By Brooke Jackson-Glidden
BU News Service

BOSTON — St. Stephen’s church, a white-trimmed brick building in the heart of Boston’s North End, is quiet for a Sunday afternoon. The morning Eucharist began at 10:30 a.m., and the congregation has dispersed by now. Tourists stroll past the doors and notice among the many plaques that line the brick walls of the entrance, a small metal plate in the corner. It reads:

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

July 22, 1890 – January 22, 1995

“… the most important element in human life is faith.” Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

In Memory of Our Founder – Ace of Clubs

“Oh, Rose Kennedy was baptized here!” One after another visitor murmurs. The fellow tourists nod, and they wander into the Paul Revere Mall across Hanover Street, the statue of the iconic patriot staring back at the white steeple of the church.

Now, St. Stephens is empty. Hymns play from small white speakers mounted on the columns before a series of long, creaky pews. Two silver chandeliers hang, unlit, and service pamphlets still sit at the back of the church.

The occasional tourist strolls in, reads about the historic significance of the church on more plaques, and strolls out again. For a church with so much history, the interior looks polished and modern (thanks to a renovation authorized by Cardinal Richard Cushing in 1964). The air smells faintly musty, so faintly that this reporter cannot tell whether the smell is just imaginary, expected of a place so old, where Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy sat and worshiped with her family throughout a century of services.

Kennedy began her religious life here in 1890, daughter of parishioner and Boston Mayor John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald. She came back to St. Stephens with her family, and she and her daughters were spotted at Sunday service by congregation members throughout her long life. She often publicly spoke about her fierce Catholic faith, and wrote about her religious inclinations in her autobiography and personal journals.

After returning to Boston from college, Kennedy founded the Ace of Clubs, a Catholic women’s organization, in 1910. The club still meets today and celebrated its 100th season three years ago. Senator Edward Kennedy, son of Rose Kennedy, used “Ace of Clubs” as a code for correspondence, according to The Boston Globe. He told former St. Stephen’s Rev. Kevin Hays that, if the priest ever needed help, he should give one of his staff a letter with “Ace of Clubs” written clearly on the front and the staff would then give Kennedy the letter immediately.

Rose Kennedy returned to the church for the last time in 1995, when her family mourned her passing in a Mass of Resurrection. Politicians, celebrities and Kennedy family members attended the funeral, and Kennedy admirers and area residents gathered outside the church to listen to the service. Rena Buccino, an 86-year-old North End resident, stood outside the church on that cold January morning.

“It was a very engaging service, very emotional,” Buccino said.  “It was effective because the family was very sociable – after the service, they went to corner store to get coffee, dessert, whatever, and then they carried on in their limousines.”

Almost 19 years later, no one gathers outside St. Stephens, but the quiet seems to suit the famously self-effacing, stoic matriarch. Outside, the air smells sweet, like fried dough, perhaps from the Italian restaurant next door. More tourists pass, and note the plaque. One man, in particular, lingers near the memorial.

“Do you remember when she passed?” this reporter asks.

“Not particularly,” he responds. “But I remember her.”

By Rachel McCubbin
BU News Service

BROOKLINE–To celebrate one of their former students, the Edward Devotion School, or “Devo” as the students and faculty call it, holds an annual essay contest on President John F. Kennedy’s birthday.

Third graders from the school swarm the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site once every May.

“We have a ceremony at Kennedy’s birthplace,” said Linda Keavenui, school secretary for more than 25 years. “They close off the street and the principal speaks and the parents come. Caroline Kennedy has even been there.”

“They write about what the president means to them,” said Keavenui. “Then the people from the birthplace pick the winners of the essay contest.”

Devo has the third grade JFK essay contest written into the curriculum. The school wants the students to realize that a long time ago, a famous president went to the same school as them.

“That’s our way of trying to keep his presidency alive,” said Keavenui. “We want to keep his connection to us.”

Students are reminded of their connection to Kennedy and his family every day. A large display case in the front of the building holds many Kennedy artifacts. The enrollment cards of the late president and his siblings were once kept in Devo’s front office. They were moved to the JFK Presidential Library and replaced with museum quality copies for the school’s use.

“I found Joe and Eunice (Kennedy)’s cards in a backroom years ago,” said the school secretary. “And I just remember thinking, ‘These don’t belong in a shoebox somewhere!’ So we donated them to his presidential library.”

John F. Kennedy attended the school from kindergarten through the third grade. He transferred to a private facility, The Dexter School, for the fourth grade.

