by Colleen Cooney

Fifty years ago this month, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy traveled to India and Pakistan. Although the trip was not an official State visit, Mrs. Kennedy attended various functions as an official representative of her husband, President Kennedy. Our new media gallery, which draws together museum artifacts, audiovisual assets, and textual documents from across the Library and Museum, offers online viewers a fuller sense of Mrs. Kennedy’s fourteen-day trip to that region.

As curator of the media gallery, I collaborated with my associates in other departments to develop a representative, cohesive, and visually vibrant display. I also culled relevant textual documents from our digital collections. Viewers who look at the media gallery and see only a photograph collection will discover that behind each visual image lies the expert knowledge of an audiovisual archivist, museum specialist, processing archivist, and metadata cataloger.

The first step in the curatorial process was to select images from the White House Photographs collection that were visually pleasing and highlighted events from Mrs. Kennedy’s trip. Since every good archivist knows that items must be properly identified to be accessible, my second step was to transfer the photographs to metadata cataloger Lindsay Closterman, an expert in the cataloging of the White House Photographs.

In order to decipher the who, what, and where of these images, Lindsay consulted many sources including shot cards, other materials in the audiovisual archives, Mrs. Kennedy’s travel schedules, and modern online images of some locations for comparison.

Another helpful resource was the large photo album given to Mrs. Kennedy by the Indian government as a memento of her trip. The album outlined dates and locations and identified individuals by name. Using Mrs. Kennedy’s outfits as a guide, Lindsay was able to verify event dates and locations in the White House Photographs. Newspaper articles from March 1962 also helped her to confirm important factual information.

To give further breadth to the media gallery, I consulted Museum Specialist Heather Joines to identify museum artifacts that complemented the photographs. Along with other artifacts, Heather chose several dresses worn by Mrs. Kennedy during the trip. Beyond satisfying the public’s interest in Mrs. Kennedy’s fashion, the addition of clothing to the gallery demonstrates Mrs. Kennedy’s astuteness in her wardrobe choices. For example, in reading the historical note related to her apricot dress, one learns that:

Its dazzling color and sheen were calculated to ensure that she would be instantly identifiable to the crowds on the distant shore as they watched her barge on its way to the maharana of Udaipur’s White Palace, where she was feted that evening.

Connecting the clothing artifact with images of Mrs. Kennedy wearing the dress not only gives the viewer an appreciation for Mrs. Kennedy’s appearance, it also affirms her intelligent perception of how others would encounter her during her travels.

Having gathered photos, museum artifacts, and textual documents and making certain that all items contained appropriate metadata and links to associated records, the final step was to organize the gallery, which proved to be a bit like solving a Rubik’s Cube. Not only did I want the layout to look well-balanced and eye-catching, I also wanted to situate related items close to one another to underscore their connections and to make the viewer’s experience richer.

By exploring the media gallery, viewers can make connections of their own. For example, did you notice that Mrs. Kennedy is wearing the ceremonial welcome necklace in the arrival photo? Or that she has on the pale yellow dress when going for an elephant ride?

Incorporating a wide variety of media into the online gallery was a collaborative, cross-departmental effort that resulted in a rich display of the archives/museum holdings—one that hopefully offers to both casual observers and serious researchers alike a deeper understanding of the collections at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

by Kate Hanson Plass

On Monday, April 2, the National Archives released the 1940 census and historians and genealogists have dug in looking for ancestors and historical figures.  The decennial census is conducted every ten years (as the name indicates) to count the population and to apportion representatives; the 1940 census also included several questions designed to measure the impact of the Great Depression and the effects of New Deal programs on the nation.  John F. Kennedy can be found in this census as a 23-year-old college student, twenty years before his election to the presidency.

Because the census is not yet indexed by name, I began by determining Kennedy’s residence in April 1940.  This proved slightly tricky because during that time, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. was serving as America’s ambassador to England and John was finishing his senior year at Harvard College.  In 1940, college students were enumerated at their parents’ homes rather than at their college addresses, so although we know that John spent April 1940 living in Winthrop House at Harvard, he was not counted there.

Hoping to find John F. Kennedy at his parents’ home in New York state, I searched maps of 1940 enumeration districts looking for Bronxville, New York:  http://stevemorse.org/census/unified.html.

The Kennedys’ street address of 249 Pondfield Road falls in Enumeration District (ED) 60-29 – approximately where the hyphen falls on the map.  Armed with this information, I downloaded the census schedules for ED 60-29 and started looking through the 34 pages block by block.

John F. Kennedy enumerated in 1940 with his family in Bronxville, New York. Series T0627, Roll 02820, Frame 00867, Sheet 9B.

The entire Kennedy family appears on Sheet 9B, at 294 Pondfield Road, enumerated on April 15th.  The notation “Ab” indicates that Joe Jr., Rosemary, John, and Robert were temporarily living away from home.  John, on line 56, is 23 years old and attending school, having already completed three years of college.  All of his brothers and sisters were also attending school that year – from Joe Jr. in law school to Edward in third grade.  Joseph P. Kennedy’s occupation is listed as Diplomatic Representative for the U.S. Government, working 40 hours per week for over $5,000 annually; both he and Rose also received income from sources other than wages.

Rosemary, John’s sister, was selected for additional “supplementary questions” – known to genealogists as “hitting the lottery.”  Two lines per sheet were designated for the enumerator to collect additional information on veteran’s status, participation in Social Security, and employment.  Rosemary’s answers can be found at the bottom of the page.

Also living with the Kennedy family in 1940 were several domestic workers and their families.  Three single women – Loretta Ham, a 45-year old maid; Margaret Ambrose, an Irish cook; and Elizabeth Dunn, a personal secretary from Boston – lived in the Kennedy house.  The circled “x” by her name indicates that Miss Dunn provided the Kennedys’ information to the census enumerator.  Louis J. Tyminsky, a gardener, and David Deignan, a chauffeur, each lived with their families in separate rented households at the rear of 294 Pondfield Road.  These staff members worked 60 hours per week for a range of wages, which are included in the census.

The 3.8 million images that make up the 1940 census are available online to search for free at http://1940census.archives.gov/.  Have you looked for your family?  Can you find Jacqueline Bouvier, then eleven years old?

by Timothy Bowen

As a soon-to-be graduate of the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science with a focus in Archives, I was recently required to complete a 130-hour internship meant to strengthen the skills I learned throughout the program. When Digital Archivist Erica Boudreau approached me about an internship at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, I jumped at the chance. Although I already worked at the Library digitizing negatives from the White House Photographs collection, this new internship would allow me the opportunity to expand my experience by digitizing, cataloging, and publishing to the Web a small manuscript collection in its entirety.

For this project I was assigned the processed papers of James W. Wine. Spanning the years 1959 to 1965, the papers consist of over 800 pages of documents and photographs relating to James Wine’s work on John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign and later as U.S. Ambassador. In his capacity as an advisor to then Senator Kennedy, Wine—a Protestant—worked to dispel the public’s fear of voting for a Catholic president. This problem was known as “the religious question.” The concern about President Kennedy’s Catholicism was widespread and Wine received numerous letters deploring his decision to help the Kennedys. By distributing pamphlets and writing statements and press releases, Wine’s work directly influenced the public’s choice of John F. Kennedy as President.

After working on the presidential campaign, Wine became Ambassador to Luxembourg and soon after, the Ivory Coast. As a representative of the United States and of President Kennedy, Wine conducted business that facilitated direct communication among the countries’ politicians and between the President and foreign Heads of State.

I began my internship by reviewing the collection (which was processed in 2005 by a fellow Simmons intern) to familiarize myself with the materials and to learn more about James Wine and his work for John F. Kennedy. Although I was already  familiar with the history surrounding Kennedy’s presidency, I had not heard of James Wine and did not know much about the “religious question.” More than anything, I was surprised by the level of concern expressed by the American public about Kennedy’s religion before he took office. As I learned more about James Wine’s work within the campaign, I began to draw parallels between President Kennedy’s fight and current political events.

The next step was to digitize all of the materials within the collection. Working closely with Kelly Francis, the Assistant Digital Archivist for Textual Collections, we began the process of digitization. Each document was scanned to standards set by NARA and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and then reviewed for proper quality control. Following digitization, I began the work of cataloging and describing the collection. Working folder by folder, I reviewed the materials, looking for documents that stood out  and identifying a general theme within every folder. From there I began to describe each folder to the best of my ability. With Kelly’s help, I learned tricks of the trade for creating good metadata and after repeated edits the cataloging was complete.

With digitization and description completed, the collection was published online;  it can now be found on the library’s website at http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JWPP.aspx.

After spending four months working on James Wine’s papers it was hard  to believe that it was over. In that short period of time I felt that I had formed a connection to Wine during that time in his life. Through his political work and his personal correspondence between friends, I had a firsthand look into his life and work. What I’ve taken from this experience and what I am most grateful for is the confirmation that I have chosen the right career. My internship with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library has helped me better understand the work that goes into digitizing a collection and has made me feel more confident that I belong within the field of archives and archives digitization.

by Jessica Green

The document pictured below is from the Ernest Hemingway Collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. We think it may be a rebus or another type of pictogram that uses pictures to represent words, parts of words, or phrases. Can you help us solve this puzzle?

The dates specifically mentioned on the documents are September 21, 22, 24, and 25. Luckily, whoever created this document also included the day of the week (i.e., Saturday, September 21). Using a handy historical calendar, we were able to determine the year to be 1918.

We think that the document depicts a scene that took place shortly after Hemingway’s time as an American Red Cross (ARC) ambulance driver in Italy in June and July of 1918.

