JFK Memorabilia up for auction

40 lots of memorabilia include JFK signatures, Lee Harvey Oswald personal items, clothing & shoes from Jackie-O, and more up for auction through May 7th at Goldin Auctions.

The lots include letters, magazines and a holiday card signed by the President; a handbag and designer shoes that were owned by First Lady, and Lee Harvey Oswald's clothing and other personal items.

For more information on the auction and to view the lots click here.

Adventures in Dallas

If you've been following my Instagram feed, you'll know that for the past week I've been in Dallas! This was my first trip to Texas, and I was excited to visit a city that I've heard lots about!

I stayed at the Hilton Anatole. The hotel is HUGE and it took 10 minutes to walk from my room to breakfast each day. Great for working up an appetite and walking it off! The hotel also has a tonne of art, and many priceless pieces amongst its collection. The quirkiest of them all has to be a piece of the Berlin Wall!

I was in town for some St John business functions, but made time to visit two of the most interesting spots on the tourism list.

The first was the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Regardless of your political persuasion, the Library and Museum is a must see attraction. The highlight for me was the to scale replica of the Oval Office, and the fact that you could sit behind the Resolute Desk and have your photo taken. Total tourist!

I also visited the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Forever associated with the death of President Kennedy, the Museum provides a fascinating insight into the President's visit to Dallas, and the events and aftermath of that tragic day. If like me, you've watched the documentaries and movies about the assassination, visiting Dealey Plaza is instantly familiar. It's almost like walking onto a film set- with the Grassy Knoll, Book Depository and white picket fence all untouched. It was an eerie experience.

During the weekend, I also visited the Number One British Flying School. Located outside Dallas, many British servicemen and women came to the area to train to fly during WW2. Some never returned, and the extensive museum and memorial is dedicated to their memories. Manned by volunteers, it's a hidden gem and one which was fascinating to visit.

The Texan hospitality was wonderful, and it was great to catch up with many friends and new faces during my time in the Big D!

Washington DC: My Photos

Later this week I'm headed back to Washington DC! It's one of my favourite cities and where I find lots of inspiration for my blog! Here's a photographic look at some of my most treasured haunts and memories of this great city!

I love visiting the Smithsonian Museums! My favorite is the Museum of American History, where you can see items from the White House, dresses worn by the First Ladies and lots of Presidential memorabilia! The china above is from the George W Bush Administration.

I also love that you can see and experience Julia Child's kitchen- definitely a highlight!

Another great place to visit is the Newseum. It's packed full of interesting artefacts, hands on exhibitions and has a fab gift shop! You can see items such as Kennedy's debate notes, the door from Watergate and Tim Russert's desk.

I always try to visit Arlington National Cemetery when I'm in the city, and make a particular stop at the Kennedy gravesite. It's such a moving place of rest and it's a peaceful place in the heart of such a busy city.

Similarly I really like visiting the National Cathedral. It's magnificent! The circular stained glass window is so impressive and the views from the gallery are like no other!

Georgetown is my favourite area to stroll and shop. I love the houses and how unique the area feels.

The US Capitol is one of my favourite buildings and I have so many great memories from working there. I love all the history, the stories and the Rotunda is so impressive.

I like to visit the Memorials at night- I think the Lincoln Memorial is quite spooky in the dark!

All Author's Own

No trip to DC would be complete without a tour of the White House!

Check out more of my photos here.

What do you love most about DC? What are your favourite places to visit? Let me know! 

JFK Library marks 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

President Kennedy addresses the gathered crowd at the Rudolph Wilde Platz, June 26, 1963. Credit: PFC Wolf, 69th Signal Co/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. 

Today marks 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. I had yet to be born, but this event, and the visit of President Kennedy in 1963 are two of the most prominent that changed the world for my generation, and those that followed.

To mark this anniversary, the JFK Library has released archival materials marking President Kennedy's visit to West Berlin in 1963. The Soviet and East German governments had erected the wall only two years before President Kennedy’s visit to shut off the flow of East Germans fleeing to the freedom of the west. President Kennedy called the wall, “an offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.”

Through the efforts of Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, the President’s sister, the German government donated a section of the Berlin Wall to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

The 3.5 ton, 12-foot concrete slab of the Berlin Wall on display at the Kennedy Library and Museum. Credit: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Elizabeth Warren to speak at JFK Library

via

Don't miss out on your chance to hear Senator Elizabeth Warren speak at the JFK Library on Friday May 16th from 11am-12pm. Senator Warren will be discussing her new memoir, 'A Fighting Chance' and will also be signing copies of the book. Click here for further information and to book. You can also book by calling 617 514 1643. 