Mike Wallace, the “60 Minutes” reporter, was only one year behind John F. Kennedy at Devo. They had the same kindergarten teacher, according to Keavenui.

Ironically, one of Wallace’s most famous stories was his interview with Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent in the car following Kennedy on the day he was assassinated. Hill blamed himself for the president’s death. He claimed on national television that he could have gotten to the president in time to take the fatal bullet in his place.

Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, 50 years ago this month. Anticipating more visitors as the anniversary of his death nears, Keavenui got to work cleaning JFK’s display case in Devo.

“We try to keep it a big deal,” said Keavenui. “We want this connection to the president to last forever.”

By Ali Chaitin
BU News Service

CAMBRIDGE — Tucked into a pocket along the Charles River near Harvard Square, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of government memorializes the spirit of John F. Kennedy.

“We are inspired by John F. Kennedy’s famous call to service: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.’ Each one of us believes we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to meet the critical challenges of our time,” writes Dean David T. Ellwood on the school’s website.

The Graduate School of Public Administration opened in 1932 and was made possible in part from a $2 million gift from Harvard alumnus Lucius N. Littauer to support his dream for a school that would teach some professionalism in a new era of government. By 1964, the Harvard University Institute of Politics had merged with The Graduate School of Public Administration. The combined entity was renamed The Kennedy School of Government in 1966 in honor of the late president.

Amanda Benton, a student at the Kennedy School studying public policy, believes that the theme of giving back to your community comes through in her classes.

“It says everywhere ‘ask what you can do’ and I think for me that is part of why I came because I wanted to figure out how I could give back and gain the school’s skills and tools on how to be a policy maker,” said Benton.

In a 1965 press release, a former President of Harvard University, Nathan Pusey, announced that Professor Richard E. Neustadt of Columbia University, would become the new Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Public Administration and Professor of Government. Neustadt had served in the Truman Administration and had occasionally been an advisor to Kennedy during his presidency.

Pusey’s press release said that the school would be: “a new kind of institution in American life within a university setting, which will furnish a meeting place for the scholars and for individuals pursuing careers in practical politics and public service.”

The school offers masters and doctoral programs in subjects such as public policy and public administration.

By Kyle Plantz
BU New Service

CAMBRIDGE — Fifty years ago in October, U.S. President John F. Kennedy paid his final visit to Boston, a place he called home. During his visit, he made an appearance at Harvard Stadium, where he was one of 15,000 fans who showed up to cheer on his alma mater.

The Boston Globe called Saturday Oct. 18, 1963, a “sun tan” day as Kennedy came to the stadium watch the Harvard Crimson take on the Columbia Lions.

“I was there the day Kennedy came to the football game,” said Albert George, 70, a life-long resident of Cambridge. “I was about 20 years old at the time and although I never actually saw the president, I still felt his presence there. Security was obviously tightened, but it never disrupted the energy of the game that day.”

George said he kept scanning the crowds for a glimpse of thepPresident, but he seemed to blend in with the crowd.

“I think I was trying to find him [Kennedy] more than I was actually paying attention to the game,” he said. “It was half-time before I even knew what was going on.”

“It would be a different atmosphere if [Barack] Obama came to a Harvard game,” he said. “Security would be so severe that it wouldn’t even be worth it to go to the game. With Kennedy, he was from here. He knows the area. He came home to support his team and it just shows how much he loved the area he’s from.”

Tabithalee Howard, 34, of Cambridge, said although she was not alive for the “Kennedy game,” her parents and grandparents have been Harvard football fans for as long as she can remember and her grandparents were among the 15,000 fans there in October 1963.

“My family never misses a game,” she said. “So naturally they were at the game Kennedy was at. From the stories they’ve told me, it was a really fun day. They said something special was in the air that day. It was like his presence there got the people even more excited for the game.”

Howard said her family has always been huge Kennedy supporters.

“Growing up as a Democrat, naturally my family loved Kennedy and everything he stood for,” she said. “I guess having him back in the place that he’s from got people all jazzed up about having the chosen one return to show that although he’s in the Big House now, he still cares about where he comes from and loves everyone from here.”

Robert Creamer, 72, of Cambridge, said he worked at the ticket booth the day that Kennedy came to watch the game.

“I remember at our staff meeting that day before the game, our bosses briefed us on what protocol was going to be that day and how to handle security,” he said. “We all had jitters in the hope that the president would come through our line, but of course that was crazy. He would have his own line to get in, but it would have been nice if he bought a ticket at the booth like everyone else.”

