Summary of White House by the Sea By Kate Storey : A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port

By Willie M. Joseph

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This book does not in any capacity mean to replace the original book but to serve as a vast summary of the original book.

Summary of White House by the Sea By Kate Storey : A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port

 

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White House by the Sea is a captivating book that explores the Kennedy family's lives in their Hyannis Port compound on Cape Cod. The book, based on over a hundred interviews with family members, friends, neighbors, and security staff, provides a rich and textured account of the Kennedys' lives in their summer refuge. The book offers surprising revelations across the decades, including the family's greatest tragedy, the rivalrous relationship between brothers Jack and Joe, details about Jackie's life at the compound, and previously unknown glimpses into JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette's relationship. The book is a must-read for those interested in the Kennedy family's history and the impact it had on politics and culture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Willie M. Joseph
• Release date: Jul 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223320692

Willie M. Joseph

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PROLOGUE

Ted Kennedy, the grandfather of the Kennedy family, has grown up and is now a grandfather and bearer of the family legacy. The house, which has been the shelter for the family, has been updated over the years, but the first floor still feels like stepping back in time. The house has two bedrooms on the first floor, one for Joe Jr. and the other for Jack. The living room, which has been updated over the years, has a trim secretary desk, matching twin beds, and family pictures on the walls. Outside Jack's room, there is the living room, where the Pope's sofa sits.

The sunroom features a 1790s gilt leaf and painted mirror that Ted's parents brought back from Europe in 1932. The kitchen has barely changed since the 1940s, with old cabinets painted white and nicks touched up over the years. The hardwood floors on this level still have each scratch and scuf, marks of the people who have passed through the house. The first step into the house, you don't really see the rooms at all, but you see the view of Nantucket Sound. The best views are from the two rooms in the corner on the second floor: Ted's parents' rooms, which are connected by a deck.

Ted's father had the room at the very end of the hall with the picture windows. Now, there's an elevator that opens discreetly into that room and leads down to the first floor and the movie theater in the basement. In Joe Kennedy's upstairs bedroom, he shared his father's room with his wife, Vicki. From there, Ted can see sailboats and ospreys building a nest, adding twigs and trash to make it stronger. Mother's Room, where Rose Kennedy lived for 35 years, is still there.

Ted's mother's room has been difficult for many of his sisters, but it holds memories and new life and joy. He has been thinking about the past and his parents, as he doesn't have many summers left in the Big House.

CHAPTER ONE

The house on Marchant Avenue in Hyannis Port, Cape Cod, was built by local L. Frank Paine and Lucius K. Paine, who built sturdy homes that stayed in the family for generations. The house faced south, taking advantage of the cool summer breeze and warm winter sun. The view from the wraparound porch of 50 Marchant Avenue was one of the best on Cape Cod. The house was built by a local, L.

Frank Paine, who worked with his dad, Lucius K. Paine. Most old Cape houses were built right on the sand without foundation, making them easy to shift around as families expanded.

Joseph P. Kennedy bought Malcolm Cottage in 1928, and it became the Big House for the next century. He drove a Rolls-Royce, and by the time he bought it, he had made enough money in banking that he had his own chau feur. The Kennedys arrived in Hyannis Port with plenty of wealth, but people didn't launt their wealth. They called their homes cottages and people noticed when Joe Kennedy arrived in the back of his loud, lashy car.

Before the Rolls-Royce and the house with the view, Joe and Rose's story began at the beach. They were from political Boston families, and their fathers knew each other. The Kennedys and Fitzgeralds had enough money to summer somewhere other than the city, escaping the stiling and dusty streets of East Boston for breezy summer months on the coast of Maine with other powerful families. They rented cottages in Old Orchard, a beach community tucked between Kennebunkport and Cape Elizabeth.

Honey Fitz was at the center of social activity those summers, entertaining a crowd with his stories. He made time to swim in the ocean with his oldest daughter, Rose, while her mother, Josie, sat on the porch with all the other mothers positioned just so.

After their marriage in 1914, the Kennedys spent the first summers of their marriage trying to recapture their childhood memories. They explored the coast of Massachusetts, moved to Hull, and rented a rambling Victorian home on Nantasket Beach. They had their first child, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., named Jack. They had two more daughters, Rosemary and Eunice. The family of seven rented a two-story summer home in Cohasset, a more upscale resort town.

In the early 20th century, Joe, Jack, and Rosemary were a family of four who lived in the Massachusetts Bay. They were accustomed to rowboats and were determined to learn how to navigate them. In 1922, Joe applied to join the Cohasset Golf Club, but the club's election committee delayed his application, and he never received a response. The family continued to rent in Cohasset while exploring the rest of the coastline, eventually finding a more permanent place.

In June 1923, the family celebrated Rose's birthday in Hyannis, and the next summer, they rented a home in Hyannis Port. The water was shallow and the shoreline was maintained by a 1,100-foot-long breakwater. Joe was at a critical point in his career, bidding on the movie company Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) and spent most of the summer preparing for the proposal. In August, he ended his summer early to sail from New York City to London, where he would make his official $1 million offer.

A letter for Rose arrived at the Hyannis Port post office from Joe, expressing his homesickness and the need for his family. In February 1926, Joe finalized the deal to buy FBO, officially becoming a movie man. He rented Malcolm Cottage again for Rose, the kids, and his father, who was spending more time with the family after Joe's mother's death. Joe Jr. would not be joining his now seven siblings, and each child would have a summer away from the beach when they were old enough.

A few summers renting in Hyannis Port, Joe started to think about buying in Oyster Harbors, but it reminded him of Cohasset. He surveyed his neighbors and decided to rent the family's primary residence in Riverdale, a New York City suburb, to be closer to his movie studio's Manhattan office. In November 1928, the Kennedys purchased Malcolm Cottage in