Background

• Hemingway was assigned to ARC Section Four along with William Horne, Howie Jenkins, and Theodore Brumback (Baker 41). Based on nicknames Hemingway used for these friends in his correspondence, we suspect they appear in this document as Bill, Jenks, and Brummy, respectively.
• Around midnight on July 8, 1918, Hemingway was severely injured by an exploding canister while delivering “a supply of cigarettes, chocolate, and postcards for the soldiers” (Baker 44).
• Hemingway recovered in a hospital in Milan, where he fell in love with a nurse named Agnes Hannah von Kurowsky, the model for Catherine Barkley in A Farewell to Arms.
• In late September 1918, Hemingway was healthy enough to go on holiday to the Gran Hotel Stresa on Lago Maggiore with his companion Johnny Miller, ARC ambulance driver for Sections Two and Three (Baker 51).

Questions

• Based on the drawing of the envelope with their nicknames, it is possible that Bill Horne, Theodore Brumback, and Howie Jenkins drew this puzzle about their Red Cross activities to send to Hemingway while he was in the hospital. Bill Horne had also been recuperating in the hospital alongside Hemingway for three weeks in August 1918 (Baker 48). What do you think about this possibility? Who do you think created the document?

• Do you recognize the people and scenes depicted in the document? And can you tell us how you know that?

• Our cap, Bates probably refers to Captain Robert W. Bates. He was Field Inspector of Ambulances for the American Red Cross (Baker 48). Do you agree?

• Jimmy probably refers to Jim Gamble. He was American Red Cross Inspector of Rolling Canteens (Baker 48). Do you agree?

• The document is composed of three one-sided pages with no page numbers. Do you think the above images represent the original order of the document? Why or why not?

• Do you know who the following people are?
  • Barney
  • Henry
  • The Other Henry
  • Blakeley
  • Corp

• Do you know what the following terms mean?
  • w.k. raven
  • Porritt
  • Spumanti
  • Fiamifaro

We appreciate your help describing this exciting Hemingway document. Enjoy!

References

• Baker, Carlos. Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story. New York: Scribner, 1969.
• “Historical Calendar.” Miscellany: Miscellaneous Technical Articles by AR Collins. ARC.id.au. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.arc.id.au/Calendar.html>.

by Christina Lehman Fitzpatrick

Recently the library was pleased to open the newly-processed Personal Papers of Warren I. Cikins, who served in the White House from 1962 to 1966 during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. (For more information on the opening, please see our press release.) This large collection documents the professional life of Warren Cikins over the course of his long and diverse career in Washington, D.C. Cikins had many different jobs, including Congressional staffer, federal and local government official, educator, management consultant, and advocate for criminal justice reform. Materials in the collection date from 1922 to 2011, though here we would like to highlight several documents of historical interest that are contemporary to President Kennedy’s time in our nation’s capital.

Like John F. Kennedy, Warren Cikins was born in Boston and attended Harvard University. His path to service in the Kennedy Administration began in 1956 when he moved to Washington to work as a legislative assistant to Congressman Brooks Hays (D-Arkansas). The following year, racial crisis erupted in Little Rock when nine black students were prevented from enrolling in Central High School despite the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Angry crowds surrounded the campus and Governor Orval Faubus ordered his security forces to physically block the students from entering the building. Congressman Hays tried to act as a mediator to defuse the situation, and arranged a meeting between Faubus and President Eisenhower in Newport, Rhode Island. Ultimately no agreement could be reached, forcing Eisenhower to send federal troops to integrate the school. The incident became a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Cikins was in Little Rock with Hays during the crisis and kept a notebook recording the events. One page of his notes is shown here. On it Cikins lists numerous meetings and phone calls between Hays and other local officials. The Little Rock segregationists were enraged by the Congressman’s efforts to broker a resolution and by his moderate stance on the issue of race. In retaliation, they engineered his defeat in the next election. Cikins took another job on Capitol Hill, but he and Hays remained close as professional colleagues and personal friends right up until Hays died in 1981.

After President Kennedy took office in 1961 he appointed Hays to the State Department as Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Affairs. Hays asked Cikins to join him as his assistant. The State Department planned to mark the 16th anniversary of the United Nations with a speaking tour and Cikins jumped at the opportunity to participate. He spent two weeks traveling through the western states to address large groups of citizens. At the time, U.S. participation in the United Nations was a controversial topic, and the State Department was loudly criticized for “losing” China to the Communists. As a result, Cikins expected hostile crowds but was pleased to find that the majority of listeners responded favorably to his message. Here is one page from his main speech, titled “The United Nations: International Cooperation at the Crossroads.” In the conclusion he states, “The question of whether the UN is good for the US must be answered with a loud affirmative. Our national interest and our dedication to our international goals requires that we pledge ourselves to the preservation and the strengthening of the UN.” He reported that audiences were generally receptive to his speeches and often asked many good questions afterward: “Why did the U.S. permit the veto to be written into the UN Charter?” “Does the admission of new members to the UN undermine the U.S. position?”

Soon President Kennedy asked Brooks Hays to transfer to the White House and serve as Special Assistant to the President. Thus Warren Cikins joined the White House staff in January 1962 as Hays’s executive assistant. While at the White House, Hays and Cikins often contributed to intergovernmental relations projects. President Kennedy wanted to build better relationships with local and state officials and to improve coordination of federal and state planning. Materials in Cikins’s collection reveal his role as a liaison between the White House and such organizations as the Conference of Appalachian Governors, the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, and the Council of State Government. He frequently collaborated with these groups on issues concerning the Area Redevelopment Administration (ARA). The ARA was established in May 1961 in order to “help areas of substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment to take effective steps in planning and financing their economic redevelopment.” (Listen to President Kennedy’s remarks upon signing the Area Redevelopment Act.) The Appalachian region had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and received the most ARA assistance. At the right are two documents concerning aid to Appalachia. The first is a map indicating the geographical area served by the ARA. The second is a memorandum from Cikins to Lee White reporting on a meeting held on April 18, 1963, with representatives of various federal agencies. This meeting resulted from President Kennedy’s directive, issued earlier that month, asking the agencies to review their operations and locate more opportunities to direct aid to Appalachia. Unfortunately, the officials foresaw “great difficulties involved in doing anything substantial in this direction.”

Although Cikins accepted a full-time position with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in December 1963, he continued to work on White House projects for President Johnson on a part-time basis through 1966. He went on to jobs at the Agency for International Development (1965-1967) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1967-1969) before transitioning to the private sector. More about his later adventures can be found in his autobiography, In Search of Middle Ground: Memoirs of a Washington Insider (2005).

by Maura Porter

The President’s Daily Brief, or PDB, is a highly classified intelligence briefing produced each morning for the President of the United States. The written briefing informs the President and other senior policymakers about intelligence developments worldwide and provides analysis of those events. Although now produced by the Director of National Intelligence, from 1961 until early 2005 the briefing was produced by the Central Intelligence Agency. According to the CIA website, the PDB compiles the Intelligence community’s highest-level intelligence analysis related to key national security issues and concerns of the President. The PDB is given only to the President, the Vice President, and a very select group of Cabinet-level officials designated by the President. The PDB is published six days a week, Monday through Saturday. Much of its content is unrelated to the day’s events and has been in progress for a period of time. At daybreak, the PDB is hand-carried to the White House for the briefing. Some Presidents are briefed in their residence, others in their office.

The predecessor of the PDB was called the President’s Intelligence Check List and was first produced by the CIA for President Kennedy. Although the format initially went through several trial runs, it was formalized in early 1961. The checklist, initially known by the acronym PICL and pronounced “pickle,” was later renamed the President’s Daily Brief.

PICL, 12 July 1962
pg. 1

PICL, 12 July 1962
pg. 2

PICL, 12 July 1962
pg. 3

PICL, 12 July 1962
pg. 4

PICL, 12 July 1962
pg. 5

Former Central Intelligence Director George Tenet considered the PDBs highly sensitive and in July 2000 declared that none could be released for publication “no matter how old or historically significant it may be.” The PDB became more publicly known after the 9/11 Commission called for the declassification of the PDB from August 2001 entitled, “Bin Ladin Determined to Strike the US”. Although several PDBs have been released through the years in various administrations, including a handful of PICLs from the Kennedy Administration, these declassification decisions were based on sporadic reviews and there has been no systematic opening of PDBs or PICLs. Until now.

The release of PICLs at the Kennedy Library was put into motion by researcher and former Nixon Library Director, Timothy Naftali, who submitted formal requests to access several PICLs through the Mandatory Review (MR) process (see MR online form). Recently, through the second level of appeals to the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP), several Kennedy Administration PICLs were opened in part – 126 pages total. This constitutes the largest release of daily brief (i.e., PICL) material to date and sets quite a precedent.

In total, 18 intelligence checklists and two CIA Information Reports were opened for research use on July 19, 2012.  The date ranges of these documents are mid-July 1962 through August 1962. They cover a variety of countries and topics such as the USSR, China, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Peru, Brazil, Haiti, British Guiana, Germany (Berlin), Indonesia and disarmament/nuclear testing.

These newly-opened PICLs come from the Kennedy Library’s National Security Files, Box 356, Chester Clifton sub-series. General Chester V. “Ted” Clifton, Military Aide to the President, coordinated the PICL briefings. The writing on the first page of the PICL is usually in General Clifton’s hand and indicates whether the President saw that particular PICL. Clifton’s notations – “P saw”, ”P not seen”, or “Pres has seen” – can be distinguished from another (unidentified) staff person’s notation, “President read”. If the President did not see or need to be briefed on particular sections of the PICL, that information was recorded on the front page, as well.

When the President was away from the White House, the PICLs were sent as White House wires to his location. On the newly-released materials, the initials HP – meaning Hyannisport – indicate where the message was sent (and then the original wire destroyed).

As we approach the 50^th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cuba intelligence information provided to the President in the months leading up to the Crisis is particularly intriguing.

__

In The President’s Intelligence Checklist for August 23, 1962, it is noted “most of our information from within Cuba on the influx of Soviet equipment and technicians has come from Cuban sources.  We now have several reports from the British Embassy whose people have been out looking” … their information on the equipment coming in—some ‘hard’ some not—leads them to suggest that ‘an expert might consider the possibility of anti-aircraft rockets and radar.’ ”

The President’s Intelligence Checklist for August 28, 1962 stated, “the Soviet Chief Engineering Directorate in Moscow has raised the budget of its representative in Cuba from $80,000 in July to at least $175,000 for August.”