Creamer said he could feel that everyone was very excited about the game and Kennedy being there.

“A lot of people asked me if I saw him yet and I said ‘no, not yet. But if you do, let me know so I can get a picture,’” he said. “It was more than just Kennedy being at a football game supporting his team. It showed that no matter what your background, where you go in life, home will always have a special place in your heart. Kennedy was a big-wig now and he could have forgotten about us, but his whole family is from here and he truly knew that this was his home and he needed to support it in anyway the he can, even if it is at a football game.

“My only regret is that it was a tie game, 3-3, and Harvard didn’t win for him,” Creamer said.

By Joseph Kennedy
BU News Service

BROOKLINE — Nestled into a quiet spot between Hammond Pond and the densely wooded Dane Park sprawls a clearing, dotted with headstones in stark contrast to the woods to the South and the bustling freeway just north. It is not difficult to miss or to imagine a vacant field behind the tall hedgerows, but those who take the time to look find a place where history literally seems to spring from the ground.

Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline may not seem like a historical place at the first glance upon its well-manicured lawns and brightly colored Sakura trees. It takes little time before the names etched in history begin to appear before one’s eyes — etched in stone. And it does not require an extensive amount of searching before one finds a connection to one of the most powerful families in state history.

Among the interred are several generations of the Kennedy family, one of the most prominent political families of Massachusetts. Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, as well as their daughter Rosemary, are just a handful of notable figures laid to rest there. Joseph and Rose are, of course, the parents of the US president John and US senators Robert and Edward “Ted” Kennedy.

John F. Kennedy’s infant son, Patrick, who died just two short days after his birth in 1963, was interred at Holyhood from August to December of that year. Following the assassination of the president later that year, Patrick was exhumed and re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery with his father, but his gravestone remains in Holyhood.

The cemetery’s reputation of being the final resting place for Irish Catholic politicians is evidenced by being the gravesite of four former Boston mayors: Hugh O’Brien, Patrick Collins, Frederick Mansfield and Maurice Tobin. Also among those buried here are Georgie Wright, a baseball player from the 1930s and World Golf Hall of Famer Francis Ouimet.

The cemetery was constructed in 1853 as a sister cemetery to the then already established Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. The then 35-acre site was expanded in 1888, after having exhausted many of its available gravesites for casualties and veterans of the Civil War. Two Hundred acres of land were purchased in West Roxbury to become Holyhood’s eventual successor, St. Joseph’s Cemetery, which is owned and maintained by the same association to this day.

However, the expansion into West Roxbury did not mean the end of Holyhood’s service. In fact, Holyhood would go on to accept the dearly departed well into the 1970s before having to restrict the number of acceptances and defer them to St. Joseph’s. However, the cemetery continues not only to care for and remain open to the family and friends of those buried there, but for the occasional historian looking to pay respects.

It also features a chapel near the center of the compound, Fitzpatrick Chapel, constructed in 1862. It is one of the only active, still standing gothic chapels in Massachusetts to this day.

By Jada Montemarano
BU News Service

BOSTON — On a cool, crisp November day, Denise Labardi sat on a park bench admiring a small garden enclosed by a large cast iron gate. Orange and yellow leaves littered the ground and swirled as the wind blew. The garden was full of pink roses, some dying as winter was approaching. “It is so cold, but still very pretty,” said Labardi.

Labardi,who  was visiting from St. Louis,  stopped by the Rose Kennedy Garden on her travels along the Freedom Trail in the North End. In 1987, the garden was planted to honor Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the mother of President John F. Kennedy whose life was lost 50 years ago. The garden, a small section of the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, contains 104 rose bushes  – one for every year she lived. She died in 1995 at age 104.

“My mom was a huge Kennedy fan. I was only two when he died, so I don’t know much about him or Rose Kennedy. I only know about him from my mother,” said Labardi. During a tour of Boston, a guide mentioned this historic site, which convinced Labardi to visit during her stay. Not knowing much about Rose Kennedy, Labardi read the two mounted, bronze plaques at the entrance of the park.

“With this garden the people of Boston honor all gold star mothers,” was written on one plaque. Rose Kennedy was named a gold star mother in 1944 when her son Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. was killed in World War II. Two more of her nine children also lost their lives serving their country: President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated while in office.

Rose Kennedy was born not far away from her garden, at 4 Garden Court in the North End. As daughter of  Boston Mayor John Francis Fitzgerald, and wife of U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph P. Kennedy, her life blossomed in the world of politics. “The garden is dedicated to a woman of faith and courage,” one of the plaques reads.