A Kennedy Christmas

Look to President Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy this Christmas for some festive inspiration...

John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Top to bottom: The White House Christmas Tree 1961, Givenchy dress worn by Jacqueline Kennedy, the President and the First Lady 1961, Christmas Day in Palm Beach.

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#JFK50

JFK Presidential Library and Museum

 Much has been and will continue to be written about President Kennedy and the legacy he left behind when his life ended on November 22nd, 1963.

We've all seen the dramatic footage of his last moments, the aftermath that the country faced, and the harrowing pictures and recordings of his funeral. His death touched the whole world, and fifty years on we still continue to be fascinated with the details of his assassination.

I was in my early teens when I became interested in President Kennedy. I borrowed and purchased as many books that I could get my hands on, (and one particular shopping trip on vacation I bought 22- yes 22- coffee table sized books detailing every detail of his life and presidency!) I consumed old newspaper and magazine articles, watched interviews on YouTube and researched the policies and accomplishments of the Kennedy Administration. Every detail and aspect fascinated me, and even though departed from this world, I looked to Jacqueline Kennedy as a role model.

I was fortunate to be accepted as an intern in Congressman Patrick Kennedy's Washington DC office in 2010, an opportunity which was one of the best experiences I have had. There was something about the Kennedy family and their dedication to public service that appealed to me, and it was I feel, in part their influence that encouraged and inspired me to find ways to give back in my own community and area. Whether or not you agree with the concept of 'Camelot,' the same magic could be felt through President Obama's first campaign for the White House. I've never experienced a campaign like it, and I doubt that we will for many years to come.

A period of American history ended when the assassin's bullet struck the President, and a new one began. We have no way of knowing what would and what wouldn't have happened if the events of 22nd November 1963 hadn't taken place, subsequently shaping President Kennedy's legacy as one of achievement, glamor and stolen youth.

I'll always be interested in President Kennedy and the wider Kennedy family, and for the values that they stand for. I particularly look to Jacqueline Kennedy and the example that she set as one to incorporate into my own life- these are the values of resilience, determination and bravery, and of course to be stylish at the same time! Like the torch that sits atop his grave in Arlington, the vision and legacy of President Kennedy continues through his surviving child, Caroline, now the US Ambassador to Japan, and his grandchildren. It's exciting to see what the 'new' generation will do with their lives, and I have no doubt that the world will continue to be fascinated with America's 'royal family.'

Presidents Past and Present honor JFK

The President, First Lady, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid their respects at the grave of President Kennedy yesterday.

Forming part of the commemorations of the 50th Anniversary of his death, they joined members of the Kennedy family at Arlington National Cemetery.



The First Lady wore a deep red a line coat, with black shoulder detailing. She also wore a pair of black suede knee high boots.

Later in the day, President Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to recepients including Oprah Winfrey, President Clinton, Gloria Steinem and former Senator Dick Lugar. The Presidential Medal of Freedom was established fifty years ago by President Kennedy.



In the evening, the President and First Lady attended a dinner in honor of the recipients at the National Museum of American History.

JFK 50th Anniversary Commemorative Print: Get Yours Today!

Mark President Kennedy and his legacy by purchasing this limited edition print of an iconic photo taken by Mark Shaw. This striking image pictures the President in Hyannis Port, and is ready for framing.

Click here to purchase.

JFK Library Plans Tributes Marking 50th Anniversary of November 22, 1963

--> John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, the official memorial to President John F. Kennedy, will observe the 50th anniversary of November 22, 1963 with a number of events that celebrate the legacy of the nation’s 35th President. Observances will include a ceremony webcasted by satellite from the Kennedy Library’s IM Pei-designed glass pavilion; the presentation of a selection of artifacts from the President’s State Funeral that have never before been displayed; an interactive documentary and website celebrating the vibrant presence of JFK in the world today; and an award ceremony on November 25 during which Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, will celebrate two young Americans who answered President Kennedy’s call for pioneers of the New Frontier.

“The Kennedy Library seeks to honor the memory of John F. Kennedy every day by serving as a dynamic center for discourse, storytelling, and debate that inspires younger generations to engage fully as citizens of this world,” said Tom Putnam, Director of the Kennedy Library. “Fifty years after his death, we pause to look back at symbolic artifacts from this defining moment in our nation’s history and, looking forward, we hope to draw inspiration from the arts that he championed and from JFK’s timeless words.  By offering our observance and programming to a worldwide audience online, we  pay tribute to our fallen president and to the millions who came together to mourn him.”