As part of The President’s Intelligence Checklist for August 30, 1962, there is a USIB Watch Committee Conclusions from August 29, 1962 which states, “We are not able on the basis of evidence available at this time to determine the precise nature or purpose of the intensified program of Bloc military assistance and construction in Cuba.”

In The President’s Intelligence Checklist for August 31, 1962, it is reported “one of our naval aircraft, on a routine mission, was fired on yesterday afternoon by Cuban patrol vessels at a point twelve miles off Cuba’s northern coast.”

__

The declassification of the PICLs at the Kennedy Library is exciting; in addition to demonstrating the success of the MR process in opening materials for research, the release of these highest-level intelligence briefings further expands our historical knowledge and understanding of the Kennedy Administration.

For more information about the PICLs, or to receive copies, please contact the Kennedy Library research room at kennedy.library@nara.gov or 617.514.1629.

by Jessica Green

The Ernest Hemingway Collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is extremely grateful for all of the hard work our Hemingway aficionados put into deciphering this pictogram puzzle. Special thanks go out to Noah Kim and Ellen Knodt for their correct ordering of the document and narrative of the paragraphs. The following narrative is heavily based on William McFarland’s detailed description of each of these paragraphs, to whom we are very thankful.  More thanks go out to Peter Krynicki, Marian Simmons, Robert W. Trogdon, Frank DeMarco, Elizabeth, David Anderson, Daniel Robinson, and “Fin” for their helpful ideas and for getting the discourse going. To see all of their insightful interpretations and detailed commentary, please see the comments under the original blog post: Hemingway Pictogram Puzzle.

Thanks to everyone’s help, we have put together the following narrative of the whole document, so you can follow along with the images in the pictogram. We believe this document was a letter sent to Hemingway from his fellow American Red Cross (ARC) Section IV ambulance drivers, Brummy (Theodore B. Brumback), Bill (William D. Horne), and Jenks (Howell G. Jenkins), while he was recuperating at the American Red Cross hospital in Milan. His nurse was Agnes von Kurowsky, the model for Catherine Barkley in A Farewell to Arms.

The letter has been cataloged in the Ernest Hemingway Personal Papers in the Incoming Correspondence series. The letter has been dated c. 24 September 1918, with copies of the letter filed under each one of the senders: Theodore B. Brumback, William D. Horne, and Howell G. Jenkins.

Greeting:

To Agnes von Kurowsky (a frying pan with an egg, Ag sounds like egg) and Ernest Hemingway (overflowing beer stein, Hemingstein was a common nickname and this was a symbol used by Hemingway for himself).

Opening Paragraph:

Yesterday, the three Fiat ARC ambulances driven by Brummy, Bill, and Jenks (numbers 2, 8, 13) sat idle, because there was nothing for them to do. Instead, the three ambulance drivers used the water wagon to sprinkle water on dirt roads in an effort to keep down the dust. They would like to get out of doing such boring chores by obtaining permission to take some leave time. This possibility remains uncertain, however (question mark). They also know that beautiful starry nights in Milan with Agnes are like heaven. Therefore, they want to leave Schio and travel by train to Milan. Upon arrive at the ARC Hospital, the three men will be joined by Agnes, ARC nurse Ruth “Brooksie” Brooks (pancakes and syrup = stacked and sweet), Hemingway, and Johnny Miller, Jr. (a ribbon bar signifies the Silver Medal of Valor both he and Hemingway received). They will change into their clean English-style uniforms and later that night the group will drink six bottles of Chianti and have fun with music and “ev’rything.”

Paragraph Regarding Brummy:

On Saturday, Sept. 21st, Brummy and his friends spent the night drinking mixed drinks made from Asti Spumanti, Rum, Cognac, Marsala, and Rock Syrup (water supersaturated with sugar) and enjoyed music and “ev’rything” (ditto marks). At 11:00 pm that night, Brummy, holding a bottle, passed out outside the V.R. (Villa Rosa brothel), where he was attended and protected by a V.R. girl (rabbit). At the same time, three members of ARC Section IV, Corp (Carleton Shaw), Jenks, and Simmy (Zalmon K. Simmons, Jr.) were drinking, singing, and marching around like drum majors (Corp with a cane, Jenks with a bottle, and Simmy with a baton). All of this activity was closely observed by an Italian carabinieri (national paramilitary policeman wearing a tricorn hat), who was slightly amused. By 1:00 am, Brummy was in such bad shape that “everybody” had to help him to his bed where they pulled off his pants and got him ready for bed. During the night, Brummy was so sick that he overfilled his “chamber pot,” labeled Spumanti (“spew-manti”?) At 10:00 am the next day, Brummy awakened with a horrible hangover, and could hardly open his eyes in the harsh daylight. In the night, he had soiled his sheets and bed, so “everybody again,” holding their noses, hung Brummy’s sheets outside on the clothesline to air out. Brummy’s cot was so badly soiled that two of the men, still holding their noses, poured kerosene on it and set it ablaze using a “fiamifaro” (fiammifero or wooden match). After drinking lots of water, Brummy felt much better, was able to fully open his eyes, and even smiled.

Paragraph regarding Jenks:

Jenks treated his bed with kerosene to get rid of bedbugs, which promptly dove off his bed and migrated to Simmy’s bed. Jenks then slept soundly with a big smile. Jenks and fellow ARC ambulance driver, Barney (Lawrence T. Barnett) drove a Ford Model T ambulance (nicknamed “Henry,” probably after Henry Ford) to Thiene. There they had tea, butter, and jam with a British person (a cheereo, because he said “cheereo”). Despite the war, they were able to have real milk or cream in their tea!!. The other  Henry severely reprimanded Jenks and Barney for making their unauthorized trip to Thiene, shaking his fist while pointing to rules and regulations laid out on his desk. Jenks and Barney pleaded with Henry for leniency. Jenks swore off tea saying the w.k. (well-known) “nevermore” of Edgar Allen Poe’s raven, but Barney only fumed with anger and refused to make any promises (hand over mouth). Later, Jenks, wanting to get away from the Section IV barracks, or perhaps following orders, took an ambulance high up above the clouds of Mount Pasubio (characterized by a tunnel, of which there were 52, caves, and a winding road) His fast and erratic driving scared lots of mules. They hide in caves, pressed themselves against the walls of the mountain, or jumped off the mountain in fear, only to be impaled on nearby mountaintops. Jenks may plan to visit the cave with the sign “ABRI” (French for “shelter”). This shelter perhaps refers to the soup kitchen on Mount Pasubio.

Paragraph regarding Bill:

Bill has been suffering from gastroenteritis and wonders whether he needs to have surgery to remove his appendix. “Our Cap Bates” (Captain Robert W. Bates, head of the ARC Ambulance Service in Italy) was not pleased when he saw that Bill had received a package in the mail from Spagnolini Bros (Milan tailor) that contained a new English-style officer’s uniform. Captain Bates ordered Bill to follow regulations and wear the regulation ARC Ambulance uniform. Bill wore the regulation uniform but he was very displeased and quite uncomfortable with the high, tight collar. Bill’s mustache had grown too long and was unruly, so he trimmed it with scissors and added Ed Pinaud’s wax. The result was a beautiful mustache with waxed, turned-up ends.

Paragraph Misc (Miscellaneous):

Two men from ARC Section IV, “Bake” (1st Lt. Edwin H. Baker, Jr.) and “Henry” (2nd Lt. William H. “Henry” George) were honored with crowns for the dedicated leadership they displayed during the recently-ended Battle of the Piave. The “ye hall section” praised them with prayers and singing, including the doxology song (“Praise God from whom all things” etc.), which is an integral part of many Protestant worship services. Everyone is tired of always waiting for (sitting on) fellow ARC Section IV member, Blakeley (G. Bogert Blakeley), who was always running late for every activity. They decide that they’ve waited for Blakeley “for the last time.” Members of Section IV have been anticipating and looking out for an attack, but so far, there has been no such attack (big zero). At noon on Tuesday (actually Wednesday), Sept. 25th, they had fresh eggs for lunch (a treat always worth mentioning). ARC Section IV member, Porritt (Longshaw K. Porritt), who has been overly quiet in the past, seemed much improved at lunch, bragging and telling tall tales (throwing a bull). It augurs well (is a good omen, for Porritt to be more outgoing and assertive).

Complimentary Closing:

To Agnes and Hemingway, with love from Bill, Brummy, and Jenks.

Sender’s Signature:

Drawings of Brummy, Bill, and Jenks together with their names.

Senders Address:

A drawing of the Section IV building at the bottom left corner of page three is the equivalent of a “sender’s address” sometimes put at the end of a letter. The Section IV building served as Section IV headquarters and barracks and was located near Schio, Italy, not far from Mount Pasubio. Artillery shells are depicted flying through the air to indicate that this location is near the front lines. A skeleton is depicted slumped against the front of the building probably denoting that there is little activity at present and times are boring — or perhaps indicating the danger associated with their location.

by Stacey Chandler

Reference archivists at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library are responsible for answering questions from researchers of all kinds around the world. For those of us who work specifically with the paper collections, our detective work can lead us to look at hundreds of documents every day; after all, finding just the right piece of paper in the roughly 48 million pages in our collections can take a bit of digging.

Our reference requests cover a wide range – you can find us working with students to find sources about the Cuban Missile Crisis; showing an Ernest Hemingway fan the (over forty!) drafts of endings to A Farewell to Arms; pointing a current-events follower to Kennedy’s 1960 speech on religion; helping members of the press fact-check historical information; and, of course, assisting scholars as they look for documents about anything from the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the Civil Rights Movement. We’re lucky to have such variety in our work, and to learn something new from these documents every day.

A great benefit of that variety is that our reference team regularly stumbles across unexpected gems in the course of our work. Many people would expect to find some of the most significant policy decisions and cultural moments in United States history documented in our holdings. But how many people would be surprised to come across these – some of my favorite unexpected finds in the archives?