By Stephanie Smith
BU News Service

BROOKLINE — In 1962, the Kennedys were a household name: John Fitzgerald is President, Robert Francis is the U.S. Attorney General, Ted  is an elected U.S. senator, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver is embarking on a mission to change the world’s stigmatization of intellectual disability.

In the 1950s and 60s, Shriver saw unjust and unfair treatment that people with intellectual disabilities were experiencing. She also saw that these children didn’t have a place to play. So in 1962, she opened her own backyard in Rockville, Md., known as Timberlawn, to 50 kids looking for a place to have fun.

Shriver’s passion for developing a program to help those with intellectual disabilities to live a full life likely began when her sister Rosemary had a lobotomy at the age of 23. For the rest of her life she lived incapacitated.

Over the next six summers, Camp Shriver expanded to accept more children, and more volunteers. In 1968, just weeks after her brother Bobby was assassinated, Shriver presided over the first international summer Special Olympic games that were held at Soldier Field in Chicago. With 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 26 states and Canada participating in track and field and swimming events, the Special Olympics was officially established and it has continued for 45 years.

The first international winter games were held in 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colo., with 500 athletes skiing and skating. Televised accounts of events exposed Americans to people with intellectual disabilities and their ability to live a full and active lifestyle.

Image courtesy Special Olympics

By 1988, the International Olympic Committee officially endorsed and recognized the Special Olympics. The summer and winter games alternate every two years with games being held all over the world.

During the year, these athletes aren’t just waiting for the next Olympic games to come around — they are training and keeping active every day. With more than 4 million athletes participating in Special Olympics activities at both the community and international levels, there are more than 53,000 competitions going on each year.

And in Brookline, where many of the Kennedy children were born, the legacy lives on. Brookline’s team is just one in Massachusetts ready to compete. The Brookline Recreation Center manages the team, providing competitions for every season — basketball in the Winter, aquatics and track and field in the Spring, softball in the Summer, and there’s currently a flag football team in the Fall that practices every Tuesday.

For more on the Brookline team, listen to reporter Nick Koop’s audio story.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/120924886″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

By Grace Wilson and Mikaela Lefrak
BU News Service

BOSTON — John Connolly fell short Tuesday in his bid to become the first new mayor of Boston in 20 years. The race was tight with the candidates nearly tied shortly after the polls closed, but in the end Marty Walsh edged past Connolly 52-48 percent.

The day before the election, polls had shown Walsh with a tentative lead, which the Connolly campaign had hoped to erase through last-minute efforts to get out the vote among supporters. Volunteers worked until polling stations shut off their ballot machines at 8 P.M.

“We’ve made phone calls and knocked on a lot of doors,” said Krishna Ghodiwala, a Deputy Field Director who was overseeing a dozen phone-banking volunteers about an hour before polls closed. “I’m very tired,” she said.

By 8 o’clock, a crowd had gathered at the Westin Copley Hotel for the Connolly campaign celebration. As the final numbers began to come in a little after 9 o’clock, many were having trouble accepting their candidate’s defeat.

Melina Munoa said she was shocked Connolly hadn’t won. “John just has such passion that I’ve seen firsthand, and I really admire that,” she said. Though disappointed, she is hopeful. “Marty will be a wonderful mayor, [but] John was my guy, I really believed in him.” Regardless, Munoa is excited to have a new mayor in Boston. “I’m looking forward to a new face in City Hall.”

Although supporters hoped that the tight race would swing in Connolly’s favor, the numbers stayed put, and at 9:35 P.M. he took to the stage to concede. Many in the crowd were tearful, but applause and shouts of thanks regularly erupted throughout his 10-minute speech.

Video: Connolly Concedes

Connolly thanked the staff, volunteers, and supporters that made up the noticeably diverse audience. “I’m looking across a room that looks like the entire city of Boston,” he said. “I thank the moms, the ministers, the young professionals, the empty nesters, the seniors.”

Of the evening’s victor, Connolly said, “I have known Marty Walsh for 18 years. He wants to do good things for Boston, and he will do good things for Boston. And he has my full support.”

Connolly also reiterated his core message of education reform and gave special thanks to the children who supported him, including his own.

“It’s tough on a family,” he acknowledged. “My Teddy told me he wanted to vote for me and Marty Walsh. I think that’s his way of saying he wanted me at home a little more.”

