair in a dark gown. Two boys in sailor suits stand and sit left of the man. Three girls in white dresses and bob haircuts sit on and next to their parents’ laps. — Family photograph, 1921. From left to right: John F. Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., Rosemary Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A black and white photo of a young woman in a formal gown sitting with a baby on her lap, and a small boy on each side. The two boys wear blunt haircuts, dress shirts, shorts, socks and shoes, while the baby wears a simple dress. — The photograph of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy with Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., Rosemary Kennedy, and John F. Kennedy, 1919, which sits next to the piano in the living room at 83 Beals Street.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A photo of two frayed magazines. One partly reads ‘The Saturday.’ The other, dated ‘March 31 1917’ reads ‘The Literary Digest’ in large, swooping font, and shows a painting of a young woman in a blue dress and clogs standing by the seashore. — Two magazines from the Kennedy family living room, issues of The Literary Digest and The Saturday Evening Post.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

rsetyuvbijnlk — An issue of National Geographic, then called the National Geographic Magazine, from February 1917.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

The National Geographic Magazine. February, 1917.

Contents:

16 Pages of Photogravure.
Our Foreign Born Citizens
- 39 Illustrations.
Prizes for the Inventor, Some Problems Awaiting Solution by Alexander Graham Bell
- 7 Illustrations.
Little Citizens of the World
- 16 Photogravure Illustrations.
Bohemia and the Czechs by Aleš Hrdlička
- With 25 Illustrations.

Published by the National Geographic Society. Hubbard Memorial Hall, Washington, D.C.

Border text:

Volume XXXI. Number Two.
$2.50 A Year. 25 Cents A Copy.

A photo of a room with two twin beds, a hallway door, and a window. On a nightstand between the beds is a lamp, a black candlestick telephone, a book, and a clock. Above each bed is a portrait of the Madonna and child. — Rose and Joseph Kennedy's bedroom, on the second floor of the home.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A photo of a wooden nightstand next to a twin bed covered with an embroidered white blanket and pillowcase. A small leather bound bible sits on the nightstand, next to a glass lamp and a clock encased in silver, whose face reads three o’clock. — Bedside view of the bed President Kennedy was born in. The clock on the nightstand reads 3'oclock, the hour of his birth.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A painting in a rectangular wood frame with a pointed arch. The Virgin Mary, in a red dress and blue robe, holds infant Jesus. Both have halos. The frame is carved like cathedral pillars and ceiling, painted in gold leaf. — Reproduction of Raphael's Madonna of the Grand Duke.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

This painting hangs over the bed in which John F. Kennedy was born. A similar piece hangs over the other bed in the room. This is a reproduction of Renaissance painter Raphael's 1504-1505 work "The Madonna of the Grand Duke,” which got its name from Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who owned the painting in the 18^th century. Since then, the painting has been housed at the Palatine Gallery in Florence, Italy.

It’s possible that Rose Fitzgerald viewed the original while touring Europe with her father in 1908, when she was eighteen years old. During that trip, she and her father had a private audience with Pope Saint Pius X. Mrs. Kennedy later attended the coronation of Pope Pius XII with her husband and children in 1939.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was a devout Catholic, and felt it was important to imbue her children’s upbringing with her faith. The paintings in this bedroom are some of the few reminders of her piety in the Beals Street home.

A photo of two dark wood vanities on each side of a window, across from two twin beds. On one vanity is a set of silver grooming tools, including a mirror and hairbrush, and a framed photograph. On the other are more photographs. — Parents' bedroom and vanities.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

Four rows of black and white baby photos in gold frames. The first, second, and fourth rows have five portraits each, while the third row has four. Each row shows portraits of a specific baby. — The Kennedy children at six months old, in order of birth. From top to bottom: Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., John F. Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

A black and white photo of a laughing baby in a white dress sitting on white fabric. The baby is barefoot, and is holding its right foot with its right hand. The baby has light eyes and a full head of downy hair. — John F. Kennedy at six months of age, 1917.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Park.

A black and white photo of a smiling young girl riding a tricycle on grass by the seashore. She has short hair and freckles, and wears a hat, dress, and black shoes. A house sits on a rocky shore in the background. A girl in a hat is in front. — Rosemary Kennedy rides a tricycle in Cohasset, Massachusetts. Kathleen Kennedy (mostly out of frame) is visible at right in foreground. ca. 1923-1924.
John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Kennedy Family Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.

A photo of a small room. A wooden desk and chair sit by a curtained window. On the opposite side, a table holding a lamp, books, and a darning bulb stands by an open door. Black and white family photos hang on the wall. — Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy's boudoir.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

Mrs. Kennedy used this boudoir as her office. She said that Mr. Kennedy had his office in Boston and that as manager of the house, she wanted her own office in the home. Pictures of her husband sit atop the desk.

A photo of a wooden desk holding books, a framed photograph of a man holding a baby, a writing pad, a glass paperweight, a pen, and a small box of paper cards, one of which is on the desk. — Mrs. Kennedy's desk.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

Handwritten, cursive notes in dark ink on a beige paper note card. — Report card of John F. Kennedy's childhood illnesses, written by Rose Kennedy.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site.

Transcription:

John Fitzgerald Kennedy
born Brookline Mass. (83 Beals Street) May 29. 1917
Has had whooping cough. measles – chicken pox
Had scarlet fever. February 20. 1920
At City Hospital Boston . with Dr. Hill . Dr. Reardon
took care of ear.
Has had mumphs [sic].
German measles 1928
Schick test 1928
Bronchitis occasionally