John F. Kennedy was a known history buff, and he collected historical documents and artifacts all his life. A researcher’s question about Kennedy’s interest in history sent me to the Historical Documents Collection, where many of the historical letters John F. Kennedy collected are filed. In my favorite of these letters, President John Adams writes to President James Madison about whether Madison’s brother-in-law should be appointed to a government post. Adams writes,

A President ought not to appoint a Man to office because he is his relation; nor ought he to refuse or neglect to appoint him for that Reason. There would be no Justice to the Individual, to The President himself, nor to the Nation in such a Rule. …Shall he be dismissed, or not employed because he is a Son or a Brother of a President? The Nation has a right to his service.

The two Presidents clearly shared some opinions; almost 150 years later, President Kennedy appointed his brother Robert F. Kennedy as Attorney General, and his brother-in-law Sargent Shriver as Director of the Peace Corps.

1813 letter written by President John Adams. John F. Kennedy Personal Papers, Historical Documents Collection, Box 44, Folder: John Adams. [JFKPP-044-002-p0005] http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPP-044-002.aspx

Searching for a letter a researcher wrote to John F. Kennedy during the 1960 presidential campaign led me to the “Massachusetts” folders in the 1960 Presidential Campaign Files, where this letter was filed away. Kurt Vonnegut had recently published his second novel, The Sirens of Titan, when he wrote to then-Senator Kennedy, introducing himself and offering his services during the 1960 presidential campaign.

The line that makes this one of my favorites: “On occasion, I write pretty well.”

1960 letter from Kurt Vonnegut to John F. Kennedy. John F. Kennedy 1960 Campaign Files, Box 982, Folder: Massachusetts: Unsorted: U-V. [JFKCAMP1960-0982-011-p0003] http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKCAMP1960-0982-011.aspx

Throughout his presidency, John F. Kennedy received many letters from people asking for permission to make him an honorary member of their organization. Assistants would sometimes accept these memberships on the President’s behalf and file the membership cards in the President’s Office Files. I was looking for one of those cards when I noticed this unexpected certificate. Founded in 1810 and still in existence today, the Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves has also given memberships to nearly every President since Kennedy.

Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves membership certificate, December 6, 1961. President’s Office Files, Box 131, Folder: Memberships: 1962. [JFKPOF-131-003-p0017] http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-131-003.aspx

President Kennedy produced so many doodles that we have an entire series – well over one hundred folders – of them in his personal papers. He especially liked to doodle during cabinet meetings and telephone conversations, and we most often see boxes, arrows, sailboats, and single words or phrases repeated several times. The President’s scribbles can be surprisingly revealing sources for researchers, so archivists look through them regularly.

That’s how we became acquainted with the “cheese doodle.”

“Cheese” doodle, April 5 1962. John F. Kennedy Personal Papers, Box 42, Folder: 1962: KP32-KP40. [JFKPP-042-006-p0021] http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPP-042-006.aspx

A quick look at the agenda for this particular cabinet meeting reveals the topics of discussion: foreign policy, unemployment, emergency planning, and the budget. Given these topics, the words “unemployment,” “Austria,” and “commission” make sense. But we may never know what prompted the President to jot down “cheese” a couple of times during the hour-long meeting, making this document one of my favorites.

Working with a literary collection is an unexpected treat for archivists here, where we house the world’s largest collection of Ernest Hemingway papers. One source for interesting Hemingway material is a collection of scrapbooks kept by Hemingway’s mother, Grace. In helping researchers work with them, we’ve found several pages devoted to young Ernest Miller Hemingway’s art. In 1902, a nearly three-year-old Hemingway cut pieces of paper into shapes, and his mother labeled them as he told her what they represented.

These unique documents remind us that some of Hemingway’s most enthusiastic pursuits – hunting (“pistol”), boating (“steam boat”), and traveling by train (“chu chu”) – had interested him since childhood.

Page from Ernest Hemingway scrapbook created by his mother, Grace, 1902. Ernest Hemingway Personal Papers, Other Materials, Scrapbook II, page 44.

The documents featured here represent only a fraction of the many unusual items in our collections, and every processing, digital, and reference archivist plays a role in helping researchers find them. Coming across a fascinating document is fun for every archivist, but it’s also reflective of the President whose papers we work with – who once scribbled on a piece of scrap paper: “Who says American history is uninteresting?”

Note scribbled by John F. Kennedy, c. 1955. John F. Kennedy Personal Papers, Box 39, Folder: Miscellaneous notes: “I do not remember his name…”, letter to Hemingway. [JFKPP-039-002-p0023] http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPP-039-002.aspx

by Jane Silva, UMass Boston Graduate Student Intern

As a graduate student in the History Department’s Archives track at the University of Massachusetts Boston, I was required to complete a 120 hour internship at an archival institution to gain practical experience in the Archives field. At first I thought there was nothing I could learn from an internship, because throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies I had been employed in the Archives of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, where I had gained all the practical experience I thought I needed. However, rules were rules, and per the suggestion of my adviser I took on a project at the Kennedy Library that was different from anything I had done in my previous years there. Not only did I end up having fun doing the project, I also learned several new skills that have broadened my archival abilities and helped build on the skills I previously had.

Partial list of members of the Committee of Arts, Letters, and Sciences for Kennedy for President, undated.
[JLSPP-001-009-p0010]

Partial list of Committee members published in newspapers around the country, Nov. 2, 1960.
[JLSPP-001-010-p0002]

Statement supporting Senator John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign signed by Upton Sinclair, undated. [JLSPP-001-002-p0012]

Telegram from James A. Michener to Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., June 9, 1960.
[JLSPP-001-015-p0028]

With digitization and cataloguing completed, the collection was then published online; it can now be found on the Library’s website at http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JLSPP.aspx.

I had a great time conducting my digitization internship at the John F. Kennedy Library.  I was able to work with people I had never worked with before, I acquired new and valuable skills, and I learned a great deal about the 1960 presidential campaign. None of this could have been possible without the help of my supervisors, Erica Boudreau, Jenny Marciello, and especially Kelly Francis, who answered my hundreds of questions with patience, and who was full of encouragement throughout the entire process.

by Kelly Francis

The economy. Unemployment. Religion. Civil rights. Health care. These were the principal issues of the 2012 presidential election. Surprisingly, they were also the major issues of the 1960 election.

Senator John F. Kennedy’s 1960 Presidential Campaign Files were cataloged concurrently with the 2012 presidential campaign. As I described Senator John F. Kennedy’s speeches from his 1960 campaign I couldn’t help but notice numerous parallels to the 2012 campaign, despite a separation of half a century.

The Economy and Unemployment

The economic concerns of 1960 haven’t changed much over the decades. Americans are still concerned about unemployment levels, the deficit, increasing the debt limit, and the rate of economic growth. In a speech given to the Associated Business Publications conference on October 12, 1960 Senator Kennedy remarks that the U.S. went through two recessions since 1952 and that, “During a recession, as unemployment rises, profits decline, and farmers and small business men suffer especially, the growth of the gross national product slows to a halt, and public revenues shrink.” Sound familiar?

Since 2001 the United States and countries around the world experienced two recessions with rising unemployment numbers, decreased gross domestic product, and a reduction in public revenues. The biggest issues in the 2012 election were the economy and unemployment levels, just as in 1960.

Page one of a Democratic National Committee press release, October 12, 1960. Presidential Campaign Files, 1960, Box 1035, Folder: Publicity Division, October 1960: 9-13 [JFKCAMP1960-1035-007-p0050] http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKCAMP1960-1035-007.aspx

Religion

In 1960 Senator John F. Kennedy’s Catholicism was a major issue of the campaign. A Roman Catholic had never been elected President and many Americans believed that because of his religious faith he would be obligated to take orders from the Pope. In response, Senator Kennedy gave a speech to a group of Protestant ministers at the Greater Houston Ministerial Association in Houston, Texas where he clarified, “…I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for President who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters–and the church does not speak for me.”

In the 2012 election Mitt Romney had the opportunity to become the first Mormon elected President of the United States. Although his religion was not a point of concern for many Americans it would have been a religious milestone had he won the election, as it was for President Kennedy.

Page from address at the Houston Ministerial Association, September 12, 1960. Presidential Campaign Files, 1960, Box 1049, Folder: Religion: Ministerial Association, Houston, Texas, 12 September 1960. [JFKCAMP1960-1049-020-p0051] http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKCAMP1960-1049-020.aspx

Civil Rights

The 1960s is one of the most important decades in American history, with civil rights playing a large role. It’s hard to imagine in 2012 not being able to eat or sit where you want, being required to pass a literacy test before you can vote, or not getting housing due to the color of your skin. Unfortunately, these inequities were all too common during the 1960s. It wasn’t until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before laws were passed to outlaw all discrimination against race, religion, and gender, and it wasn’t until 1967 that anti-miscegenation laws were ruled unconstitutional.

Regardless of the anti-discrimination legislation passed in the 1960s, inequality still exists in 2012. The rights of the LGBT community, particularly concerning same-sex marriage, have become a major issue in political campaigns. Despite the legalization of same-sex marriage in nine states, 30 states passed constitutional bans on gay marriage and in 1996 the Federal government passed the Defense of Marriage Act, legally preventing the government from recognizing same-sex unions. However, a popular vote in the 2012 election legalized marriage equality in three more states.