Though a devoted fan of Connolly, Jim Sweeney, of West Roxbury, maintained a positive outlook on Walsh’s victory. “I’m sure Marty will a do a fine job. I expect and hope Connolly will continue to be in a leadership position in the city.”

By John Hilliard
BU News Service

State Rep. Martin J. Walsh, a Dorchester kid who grew up to become a state lawmaker and local labor leader, was elected as Boston’s first new mayor in two decades.

“We know Boston is a strong city and a fortunate city,” said Walsh during his acceptance speech at the city’s Park Plaza Hotel. “My mission as mayor is to make it better. To make Boston the hub of opportunity, to open doors of opportunity for a strong and growing middle class, and those struggling to get here.”

Walsh, 46, collected 72,514 votes and defeated Boston City Councillor-at-Large John R. Connolly, 40, a Democrat from West Roxbury who earned 67,606 votes, according to unofficial results posted Tuesday night on the city’s website.

Tibia Gustave said she volunteered for Walsh after seeing the energy and work of some of his other volunteers. She also suggested that Walsh did a better job at addressing more issues than Connolly during the campaign.

“He was more well-rounded. It’s easy, I think, to pick one thing you’re good at and focus on that. But Marty showed he had the ability to be successful in a lot of areas,” said Gustave. “I think he’s going to bring this city to another level that we haven’t been in a very long time.”

During the election, Walsh campaigned on making economic development processes in the city more transparent. He also proposed restructuring the Boston Redevelopment Authority into a new agency and advocated greater protection for members of the LGBTQ community — The Boston Globe reported he took 25 votes to protect gay marriage since it was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004 — among other issues.

About 38 percent of the city’s 372,064 registered voters cast a ballot during the municipal election, which also included decisions on multiple city council races.

Walsh succeeds outgoing Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who took office in 1993. Menino’s decision not to run for a sixth term opened up the mayor’s race to a dozen candidates.

Walsh also bested Connolly during the Sept. 24 preliminary election, when the pair were among a dozen candidates vying to replace Menino. Of the 113,319 ballots cast in that election, Walsh took 20,854 votes compared to Connolly’s 19,435.

A member of the House since 1997, Walsh currently represents the 13th Suffolk District, which includes Dorchester and a single precinct in neighboring Quincy. He serves as chairman of the House Committee on Ethics and is a member of Laborers Local 223.

Walsh is a graduate of the Newman School and Boston College, and lives in Dorchester with his partner, Lorrie Higgins, and her daughter. He overcame an addiction to alcohol that began in his teens. He stopped drinking in 1995 and has been sober for the past 18 years.

Walsh was endorsed by primary election opponents Felix Arroyo, John Barros, and Charlotte Golar Richie. Golar Richie was the only female African-American candidate in the race, and her endorsement was reportedly sought by both Walsh and Connolly.

Walsh also secured support from U.S. representatives Michael Capuano and Stephen Lynch, plus about 50 current and former state lawmakers, including House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray.

Super PAC and labor union spending also reportedly favored Walsh: according to Commonwealth Magazine, of about $2 million spent by those groups in the mayoral race, $1.65 million was spent on pro-Walsh ads.

According to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, as of Oct. 31, Connolly raised more than $2.75 million during the race, while Walsh’s campaign brought in more than $2.63 million.

Following the announcement that Walsh had won, throngs of supporters celebrated at a crowded post-election party in a ballroom at the Park Plaza Hotel while the Dropkick Murphys played a live set.

In a not-so-subtle reminder of the support Walsh gained from labor, a large Walsh campaign banner was emblazoned with the logo for the Heat and Frost Insulators & Asbestos Workers Local 6 — and appeared next to an equally large one for the Laborers’ Local 223.

Supporters said it was a mix of Walsh’s personality and the broad focus of his campaign that attracted voters.

“I’ve been walking all day streets, the response has been real good. I think Marty’s gonna win, and it’s gonna be a better Boston,” said supporter Jerry Crane, speaking at the party before results were known. “I just think he’s more of a people person. He’s more for the people than John Connolly is. John Connolly is just about schools. Marty is about everything.”

Scott Coleman, another supporter, noted the Walsh campaign’s work in the neighborhoods to drum up voter support.

“He got out there, he mobilized. He got his people out there,” said Coleman.

The city is also larger than it has been in decades: 2010 was the first time since 1970 that the city’s population was greater than 600,000, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

BU News Service’s Ashley Davis hit the polls to find out who Bostonian’s are voting for in this mayoral election and why.