“Three years ago, we launched our campaign to mark the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s Presidency,” said Tom McNaught, Executive Director of the Kennedy Library Foundation. “Using new technology and media to reach every corner of the globe, we have sought to inspire today’s youth as President Kennedy did half a century ago. We are grateful for the support of so many, whose generosity has been critical to helping us pass the torch to a new generation and to instill in them the ideals of public service and responsible citizenship.”

--> John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
A Nation Remembers: A Tribute to President John F. Kennedy
November 22, 2013
1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. ET

On November 22, 2013, the Kennedy Library will invite the public to join a special live webcast of a musical tribute in honor of the memory of President Kennedy. Award-winning singer-songwriter James Taylor; award-winning saxophonist Paul Winter and the Paul Winter Sextext, which was invited by Jacqueline Kennedy to be the first  jazz ensemble ever to play at the White House; and the United States Naval Academy Women’s Glee Club will each perform musical selections including two from the President’s State Funeral. They will be joined by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick; Elaine Jones, director-counsel emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, and former Peace Corps volunteer to Turkey;  US Naval Commander, Navy SEAL, and NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy, who just returned from six months on the International Space Station; Richard Blanco, poet for the 2013 U.S. presidential inauguration;; and Sarah Groustra, an 8th grade student from the Edward Devotion School in Brookline, Massachusetts that John F. Kennedy attended as a child, who will all read excerpts from a selection  of President Kennedy’s most historic speeches.

There will be no physical audience during these performances – simply the backdrop of the sea that the President loved so dearly as the ceremony is broadcast live at www.jfklibrary.org and via satellite by media outlets that wish to cover the event. The ceremony will include a moment of silence at 2:00 p.m., the time that the President’s death was announced to the nation.

--> A Condolence Telegram sent from Mrs. J.D. Tippit to Mrs. Kennedy.  --> John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
A Nation Remembers: A Special Display of Artifacts from the President’s Funeral
Open November 22, 2013 – February 23, 2014

Opening on November 22, 2013, the Museum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library will present a selection of artifacts from the President’s State Funeral. Items on display – many for the first time – will include the American flag that draped the President’s coffin and was presented to Jacqueline Kennedy; the saddle, sword, and boots from Black Jack, the riderless horse that followed the President’s horse-drawn coffin in the funeral cortege; the Green Beret left by a serviceman on the President’s gravesite; notes handwritten by Jacqueline Kennedy as she planned the funeral; and historic film footage and photographs of the State Funeral and national mourning.

--> John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
An Idea Lives On Legacy Project
Launches November 18, 2013

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Foundation today announced the launch of AnIdeaLivesOn.org, an online tribute to President John F. Kennedy that aims to create a multigenerational conversation about the many ways in which the legacy of our nation’s 35th president lives on today.

Named for President Kennedy’s poignant observation that, “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on,” the project invites the public to participate in the creation of an interactive documentary, putting a modern, human face on the enduring impact of John F. Kennedy. Entries answering the question: “How do the ideals of John F. Kennedy live on in your life today?” can be uploaded as video, audio, photographs or written messages at www.anidealiveson.org, or by using the hashtag #anidealiveson on Twitter.

Stories that will be introduced on the site throughout the week leading up to November 22, 2013 include Congressman John Lewis, comedian Conan O’Brien, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, actor Martin Sheen, House Leader Nancy Pelosi, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, journalist Luke Russert, poet Richard Blanco, among others.

The site is being created in collaboration with The Martin Agency and Tool of North America.

--> John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award Ceremony
November 25, 2013

Congresswomen Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), one of the first two female combat veterans to serve in the U.S. Congress and an emerging leader on veterans’ issues, and Charles Best, Founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org, a pioneering online charity that connects individual donors with public school teachers to meet classroom teaching needs, have been named this year’s recipients of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Awards. The awards will be presented by Jack Schlossberg, John F. Kennedy’s grandson and a member of the New Frontier Award Committee, at 6:00 p.m. on November 25, 2013 during a ceremony at the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

The John F. Kennedy New Frontier Awards were created by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and Harvard’s Institute of Politics to honor Americans under the age of 40 who are changing their communities and the country with their commitment to public service. The awards are presented annually to two exceptional individuals whose contributions in elective office, community service, or advocacy demonstrate the impact and the value of public service in the spirit of John F. Kennedy.

In remarks delivered on November 21, 1963 at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center in San Antonio, Texas, President Kennedy said:

“For more than 3 years I have spoken about the New Frontier. This is not a partisan term, and it is not the exclusive property of Republicans or Democrats. It refers, instead, to this Nation's place in history, to the fact that we do stand on the edge of a great new era, filled with both crisis and opportunity, an era to be characterized by achievement and by challenge. It is an era which calls for action and for the best efforts of all those who would test the unknown and the uncertain in every phase of human endeavor. It is a time for pathfinders and pioneers.”