Page from a speech on health care, April 1, 1960. Presidential Campaign Files, 1960, Box 1032, Folder: Social Security and depressed areas: Medical care for our older citizens. [JFKCAMP1960-1032-008-p0001] http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKCAMP1960-1032-008.aspx

No matter how far we feel we have progressed as a society, we only need to go back a short time in history to see that things really aren’t all that different than they were 50 years ago. The campaign issues discussed above are only a few addressed by Senator Kennedy during the campaign. Explore for yourself in the 1960 Presidential Campaign Files, now fully available in our Digital Archives: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKCAMP1960.aspx

by Tara Mayes, Graduate Student Intern (UMass Boston)

I began my career here at the Kennedy Library six months ago as an intern, eager to work in an institution dedicated to historical research and interpretation. I have to admit, however, that before coming here I had basic (aka, grade school) knowledge of John F. Kennedy. As a graduate History student at UMass Boston, I’ve narrowed my focus to Native American, African American, and early nineteenth-century maritime history. So when I was first asked to create a bulletin board focusing on civil rights during the Kennedy Administration, I was a little hesitant. The Kennedy Library is a treasure chest of incredible documents regarding the subject, and choosing a select few to cover the 45 x 33-inch space was daunting. In taking the risk, however, I experienced a journey that not only enriched my historical knowledge but also helped me to reflect and create a new understanding of history.

The year 2014 will mark the 50th anniversary of “Freedom Summer,” a summer that sparked great social change in American history. I approached the task by selecting documents that thematically demonstrated the road to civil rights as a journey. This is not to say that 1964 marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. American citizens, especially those of color, began demanding their equality long before the 20th century. The Civil War ended in 1865, and since then men and women turned a mirror to the American government, asking them to reflect on the basic principle that founded this country: “All men are created equal.” Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954 amended a ruling created 100 years earlier that separate did not inherently mean equal. The Freedom Rides began in 1961, when students on integrated buses risked their lives traveling south in protest of segregation on public transportation. In 1962, James Meredith initiated the integration of Ole’ Miss. All of these events were steps on a larger journey highlighting an issue of inequality in American society that led up to 1964.

I wanted observers to recognize the journey up to that year. The board starts with a small recap of events leading up to Freedom Summer, including a 1961 New York Times article with a caption that reads, “Attorney General Foresees a Negro as President.” The article summarizes an interview in which Robert F. Kennedy expressed the importance of establishing equal rights for African American citizens:

“In the next thirty or forty years a Negro can also achieve the same position that my brother has as President of the United States…”  (The New York Times, May 27, 1961)

The display then skips to April 1963, featuring the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” which Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote after his arrest for participating in demonstrations in Birmingham. I also included a telegram sent to the President in response to King’s arrest. I found the telegram to be exciting, as people such as Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and Marlon Brando added their names to the many demanding King’s release.

First page of Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” White House Central Subject Files, Box 367, Folder: Human Rights: 2: ST 1 (Alabama): General, May 1963: 21-31. The rest of the letter can be seen here:     http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHCSF-0367-006.aspx

List of names attached to a telegram protesting King’s arrest. White House Central Subject Files, Box 367, Folder: Human Rights: 2: ST 1 (Alabama): General, 1963: 1 January-10 May. The rest of the telegram can be seen here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHCSF-0367-004.aspx

Another interesting document I chose was a summary of global reactions to the civil rights demonstrations and the violence protestors endured. This document illustrates the Kennedy Administration’s keen awareness that America projected a negative image overseas in regard to civil rights and the treatment of protestors. This was the era of the Cold War; it would be hard to criticize Communism and preach democracy and freedom when people were beaten and killed for asking for rights in a country founded on those principles.

Pages from a report to the President. President’s Office Files, Box 108, Folder: Trips: Tennessee/Alabama, 18 May 1963. The rest of the document can be seen here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-108-010.aspx

I also decided to add two telegrams from Governor George Wallace of Alabama to President Kennedy. In the telegrams, the Governor condemned what he saw as the abuse of states’ rights, and the violence and disruption civil rights protestors were carrying out in Birmingham. I juxtaposed the telegrams with a Charleston newspaper article that provides graphic images of protestors being attacked with fire hoses and police dogs. For me, the juxtaposition visually reflects the propaganda versus the reality.

Statement from a telegram to President Kennedy. White House Central Subject Files, Box 366, Folder: Human Rights: 2: ST 1 (Alabama): Executive. The full telegram, and others from Governor Wallace to President Kennedy, can be seen here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHCSF-0366-002.aspx

News clipping from the Charleston Gazette. White House Central Subject Files, Box 367, Folder: Human Rights: 2: ST 1 (Alabama): General, May 1963: 11-20. This and other newspaper clippings can be seen here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHCSF-0367-005.aspx

The display transitions into June 1963, when I found that President Kennedy could no longer ignore what must be done. On June 11, 1963 the President delivered his “Radio and Televised Address to the Nation on Civil Rights”. Instead of displaying a copy of the speech, I chose instead to exhibit a draft of the speech. Theodore Sorensen, the President’s Special Counsel and speech writer, was a civil rights advocate, which he clearly demonstrated through the speech draft. I found the drafts especially interesting because of President Kennedy’s edits; I noticed that he substituted some of Sorensen’s words that may have appeared too provocative or alienating, putting in language that could be seen as less inflammatory. For example, on the fourth page of the second draft, Sorensen wrote, “A social revolution is at hand—and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution peaceful and constructive for all…” The President scratched out the word “revolution” and replaced it with “change”—though ultimately used the word “revolution” in his final delivery.

Draft of June 11, 1963 speech. President’s Office Files, Box 45, Folder: Radio and television address on civil rights, 11 June 1963. The full draft can be seen here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-045-005.aspx

Next to the draft is a note directing the observer to the Kennedy Library website to listen to (http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-194-001.aspx) or watch (http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/TNC-262-EX.aspx) the speech as it was delivered. Listening to or watching the speech provides a new experience of what the American public heard versus what was written in the draft. It portrays the sense of urgency President Kennedy felt regarding civil rights, especially during the last couple of minutes, when he goes off script and earnestly and explicitly details the need for change.

The bulletin board ends, fittingly, in August 1963, marking the end of summer. That month brought the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. On the board, I chose to display a copy of the press release from the President’s office endorsing the march:

Americans both Negro and white exercising their right to assembly peaceably and direct the widest possible attention to a great national issue…What is different today is the intensified and widespread public awareness of the need to move forward in achieving these objectives, objectives which are older than this nation. Although this summer has seen remarkable progress in translating civil rights from principles into practices, we have a very long way yet to travel.

(White House Staff Files of Pierre Salinger, Press Releases, Box 99, Folder: 8/28/63)

President Kennedy’s assessment proved accurate, for that summer did not mark the end of the journey. It was not until after President Kennedy’s assassination that President Lyndon B. Johnson was able to pass the Civil Rights Act on July 2, 1964.

I enjoyed creating the board because it was a learning experience for me. When first asked to tackle the challenge, I thought that I would portray the subject matter in a simple, creative way to pique the interests of visitors to the research room. I did not think, however, that during the process I would find my own interest in the subject, which has nothing to do with my interest in early nineteenth-century maritime history. I could not have been more wrong. In telling the story of the journey of brave individuals involved in the Civil Rights Movement, I saw links to my own work: individuals constantly fighting and struggling for freedom, equality, and citizenship that stretched before the Civil War. The summer of 1963 was a summer of change, in which President Kennedy struggled on his journey, trying to balance and uphold the law while avoiding alienating southern white citizens. His June 11 speech, for me, marked his realization that the importance of the issue outweighed fear of division. The summer of ’63 reflects the long and tumultuous journey for African American people and their fight for freedom against the bondage of second-class citizenship.

Doing the board reminded me of why I chose to be a historian and how the lessons and events of yesterday still pertain and are very much relevant today. History always amazes and surprises me from the lessons it can teach; it is absolutely incredible and slightly eerie that I get to live during the time that Robert F. Kennedy predicted, understanding that the importance in having equal rights did not end in 1963 or even in 1964 with the passing of the bill; it is a continual struggle. So I think ahead, to the intern in the Research department at the Kennedy Library fifty years from now, having just received the task of commemorating the 100th anniversary of Freedom Summer of 1964. What new discoveries will emerge then?

by Stacey Chandler, Reference Archives Technician

Just in time for Mother’s Day, our digital archivists have published a folder that contains some favorite documents here at the Kennedy Library. This folder comes from the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Personal Papers, and the documents inside offer an illuminating glimpse at the intersection of Kennedy family life and the world of high-stakes international politics.

In 1962, President Kennedy’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, was already in the midst of a project collecting signatures from notable people to give as gifts. She eventually collected autographs from renowned creative artists like Robert Frost and Marc Chagall; U.S. Presidents Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower; and foreign leaders including David Ben-Gurion of Israel and Konrad Adenauer of West Germany, among others. But when Rose Kennedy contacted Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in August 1962 to ask for signed photographs, she prompted President Kennedy to write one of the most interesting personal letters of his Presidency.

Having received the signed photographs she requested from Premier Khrushchev, Rose sent them along to the President in late October 1962 and suggested that he add his own signature. President Kennedy, hearing about his mother’s correspondence with Khrushchev for the first time, responded with this letter – an explanation that asking favors of foreign leaders could be a tricky business.

Typed letter signed “Jack” from John F. Kennedy to Rose Kennedy, November 3, 1962, with Rose Kennedy’s hand-written notation. Rose Kennedy Personal Papers, Box 57, Folder: Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, 1961-1968

John F. Kennedy’s concern that “requests of this nature are subject to interpretations” may have been influenced by the timing of this particular request. The President received the photographs from Rose sometime between October 19 and November 3 – a time frame that captured the peak of tension in the Cuban Missile Crisis standoff between Kennedy and Khrushchev. And, in fact, this note to his mother wasn’t the only carefully-crafted letter President Kennedy sent that day. On November 3, 1962, Kennedy also wrote to Khrushchev on the delicate negotiations surrounding the end of the crisis. (You can read that letter in Robert F. Kennedy’s Attorney General Papers, here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/RFKAG-217-001.aspx).

Rose Kennedy’s response to the President’s letter was apologetic, but not without some humor:

Excerpt from typed carbon copy of Rose Kennedy”s letter to John F. Kennedy, November 10, 1962. Rose Kennedy Personal Papers, Box 57, Folder: Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, 1961-1968

Rose recalled the Khrushchev signature episode when writing her 1974 memoir Times to Remember, noting, “We often joked about the incident later.” It is clear, though, that the President’s mother took her son’s request seriously; a few months later, she asked the President for permission to contact Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for his autograph. According to a secretary, President Kennedy responded “Yes – go ahead,” and Rose’s collection was soon expanded by signed copies of Nehru’s autobiography.

