Read Online Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson - Free Book Online
Authors: Kate Clifford Larson
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family’s suburban home in Brookline, and their new neighborhood was less densely populated, featuring large lawns and abundant green spaces. Rose had decided on Riverdale because there was an “excellent boys school there with supervised play” for Joe and Jack, then twelve and ten years old, respectively, one of her few requirements in a new community. Riverdale Country School offered programs for girls, too, and the children could take the bus every day together. The youngest children enrolled in the local elementary school; they could walk back and forth to school and “get some fresh air and exercise.”They would be home every day, where Rose would continue to contribute to their early development.
Though Rosemary had repeated kindergarten at Edward Devotion and then moved up to first grade in the fall of 1925, her learning disabilities forced her to repeat that grade as well, in 1926. When the family moved to Riverdale, Rosemary was enrolled in second grade at Riverdale Country School along with her younger sister Kick, while Eunice entered first grade. Other girls of Rosemary’s age, nine, were entering the fourth grade.
Joe was wrong about New York’s being more tolerant. Riverdale had one small Catholic church, but most of its residents resembled the Brahmins he resented so much. Rose, who spent far more time in Riverdale than Joe, would remain an outsider. Joe’s absence from school and community functions isolated Rose even further. Neighbors viewed Rose’s devotion to Rosemary, and to the rest of her children, as a curiosity. Reserved and cloistered with her family at home—child number eight, Jean, was born fivemonths after the move to Riverdale—Rose rarely interacted with her neighbors. Though she “was one hundred percent mother, absolutely one hundred percent,” a neighbor recalled, Rose “had very little to do with local social activities.” Another neighbor, a childhood friend of Jack’s, recalled that the Kennedys “were like fish out of water” in Riverdale “because of their life-style, their close-knit family of eight children, their father’s non-participation in neighborhood activities, and the mother’s Catholic activities, which few if any of the neighborhood families shared.”The neighborhood children cared little for these issues, but the Kennedy children drew them anyway. For them, the Kennedy home was the go-to place for outdoor sports and indoor games, dances, and roughhousing.
The financial indicators predicting the Great Depression—a financial collapse that devastated the economies of not only the United States but nations around the globe—were merely glowing embers in 1927 when the Kennedys moved to Riverdale. By 1929, when the stock market crashed, Joe was playing the market brilliantly and taking advantage of broad and unregulated practices that in fact helped cause the collapse. Through risky speculation and manipulation of prices, Joe produced huge gains for his portfolio. He masterfully shorted many stocks ahead of the collapse, cashing in on his bet that the market would decline. Rather than enduring tremendous losses like most other investors, Joe made a fortune for himself and his investors. Yet the new wealth of the Kennedys did not help them bridge any social distance in Riverdale.
By 1927, before the Kennedys’ enormous wealth was so fully secured, Rose had every material household support to settle the family into their new home. Rosemary, however, was not easy to settle. Her transition to school in Riverdale was fraught withfrustration and anxiety. Already labeled “slow” and “delayed,” Rosemary needed ever more demanding educational support. Rose struggled to accommodate her while also helping the rest of the children adjust to their new home, school, and neighborhood. This was a fresh opportunity for Rosemary, and no doubt Rose hoped the new environment would spur her on to do better in school.
To those outside the family, Rosemary seemed
Though Rosemary had repeated kindergarten at Edward Devotion and then moved up to first grade in the fall of 1925, her learning disabilities forced her to repeat that grade as well, in 1926. When the family moved to Riverdale, Rosemary was enrolled in second grade at Riverdale Country School along with her younger sister Kick, while Eunice entered first grade. Other girls of Rosemary’s age, nine, were entering the fourth grade.
Joe was wrong about New York’s being more tolerant. Riverdale had one small Catholic church, but most of its residents resembled the Brahmins he resented so much. Rose, who spent far more time in Riverdale than Joe, would remain an outsider. Joe’s absence from school and community functions isolated Rose even further. Neighbors viewed Rose’s devotion to Rosemary, and to the rest of her children, as a curiosity. Reserved and cloistered with her family at home—child number eight, Jean, was born fivemonths after the move to Riverdale—Rose rarely interacted with her neighbors. Though she “was one hundred percent mother, absolutely one hundred percent,” a neighbor recalled, Rose “had very little to do with local social activities.” Another neighbor, a childhood friend of Jack’s, recalled that the Kennedys “were like fish out of water” in Riverdale “because of their life-style, their close-knit family of eight children, their father’s non-participation in neighborhood activities, and the mother’s Catholic activities, which few if any of the neighborhood families shared.”The neighborhood children cared little for these issues, but the Kennedy children drew them anyway. For them, the Kennedy home was the go-to place for outdoor sports and indoor games, dances, and roughhousing.
The financial indicators predicting the Great Depression—a financial collapse that devastated the economies of not only the United States but nations around the globe—were merely glowing embers in 1927 when the Kennedys moved to Riverdale. By 1929, when the stock market crashed, Joe was playing the market brilliantly and taking advantage of broad and unregulated practices that in fact helped cause the collapse. Through risky speculation and manipulation of prices, Joe produced huge gains for his portfolio. He masterfully shorted many stocks ahead of the collapse, cashing in on his bet that the market would decline. Rather than enduring tremendous losses like most other investors, Joe made a fortune for himself and his investors. Yet the new wealth of the Kennedys did not help them bridge any social distance in Riverdale.
By 1927, before the Kennedys’ enormous wealth was so fully secured, Rose had every material household support to settle the family into their new home. Rosemary, however, was not easy to settle. Her transition to school in Riverdale was fraught withfrustration and anxiety. Already labeled “slow” and “delayed,” Rosemary needed ever more demanding educational support. Rose struggled to accommodate her while also helping the rest of the children adjust to their new home, school, and neighborhood. This was a fresh opportunity for Rosemary, and no doubt Rose hoped the new environment would spur her on to do better in school.
To those outside the family, Rosemary seemed
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