--> John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

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The Evolution of the Power Suit

White House Week

The White House marked fifty years since President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, marking the shocking issue that full-time working women still make less than men on average.

The first bill that President Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and his administration was the first to create a White House Council on Women and Girls. President Obama also launched a National Equal Pay Task Force to help crack down on violations of equal pay laws, and earlier this year, he signed a presidential memorandum directing the federal government to close the gender gap for its employees.



Plus, check out this great photo of Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi with President Kennedy a few years before the Equal Pay Act was signed!

Nancy Pelosi 

Earlier this week, President Obama nominated Jason Furman to replace Alan Krueger as the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors. Betsey Stevenson has been nominated to the Council of Economic Advisors, and has a background focusing on labor, women and families. 

Links of the Week

This week I've been reading...

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Peace Corps at The Kennedy Museum

National Archives

The Kennedy Museum Berlin is offering visitors to find out more about the range of volunteer service programs are on offer through the Peace Corps.

Established by President Kennedy at the start of his presidency, more than 200,000 Americans have volunteered through the Peace Corps in countries across the globe.

On March 16th at 3pm the Museum is offering visitors the chance to learn more about the volunteer service as well as international development aid.

For more information visit their website.

Supporting the JFK Library Foundation

This Christmas, why not give the gift of supporting the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

Your gift will help to:

• Continue to support a living memorial to the 35th President, where visitors can experience and share the hope of the Kennedy administration
• Preserve and provide access to artefacts and documents from a powerful time in America's history
• Support an award-winning educational centre, providing free and dynamic programming to tens of thousands of students each year on-site and through the Library's website
• Preserve and maintain the largest digital archive of Presidential Papers, providing on-demand access to the archives of the Kennedy administration
• Support the Kennedy Library Forums as a major public program for conversation, debate and exchange

For more information on supporting the JFK Library click here.

Donations can be made securely online through the JFK Library and Museum website. 

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Signed Copies: The Secret White House Recordings of John F. Kennedy

Google Images

Don't miss out on your chance to owned a copy of 'The Secret White House Recordings of John F. Kennedy' signed by Caroline Kennedy!

Quantities are extremely limited and be purchased via the John F. Kennedy Library & Museum.

Click here to purchase.

John F. Kennedy Library Foundation Panel at the Democratic National Convention

Google

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation will host the panel discussion 'Changing Political Demographics and the Future of the Democratic Party' at the 2012 Democratic National Convention as part of its celebration marking the 50th Anniversary of the Kennedy Administration.

Moderated by David Gregory of 'Meet the Press,' the panel will also feature Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Democratic Strategist Maria Cardona, political journalist Matt Bai and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will kick off the special event.

The event will be held in the Auditorium of the One Bank of America Center, Charlotte, NC on Wednesday September 5th from 4pm-5.30pm.

For more information visit The JFK Library.

Kennedy Memoir discusses Chappaquiddick, JFK and other Presidents

In a memoir being published posthumously, Senator Edward M. Kennedy talks remorsefully about the car accident that claimed the life of Mary Jo Kopechne – a turn of events many consider a chief reason that he was never able to mount a successful bid for the presidency.

Writing in his book “True Compass,” which is scheduled to be published on Sept. 14, Mr. Kennedy, who died a week ago, described his actions in the 1969 accident as “inexcusable” and said that at the time he was afraid, overwhelmed “and made terrible decisions.”

Mr. Kennedy said he had to live with the guilt of his actions for four decades but that Ms. Kopechne’s family had to endure worse. “Atonement is a process that never ends,” he writes.
In the 532-page book, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Kennedy also said he has always accepted the official findings of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, an event that he said left family members fearing for the emotional health of his brother, Robert F. Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy that he often thought of one brother’s deep grief over the loss of another and said it “veered close to being a tragedy within a tragedy.”

Senator Kennedy said he had a full briefing by Earl Warren, the chief justice, on the commission’s investigation into the Nov. 22, 1963, shooting in Dallas. He pronounced himself convinced that the Warren Commission got it right and said he was “satisfied then, and satisfied now.”
Mr. Kennedy’s book provides unique details about life in America’s famous political family and covers the remarkable career that was celebrated last week in a series of memorials before his burial near his two brothers in Arlington National Cemetery. It provides his personal account of being stricken by the brain cancer that took his life and his decision to battle the disease as aggressively as he could. And he talks openly and regretfully about “self-destructive drinking,” especially after his brother Robert’s death.