While we already knew that President Kennedy made time for his mother while he was in the White House (see his Mother’s Day telegram below), these letters and the story behind them serve as a reminder of the influence a mother can have, even in the unexpected arena of global politics.

Telegram from John F. Kennedy to Rose Kennedy. Rose Kennedy Personal Papers, Box 57, Folder: Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, 1961-1968

You can see all of these letters in this newly-added folder in the digital archives: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/ROFKPP-057-001.aspx

Materials consulted for this post:

• Robert F. Kennedy Attorney General Papers, Box 217, Folder: 6-4-2: Cuba: Cuban Crisis, 1962: Kennedy-Khrushchev Letters, Etc.

• Rose Kennedy Personal Papers, Box 6, Folder: 1972: Diary Notebook B, “Girlhood, Married Life, Children, Campaigning, Later Years”

• Rose Kennedy Personal Papers, Box 57, Folder: Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, 1961-1968

• Rose Kennedy Personal Papers, Box 63, Folder: Autographed Books, 1961-63, 1967

• Rose Kennedy Personal Papers, Box 98, Folder: Special Letters: World Leaders, 1961

by Maura Porter, Declassification Archivist

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of intelligent and committed young students at the Yarm School in northern England. My goddaughter is a student at the school and she asked me to speak about President Kennedy when I visited with her and her family on vacation.

At first I was unsure about which topic to discuss. The age of the students at the lecture could range from 8 to 18. But even more importantly, these were youngsters from a different country and history. Yes, they would know the name John F. Kennedy. But my concern was that I would be speaking to them about a leader and a history that was not their own.

Originally, I had thought of discussing the Cuban Missile Crisis since we had just passed the 50-year anniversary, but again doubts arose about whether this would be of interest to youngsters from England. So I decided that a better route would be to discuss a program of President Kennedy’s Administration that is still active today. A subject that is still timely. A program that still has great affect upon peoples of the world. I chose the Peace Corps.

I spent a good amount of time reviewing speeches by President Kennedy on the Peace Corps and culling a list of addresses or public commentary that I thought most interesting and then sat down with one of our intrepid AV archivists Laurie Austin to review what kind of audio and/or visual materials we had, if any, on the speeches listed. We were able to pull together a great group of 1960 campaign speeches, presidential addresses, and press conference remarks on the Peace Corps. Laurie created a DVD video. So with video in hand, paperwork on each speech, and background on the political and social decision-making behind the creation of the Peace Corps, I traveled to England.

Flyer on campus

On Monday, June 3rd, I arrived at the Yarm School. The group for the luncheon lecture included approximately 40 students. Attendance was voluntary. The age of the attendees was from 11 to 18. To be honest, I was just hoping that I would maybe interest a student or two. My fears were totally unfounded.

Watching the video

I began by providing a context on the Cold War – how this idea of a peace corps of civilian men and women had both political and social aspects that could not be separated from one another. The decision to create this “army” of Peace Corps volunteers was based both on politics and on philanthropy. The first speech played was from the University of Michigan on October 14, 1960. Candidate Kennedy was very late arriving and at 2AM found himself in a crowd of about 10,000 students. Speaking extemporaneously, John Kennedy asked them, “How many of you, who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world?” The Kennedy Administration idea of a Peace Corps had begun.

The next clip was from a few weeks later on November 2, 1960, just before the election, at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, when John Kennedy proposed “a peace corps of talented men and women” who would dedicate themselves to the progress and peace of developing countries. This piece had no audio, just video, but the students were extremely attentive as I read from portions of the speech and they watched a video of a huge crowd at the Cow Palace in what to them must have seemed like ancient history.

The rest of the video played on with press conference remarks, President Kennedy greeting Peace Corps volunteers at the White House before they headed off to their assigned countries, and other commentary on the Peace Corps.

Questions

As I watched the students’ faces during the video they seemed enthralled and genuinely interested; however, when the lecture ended, I expected a sort of quick exit of the students. But they stayed. Several had questions that were beyond the scope of what I was expecting from young, non-American students on an American president who died a half century ago. The most amazing question was from a young girl who asked whether “the funding for the Peace Corps to a specific country diminished the overall aid package to that country, or was there supplemental funding for the Peace Corps so that the aid already assigned to programs would not change?” – a sophisticated and multifaceted question, even more so when you realize that the student was just eleven years old.

There were other contemplative questions from students of all ages. Why were Tanganyika and Ghana the first countries chosen? Why wasn’t it made an independent agency immediately? A Sixth Form or senior-year student asked if I could send him some materials once I returned; he is putting together a website on American presidents.

River Tees

The Yarm School has a beautiful campus on the River Tees. It is a major educational success story in the North East. Almost all of their pupils go on to degree courses at university, including significant numbers to Oxford and Cambridge. After visiting I realized I could have discussed any topic from the Kennedy years and the student body would have been knowledgeable and interested. They were an amazing group.

After I returned home, I received this snippet from the Yarm School’s Sixth Form Newsletter:

News from the Attic!

Today has been a typical sort of a day in the Attic. Busy! Yes! You would expect classes and teaching but what else have we been up to? Continuity! A theme sustained inspirationally in the weekly lunch time lecture series, organised by Jacob Hodgson Stokes, who takes over this baton from Adam Stockley, who took over the baton from our “founder,” Will Toher. This week it was held today (usual slot: Wednesday) to accommodate a visitor from Boston: Maura Porter, a Senior Archivist at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Service! Contemplating the legacy of JFK through the work of the Peace Corps, Maura reinforced the ideas of active service in communities, irrespective of political dissension, a theme of our inaugural Think Global School “International Volunteers” Day.

I think President Kennedy would be proud to know that the Peace Corps, an idea germinated over 50 years ago in the context of the Cold War, would excite youngsters in a school in Northern England as they contemplate active service in communities. To me, that is quite a legacy, indeed.

by Kelly Francis, Assistant Digital Archivist for Textual Collections

One of the more recent collections from the holdings of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library to be fully accessible in the digital archives is the White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford. Mr. Wofford worked as an assistant to Senator John F. Kennedy and later as the Special Assistant to the President for Civil Rights from 1961 to 1962, heading the Subcabinet Group on Civil Rights. In May of 1962 Mr. Wofford was appointed Peace Corps Special Representative for Africa.

The collection consists of four series: Alphabetical Files, 1956-1962; Civil Rights Progress Reports, 1961-1962; Speeches, 1961-1962; and Audiovisual Material, 1960.

Letter from Jackie Robinson, Vice President of Chock Full o’ Nuts and former baseball player, to President Kennedy urging him to do more for civil rights:

[View folder here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHSFHW-008-016.aspx]

Mr. Wofford worked diligently in his role as the Special Assistant for Civil Rights to promote equality within federal departments and agencies. He also encouraged equal opportunity in employment and housing, and battled discriminatory practices in public areas.

Letter to President Kennedy from Bettye Frink, Secretary of State of Alabama, on Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, and the integration of public parks

[View folder here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHSFHW-003-002.aspx]

Examples of documents in the collection include correspondence with various persons on the topic of civil rights and the integration of educational institutions; correspondents include Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP, (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Telegram from Edgar W. Evers [sic] (Medgar Evers), civil rights activist and the NAACP field secretary for Mississippi

[View folder here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHSFHW-005-002.aspx]

Special thanks to Timothy A. Bowen, Kelly Francis, Olivia Mandica-Hart, and Lara Ullman for all their work to make this collection available online.

by Kelly Francis, Assistant Digital Archivist for Textual Collections

The National Security Files (NSF) is one of the most popular collections requested by researchers at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. A rich collection, the NSF is a sub-file of the Presidential Papers of John F. Kennedy and the working files of McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.

The Subjects series of the NSF was recently digitized and is now available online via the Kennedy Library’s website: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKNSF.aspx (click on “View Collection Content” at bottom of page).

The series consists of 23 boxes of material covering numerous topics including: the Alliance for Progress, the balance of payments, civil defense, foreign aid, nuclear weapons, background information for speeches by President Kennedy, space exploration, trade, and the United Nations. Below is a sampling of newly-available digital documents:

Page one of a memorandum regarding the Soviet Union’s media coverage of civil rights in the United States.

View the rest of the memorandum here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKNSF-295-016.aspx

A memorandum on security protocol for people traveling with President Kennedy.

View digitized folder of material here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKNSF-306-006.aspx

Probable votes on a moratorium against recognizing Communist China in the United Nations.                                                                     

View digitized folder of material here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKNSF-312-005.aspx

 by Jessica Green and Tiffany Link, Graduate Student Interns (Simmons College and Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Cover of Mother’s Scrapbook 1

Grace Hall Hemingway created and annotated five scrapbooks to document her son Ernest’s first eighteen years of life, long before he became a Nobel Prize-winning author. These unique scrapbooks include countless photographs of the Hemingway family and their friends both on vacation at their cottage in Michigan and at their home in Oak Park, Illinois. There are also many of young Hemingway’s letters, childhood drawings, homework assignments, and brochures from plays and events he attended. These scrapbooks are a valuable resource not only for Hemingway scholars, but for those interested in early 20^th century life as well.

The first two scrapbooks were digitized in 2007 and the scrapbooks in digital form have been available for research in the John F. Kennedy Library for the last few years. During her 2012 summer internship in the Audiovisual Department at the JFK Library, Tiffany Link digitized scrapbook volumes 3, 4, and 5. There is a sixth scrapbook made by Grace Hall for Ernest’s grandparents (Grandparents’ Scrapbook) that has yet to be digitized.

