Read Online Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot by J. Randy Taraborrelli - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: J. Randy Taraborrelli
Ads: Link
late that night. All of his reserve seemed to melt in the glory of his
family, and the long, difficult day was forgotten in the warmth of love of a father for his children and vice versa. It was chaos, with all the children talking at once and Bobby answering each of them with humor and sometimes trying to be stern, at which he didn’t fully succeed. Ethel instantly ac- cepted this stranger [Lowe] into the house, and later on I had to go upstairs to say the evening prayers with the children, which took place after a family pillow fight.”
It seemed the picture-perfect, happily married lifestyle; maybe for Ethel Kennedy it was and perhaps she sensed that it would remain that way as long as she refused to accept that Bobby had a secret life. As long as he was there for her when she needed him and for his children—and he always was—she seemed content.
The Skakels
E thel Skakel was born on April 11, 1928, at Chicago’s Lying-In Hospital, the sixth child to be born in the Skakel home in ten years; three brothers, two sisters, and a younger sister born five years later completed the family. Ethel’s mother, Ann, was a large woman, taller and heavier than her husband, who kept the weight she gained with every child and eventually tipped the scale at close to two hundred pounds. Nicknamed “Big Ann” by friends and family mem- bers, she was a formidable woman both in stature and deter- mination.
Big Ann was married to the ambitious and distant George
Skakel, owner of Great Lakes Coal and Coke Corporation, which was well on its way to becoming one of the largest privately held corporations in America. The family was prosperous and never wanted for anything material, even when the Great Depression of 1929 hit. Though Great Lakes Coal and Coke foundered at that time, the Skakels curtailed some of their extravagances, though not many. In fact, against all odds, now sole owner George Skakel became a millionaire during that economic hardship. When the alu- minum industry recovered, the fortunes of the Skakels soared.
Because George conducted so much of his business on the East Coast, the family moved to a rented mansion set on twelve acres in Larchmont, New York, in 1933. Whenever George utilized the house for business entertaining, Ann as- sisted in grand style. The parties were always impressive, with a hired staff to serve the finest foods and liquors—es- pecially liquor. George had apparently inherited a tendency toward alcoholism from his father and soon became af- flicted with the disease. (With such an abundance of liquor always available, some of the Skakel offspring would exper- iment by drinking whatever was left in the guests’ glasses after parties. Unfortunately, Georgeann, the oldest, was an alcoholic at fifteen.)
A year later, the family moved from Larchmont to a fur- nished thirty-room mansion on Lake Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut, complete with parklike grounds, a guest house, servants’ quarters, stables, and six-car garage. George was proud that he had purchased it at a bargain price in the midst of the Depression.
Ethel’s relationship with both parents was strained and distant. She was closer to her brothers and sisters, always in
trouble with them and joining them in antagonism against Ann and George. As a youngster, Ethel was enrolled in Greenwich Academy, one of the leading Northeast day schools, where the girls wore uniforms and discipline was strict. She had no respect for authority, however, which may have enhanced her status with her classmates but completely dismayed her instructors. She was in trouble so often it was a wonder that she was not expelled.
The behavior of the other Skakel children was also trou- bling. Because George was a hunting enthusiast, there were always guns lying around in the Lake Avenue home. The Skakel boys would shoot the firearms from the windows of their cars, using the .45 caliber weapons to destroy mail- boxes and streetlights.
Once old enough to
family, and the long, difficult day was forgotten in the warmth of love of a father for his children and vice versa. It was chaos, with all the children talking at once and Bobby answering each of them with humor and sometimes trying to be stern, at which he didn’t fully succeed. Ethel instantly ac- cepted this stranger [Lowe] into the house, and later on I had to go upstairs to say the evening prayers with the children, which took place after a family pillow fight.”
It seemed the picture-perfect, happily married lifestyle; maybe for Ethel Kennedy it was and perhaps she sensed that it would remain that way as long as she refused to accept that Bobby had a secret life. As long as he was there for her when she needed him and for his children—and he always was—she seemed content.
The Skakels
E thel Skakel was born on April 11, 1928, at Chicago’s Lying-In Hospital, the sixth child to be born in the Skakel home in ten years; three brothers, two sisters, and a younger sister born five years later completed the family. Ethel’s mother, Ann, was a large woman, taller and heavier than her husband, who kept the weight she gained with every child and eventually tipped the scale at close to two hundred pounds. Nicknamed “Big Ann” by friends and family mem- bers, she was a formidable woman both in stature and deter- mination.
Big Ann was married to the ambitious and distant George
Skakel, owner of Great Lakes Coal and Coke Corporation, which was well on its way to becoming one of the largest privately held corporations in America. The family was prosperous and never wanted for anything material, even when the Great Depression of 1929 hit. Though Great Lakes Coal and Coke foundered at that time, the Skakels curtailed some of their extravagances, though not many. In fact, against all odds, now sole owner George Skakel became a millionaire during that economic hardship. When the alu- minum industry recovered, the fortunes of the Skakels soared.
Because George conducted so much of his business on the East Coast, the family moved to a rented mansion set on twelve acres in Larchmont, New York, in 1933. Whenever George utilized the house for business entertaining, Ann as- sisted in grand style. The parties were always impressive, with a hired staff to serve the finest foods and liquors—es- pecially liquor. George had apparently inherited a tendency toward alcoholism from his father and soon became af- flicted with the disease. (With such an abundance of liquor always available, some of the Skakel offspring would exper- iment by drinking whatever was left in the guests’ glasses after parties. Unfortunately, Georgeann, the oldest, was an alcoholic at fifteen.)
A year later, the family moved from Larchmont to a fur- nished thirty-room mansion on Lake Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut, complete with parklike grounds, a guest house, servants’ quarters, stables, and six-car garage. George was proud that he had purchased it at a bargain price in the midst of the Depression.
Ethel’s relationship with both parents was strained and distant. She was closer to her brothers and sisters, always in
trouble with them and joining them in antagonism against Ann and George. As a youngster, Ethel was enrolled in Greenwich Academy, one of the leading Northeast day schools, where the girls wore uniforms and discipline was strict. She had no respect for authority, however, which may have enhanced her status with her classmates but completely dismayed her instructors. She was in trouble so often it was a wonder that she was not expelled.
The behavior of the other Skakel children was also trou- bling. Because George was a hunting enthusiast, there were always guns lying around in the Lake Avenue home. The Skakel boys would shoot the firearms from the windows of their cars, using the .45 caliber weapons to destroy mail- boxes and streetlights.
Once old enough to
Similar Books