The book, published by Twelve, a division of the Hachette book group, was originally scheduled to be published in 2010 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the election of President Kennedy but was moved up due to his illness. Much of the book, written with a collaborator, was based on contemporaneous notes taken by Mr. Kennedy over the years as well as hours of recordings for an oral history project.

In the memoir, Mr. Kennedy also suggests that his brother the president was growing uneasy about events in Vietnam and was increasingly convinced that the conflict could not be resolved militarily. He said his brother’s “antenna” was up and surmises that the president was on his way to finding that way out. “He just never got the chance.”

Mr. Kennedy tells of a secret meeting in the spring of 1967 between President Lyndon B. Johnson and Robert Kennedy, whose increasingly outspoken criticism of the war in Southeast Asia was becoming a political threat to Mr. Johnson. According to the book, Robert Kennedy proposed that Mr. Johnson gave him authority to personally negotiate a peace treaty in Vietnam. This, implicitly, would have kept Mr. Kennedy out of the 1968 race for the Democratic nomination, a prospect that Mr. Johnson had come to worry greatly about.

“If the president had accepted his offer,” the book says, “Bobby certainly would have been too immersed in the peace process to become involved in presidential primary.” Mr. Johnson could not take the offer at face value, concerned that Robert Kennedy had ulterior motives.
In explaining why he decided to run for the presidency in 1980, Mr. Kennedy explained how he was motivated in part because of his differences with then President Jimmy Carter. Among other things, he was frustrated by Mr. Carter’s incremental approach to providing universal health care coverage, saying the president’s go-slow approach was “squandering a real opportunity to get something done.” He described Mr. Carter as a “difficult man to convince – of anything.” He described their relationship as “unhealthy.” And after Mr. Carter’s famous “malaise speech,” the senator wrote, he concluded that Mr. Carter held an “inherently different view of America from mine.”

Mr. Kennedy recounts attending a dinner with Bill Clinton shortly after he was elected president in 1992 at the Washington home of Katharine Graham, the publisher of the Washington Post. According to Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Clinton said at the time that if he did not get national health insurance through Congress, he should not be president.

Mr. Kennedy expressed great disappointment at the ultimate failure of health care to pass during that period, though he did not place the blame for it on Mr. Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who oversaw the effort for Mr. Clinton.
Mr. Kennedy said he called Mr. Clinton immediately after he appeared on television to confess his affair with Monica Lewinsky, reassuring Mr. Clinton he would stand by the president during this difficult period.

In the midst of recounting this anecdote, Mr. Kennedy took a break to offer his views on the scrutinizing of the private lives of public officials, something to which he clearly was quite familiar. Mr. Kennedy said he had no quarrel with such inquiries.

“But do I think it tells the whole story of character? No I truly do not,” he wrote.
Mr. Kennedy notes that he had never dwelled on the reversals of his life, legislative defeats or causes unfilled and discusses how he came to endorse Barack Obama during the presidential primaries despite his close relationships with other candidates. He said he was able to persevere through his own personal faith.

“I have fallen short in my life, but my faith has always brought me home,” he said.

JFK awards recipiants for warning of financial crisis

BOSTON — Two U.S. federal regulators who sounded early warnings on the financial crisis and a Liberian peace activist who helped end that nation's civil war were honored for their efforts Monday at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairwoman Sheila Bair, former chairwoman of the Commodity Futures Trading Comission Brooksley Born, and peace activist Leymah Gbowee (LAY'-mah BOH'-wee) were presented with Profile in Courage Awards, annual honors named for a 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book written by John F. Kennedy.

"(It's) a special honor to present the award to three women who have inspired all those who seek to bring about change in their political systems," said Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President Kennedy and head of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation that administers the awards.
Bair was one of the first to speak out about the subprime lending crisis, and Born warned a decade ago that unregulated financial contracts, including credit default swaps, could pose dangers to the economy. Gbowee organized a group of Christian and Muslim women to challenge Liberia's warlords.

In accepting her award, Bair said she was proud to join the list of those who have received past Profile in Courage awards. "I'm particularly pleased to be joining two other female awardees who stood up when some of their male counterparts failed to act, or worse, actively fought them," she said.

Gbowee received her award on behalf of the Liberian women who were featured in the "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" documentary about Liberia's civil war.

"For us women of Liberia, this award is a call that we will keep walking until peace, justice and the rights of woman (are) not a dream," Gbowee said, "but a thing of the present."

[Adapted from The Huffington Post]