The fragile condition of these scrapbooks has limited access to them by researchers in the past. Fortunately, Tiffany’s work last summer allows researchers to now view the scrapbooks in digital form on our website. The digitized versions allow researchers access to the information contained in the scrapbooks without causing harm to the delicate artifacts that might occur by handling them. PDFs of all five scrapbooks are now available for download on our website. High resolution images are also available at the library for viewing. To make an appointment to view the digital scrapbooks or other photographs in the Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection, please email JFK.avarchives@nara.gov or call the reference line at 617-514-1622. In the future, the scrapbook images will be available through the library’s Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) with complete metadata.

Though the actual digitization process took nine weeks last summer, the effort was years in the making. Several years ago, audiovisual archivist James Hill and a former Hemingway Department intern, Alyssa Pacy, photographed the scrapbooks, creating 4×5 negatives for each page and each page of any inserts. The digital images were created from the 4×5 negatives. The first two weeks of the current digitization effort were spent organizing the 440 negatives and assigning each image a digital identifier. The next five weeks involved scanning each of the negatives. The last two weeks were spent identifying individuals in the newly scanned photographs and letters.

We Need Your Help Solving Mysteries!

While most photographs included caption information, some were blank or identified people with the infamous Hemingway family nicknames. We are hoping there is someone out there who can help us complete the collection by identifying some of the unknown individuals!

1. Who is Sue? She is pictured alongside Sunny (Hemingway’s sister Madeleine) in the following photos in Scrapbooks 3 and 4. Is she his sister Ursula or somebody else?

Four Kids and a dog (Sunny + Sue) April 1908
Scrapbook 3 p. 84, EH10440P

Sunny & Sue June 1910
Scrapbook 4 p. 17, EH10495P & EH10496P

2. The baby pictured in the image below looks similar to Hemingway’s sister Carol in the top image, but the caption identifies her as Don. Are they the same baby or different? Who is Don?

3 mo[nth] old Carol; Little Don in her nest 3 mo[nth] old
Scrapbook 4 p. 45, EH6216P & EH10529P

Tiffany Link is a student at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She worked as an intern in the audiovisual reference unit during the summer of 2012.

Jessica Green is a student at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College. From February 2012 to June 2013 she was an intern working with the Ernest Hemingway Collection.

by Christina Lehman Fitzpatrick, Processing Archives Technician

Cover of Peace Corps First Annual Report to Congress, 1962
[JFKPOF-086-003-p0002]

My co-presenter for the workshop was Susan McElrath, the university archivist at American University, home of the newly-launched Peace Corps Community Archive. Our session was titled “Archiving Your Peace Corps History.” We discussed how RPCVs can develop a personal collection of items documenting their Peace Corps service; provided tips for preserving and storing these materials; talked about the process of donating personal materials to an archival repository; and reviewed the collecting scopes of each of our respective Peace Corps collections. Some of  following information may be of interest to our readers and to other potential donors of personal archives.

What should a personal Peace Corps archive contain?

When gathering your important documents, consider what journalists call the “Five Ws”: who, what, where, when, and why. Documents that answer these questions will form the foundation of your collection. Prioritize primary-source material, that is, material that is directly relevant to your own personal work and experiences. Primary-source material is the most informative because it provides a first-hand account of your service. Usually these are items you created yourself – such as letters you wrote or pictures you took – but sometimes they can also be items you used extensively, such as project manuals, or items created by other volunteers, such as a local Peace Corps newsletter. Consider whether you have any correspondence, diaries, training syllabi, rosters, directories, reports, plans, scrapbooks, slides, or videos from your service.

Organizing your personal archive

Sorting and labeling your materials will allow you to gain control over the collection. Start by grouping similar types of materials together. For example, it is helpful to have all of your correspondence together in chronological or alphabetical order. Once you have organized your materials, place them in folders and label the folders with titles and date ranges, such as “Letters from home, 1961-1963.” Create an inventory of your collection by typing up a simple list of folder titles. You can also provide supplemental information if the context of certain items might not be clear to others. Photographs, especially, can benefit from adding a caption that describes the event and date and lists the names of people pictured.

Preserving your personal archive

The key to making sure your collection lasts as long as possible is a neutral storage environment. There are several things you can do to protect your materials. Try to keep the temperature and humidity as stable as possible because major fluctuations will cause items to deteriorate more quickly. Ideal conditions are a temperature between 68-70 degrees and relative humidity between 40-45 percent, but these benchmarks can be very difficult to achieve. The most important thing is to avoid storing your materials in the attic or the basement, where temperature/humidity fluctuations tend to be greatest. Always store your boxes on shelves instead of on the floor to prevent water damage from floods or leaks.

President Kennedy greets first Peace Corps Volunteers in the Rose Garden, Aug. 28, 1961 [JFKWHP-KN-C18661]

Exercise caution when handling fragile materials. The principle to keep in mind is “first, do no harm.” Avoid making non-reversible changes to your documents. For example, do not repair tears with Scotch tape. If you have to write on an item, use pencil, not pen. Instead of writing directly on the document, consider making notes on a separate piece of paper and file it in the same location. If you notice that rusty staples or paperclips are staining paper items, carefully remove them.

To ensure long-term access to digital files, make multiple copies and store them on a variety of media. For example, put one copy on a CD and also back one up on a removable hard drive. Since file formats change frequently, plan to transfer your files before they become outdated and unreadable. Using common formats such as PDF for text documents and MP3 or WAV for audio files will aid long-term readability.

Do-it-yourself or donate?

Caring for your personal collection is rewarding but it can also be quite labor-intensive. Consider your audience and your goals for maintaining this material; do you want to share your story with your immediate family or with the entire world?  Donating your items to an archival repository will make them publicly accessible to researchers seeking to understand the importance of the Peace Corps through history. You have many choices when determining where to donate your materials: a local historical society in your home town, the archives of your alma mater, or a repository that specifically collects Peace Corps materials. One benefit of donating your collection to an archive that has other Peace Corps collections is that it is already a destination for researchers, which will improve the likelihood of your materials being used on a regular basis.

What to expect when donating

If you wish to donate your material to an archival repository, first make a list of exactly what you want to send. Submit this information to the archivist with your contact information including country and dates of service. Please do not mail your material before contacting the staff with your donation inquiry; unsolicited donations may be returned. Once your donation is accepted, there is some paperwork to complete. Most archives require that you sign a deed of gift agreement to legally formalize the transfer of ownership. Executing a deed is in the best interests of both the donor and the repository, as it establishes the relationship between the two parties and documents the legal status of the materials. It also provides rules for the administration and use of the collection, and documents ownership of intellectual property rights; the Kennedy Library’s strong preference is for donors to transfer all intellectual property rights (copyright) that they hold in the materials, to the United States, making them pubic domain (PD).

Once your materials are accessioned into the archives, they will be available for research. If your collection contains sensitive information that should not be made public, be sure to mention this to the archivist during the donation process. Most archives routinely screen incoming materials for privacy concerns, such as personal medical or financial information, but it is very helpful if the donor points out specific issues in their papers. Access restrictions can also be specified in your deed of gift, though we encourage donors to open as much material as they possibly can; reviewing archivists will close any materials that infringe on the privacy rights of other individuals.

Peace Corps collections at the Kennedy Library and American University

First Group of Peace Corps Volunteers, First Annual Report to Congress, 1962 [JFKPOF-086-003-p0021]

The Kennedy Library is also home to the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Archival Project, an oral history initiative. Spearheaded by the late Bob Klein (RPCV Ghana I, 1961-1963), the project began recording oral history interviews with returned volunteers in the late 1990s. Since then, nearly 500 interviews have been completed and added to the collection. The scope of the oral history project is is not limited to the years of the Kennedy Administration. We are very grateful to Bob, and now to Phyllis Noble (RPCV Nigeria, 1965-1967), for their extraordinary efforts in building this marvelous collection.

The Peace Corps Community Archive at American University collects, exhibits, and provides educational and public programs that document the experiences and impact of individuals who served in the Peace Corps, and that of individuals and institutions in host countries. There are no limitations on format, date of service, or country. The institution also collects the organizational records of National Peace Corp Association member groups. For more information, please review the donation policies for the collection.

by Sarah Jennette, Graduate Student Intern (Simmons College GSLIS)

The Oral History Collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library includes an interview with Corinne “Lindy” Boggs, a notable member of the House of Representatives from Louisiana and a longtime friend of the Kennedy family. Sadly, Boggs passed away at her home in Maryland on Saturday, July 30^th at the age of 97, leaving behind a prodigious legacy in politics that spanned several decades.

Prior to her own political career on Capitol Hill, Lindy Boggs supported her husband, Thomas Hale Boggs, who served as a congressional representative from Louisiana from 1941 until 1943. Hale Boggs served again in 1947, eventually becoming House Majority Leader until his death in 1972, when a plane in which he was traveling disappeared over Alaska. Following this tragic incident, Lindy Boggs was chosen by special election to fill her husband’s vacant spot, becoming the first woman from the state of Louisiana to be elected to Congress, a position she held for nine consecutive terms. In 1976, she was also the first woman to preside over the Democratic National Convention.

U.S. Congressional Representative from Louisiana Thomas Hale Boggs visiting President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office along with his wife, Lindy Boggs, and two other unidentified women. White House, Washington D.C., November 5, 1963. [JFKWHP-ST-C380-2-63]

Within her oral history interview, Lindy Boggs speaks at length about her and her husband’s friendship with the Kennedys, as well as her behind-the-scenes work as a political wife for the Democratic Party at that time. She gives voice to the experiences of other political wives and women in Washington, calling them “a remarkable lot” for the work they accomplished, diving head first into projects for fundraising and philanthropy, political campaign support, as well as other civic engagement efforts in the arts and entertainment. Perhaps not surprisingly, Boggs acknowledged that her work as a political wife prior to her husband’s death prepared her for her own time in Congress. The relationships and friendships she made while following his career became vital to her successful transition into politics, and she acknowledged feeling “privileged” to have supporters all around her.

One of Boggs’s major contributions during the Kennedy years was her role as co-chair of the inaugural ball planning committee. The committee was tasked with overseeing not only the celebratory pageantry of the gala, but also its business side as a major fundraising event in Washington. In her oral history interview, Boggs tells the story of how she, ironically, missed the inauguration of President Kennedy because of last-minute logistical problems caused by a massive snowstorm in Washington the night before, threatening to interfere with ticket distribution for the inaugural ball.

Lindy Boggs remained a representative in Congress until 1991. In 1997, President Clinton elected her as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See, a position she held for six years. Her death represents the passing of an era, and we are honored to hold a piece of her important legacy in the Archives of the Kennedy Library.

Lindy Boggs’s oral history interview can be found here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKOH-CB-01.aspx

Her daughter is the noted journalist, author, and NPR senior analyst, Cokie Roberts.

by Stephanie Mokszychi, Graduate Student Intern (Simmons College GSLIS)

At the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, collections are frequently processed years before digital images and related metadata are available online. Typically, multiple archivists handle materials as they move through the processing, cataloging, and digitization steps. In a trial experiment, I was responsible for all three of these stages in addition to creating a finding aid for the Margaret Ronayne Hahn Personal Papers. The goal of this project was to determine if a new combined method was one that could be applied to future collections.

Before starting this project I consulted the processing manual to familiarize myself with the guidelines and procedures that the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and its parent institution, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), have in place. I then worked on a processing plan, consulting an initial inventory, checking the deed status and potential restrictions imposed by the donor, and surveying the extent of the collection. I created a basic structure for textual folders in Documentum, the digital asset management system (DAMS) at the Kennedy Library. As I scanned documents, digital files were stored in Documentum according to their digital identifiers.  In retrospect, scanning the collection before arranging it was probably a bit premature. The digital identifiers and order of the folders changed repeatedly as I moved things around and probably created more work than I needed to.

I was surprised to find how challenging arranging series could be. While the collection contained items related primarily to the senatorial and presidential campaigns of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, there were a few objects that just didn’t quite fit with the rest. For example, contained in these papers was a road map of the state of Illinois. While I could infer from related materials that this was used during Hahn’s work on the 1960 presidential campaign, I could not include it in that series. There was no clear indication on the object itself that suggested this use and as a result I placed it in the General File. Several times I was faced with decisions like this; and it was only with the help of some more experienced archivists that I was able to create a logical series list.

Shoe repair receipt for John F. Kennedy. View digitized folder here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/MRHPP-001-023.aspx

I was also a little uneasy about discarding newspaper clippings. As an archivist and lover of old documents, it was tempting to keep everything that the Library accumulated. After talking with others, I soon realized that many newspapers are available in a number of other places and that it simply wasn’t necessary to keep them here as well. Instead, I scanned all the originals for online viewing and photocopied them on archival paper, which will hold up better over time. The digitized materials will eliminate the need for researchers to handle fragile documents and allow them to access information remotely.

Newspaper clipping, Rose Kennedy campaigns for John F. Kennedy in Xenia, Ohio. View digitized folder of material here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/MRHPP-001-013.aspx

Removing valuable materials was also an interesting part of processing this collection. Margaret Ronayne Hahn had several examples of correspondence with members of the Kennedy family in her personal papers, including letters of appreciation from Rose and John for her help on the 1960 presidential campaign, and thank you notes for her condolences on the loss of both John and Robert F. Kennedy. In order to ensure the safety of these materials, I photocopied the originals and replaced them in the open folders. I then created parallel folders to house the original materials. These items will be stored separately to guarantee their safekeeping.

Thank you note signed by Robert F. Kennedy to Margaret (Maggie) Hahn. View digitized folder of material here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/MRHPP-001-021.aspx

Thank you note signed by Rose Kennedy to Margaret (Maggie) Hahn. View digitized folder of material here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/MRHPP-001-001.aspx

The biggest challenge I found when engaging in this project was simply finding a space to accommodate all my roles. I needed a computer capable of accessing the DAMS, the Kennedy Library website, and the shared drive where materials and templates that document processing and scanning decisions are stored. Unfortunately, the computers that are currently set up to scan do not have this capability. I found myself switching between available work stations when I needed to create transfer sheets or document over-sized items. It was also difficult finding physical space to label and re-folder materials. A larger table or desk would have been an improvement and limited the amount of piles that accumulated around me. Overall, though, these problems were very minor and the entire experience went quite smoothly.

After completing digitization and finalizing the description, the finding aid to the Margaret Ronayne Hahn Personal Papers was published online. It can be found here: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/MRHPP.aspx

I found the experience to be incredibly useful and I hope the Kennedy Library extends it to future interns. It was beneficial to see the entire process, from processing to web publication, and gain a better understanding of what goes into making a collection available. I scanned photographs and consulted the Audiovisual Reference unit on sound recordings, reviewed donor records, and wrote a finding aid–all skills that I would not have otherwise gained. I value what my colleagues and peers are working on, and appreciate their hard work each step of the way. Working on the Margaret Ronayne Hahn collection has also reaffirmed my excitement for the profession. There are fascinating materials hidden in collections all over and we in the archival profession can share them with the world.

by Stacey Chandler, Reference Archives Technician

With the launch of the National Archives video for the It Gets Better Project, we’re spotlighting documents on the history of the LGBT rights movement from the collections of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10450, which barred people with a history of “criminal, infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful conduct,” including “sexual perversion,” from serving as employees of the United States government. That year, a young World War II veteran named Frank Kameny was working on his Ph.D. in astronomy at Harvard. In July 1957, he was hired as an astronomer for the U.S. Army Map Service – the work, he later wrote, he had hoped to do since he was seven years old.

But by 1958, the U.S. Civil Service Commission had fired and banned Dr. Kameny from federal service after investigating him for homosexual activity in violation of E.O. 10450. He appealed his firing through federal courts, losing twice; his appeal eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1961. The Court refused to review his claim, but Kameny made history by bringing the case – the first civil rights claim based on sexual orientation – to the Supreme Court.

Kameny continued to advocate for gay rights, forming the activist group The Mattachine Society of Washington in 1961. His work with the group is documented in the Kennedy Library archives, which holds letters that Kameny and other Mattachine members sent to the President in an effort “to stand up for their rights and freedoms.” Kameny explained in one letter:

In World War II, I willingly fought the Germans, with bullets, in order to preserve and secure my rights, freedoms, and liberties, and those of my fellow citizens. In 1961, it has, ironically, become necessary for me to fight my own government, with words, in order to achieve some of the very same rights, freedoms, and liberties for which I placed my life in jeopardy in 1945. This letter is part of that fight. (May 15, 1961)

[JFKWHCNF-1418-002-p0002]

Kameny wrote an astounding number of letters throughout his lifetime of advocacy, most of which are now in the Library of Congress. The huge volume of his correspondence makes the personal nature of his letters to President Kennedy especially surprising for archivists here. In these letters, he tenaciously argued for the right of gay Americans to work as civil servants, poignantly evoking the President’s famous call to public service:

You have said: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’ We know what we can do for our country; we wish to do it; we ask only that our country allow us to do it. (Excerpt, August 28, 1962)

[JFKWHCNF-1418-002-p0009crop]

Kameny quoted other Kennedy speeches to point out the differences between political rhetoric and the reality of life for minority groups in the United States:

Yours is an administration which has openly disavowed blind conformity. …You yourself said, in your recent address at George Washington University, ‘…that (people) desire to develop their own personalities and their own potentials, that democracy permits them to do so…’ But your government, by its policies certainly does not permit the homosexual to develop his personality and his potential. (Excerpt, May 15, 1961)

[JFKWHCNF-1418-002-p0004crop]

Kameny also sent Mattachine Society pamphlets and press releases to the White House, documenting some of Kameny’s goals beyond changing the rules for federal employment. These documents highlight Kameny’s now famous fight to remove homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM):

Homosexuality is neither a sickness, disease, neurosis, psychosis, disorder, defect, nor other disturbance, but merely a matter of the predisposition of a significantly large minority of our citizens. (Excerpt, February 28, 1963)

[JFKWHCNF-1418-002-p0017crop]

Letters from Kameny and the Society continued to arrive at the White House throughout 1962 and into 1963, many expressing frustration at the lack of response from the administration. In fact, the only response we’ve found in our archives is a brief note from John W. Macy, Chairman of the U.S. Civil Service Commission, to Bruce Schuyler, Secretary of the Mattachine Society, who had requested a meeting. Macy wrote:

It is the established policy of the Civil Service Commission that homosexuals are not suitable for appointment to or retention in positions in the Federal service. There would be no useful purpose served in meeting with representatives of your Society.

[JFKWHCNF-1418-002-p0025]

Concerned by the disinterest of government officials at many levels, Kameny wrote to Ted Sorensen, President Kennedy’s Special Counsel, in March 1963:

We wish to cooperate in any way possible, if the chance for friendly, constructive cooperation is offered to us by you, but if it continues to be refused us, then we will have to seek out and to use any lawful means whatever, which seem to us appropriate, in order to achieve our lawful ends, just as the Negro has done in the South when he was refused cooperation. (March 6, 1963)

[JFKWHCNF-1418-002-p0006]

Though Kameny passed away in 2011 without ever working as a professional astronomer again, he remained an outspoken leader in the LGBT rights movement for the rest of his life. In 2012, an asteroid was named after him as a posthumous honor both to the scientific career he might have had, as well as to his noteworthy contributions to civil rights in the United States.

This folder of documents in the Kennedy Library archives supports the idea noted by Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero:

Things have gotten better and we have many records here to prove just that.

Here at the Kennedy Library, we can look to a 1961 Kameny letter, which observes,

The winds of change are blowing. A wise and foresighted government will start NOW to take constructive action on this question.

[JFKWHCNF-1418-002-p0003crop]

Almost fifty years later, when Kameny donated his records to the Library of Congress, he stated,

Things have changed. How they have changed. I am honored and proud that it is so.

Note: Check out all of Frank Kameny’s letters from the White House Central Name File in our digital archives. We also invite you to watch the National Archives’ contribution to the It Gets Better Project.

With thanks to Charles Francis, founder of The Kameny Papers project.