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2. 1960s Main Street, Hyannis

Main Street, Hyannis in the 1960s was filled with activity. Shops were bustling, and supporters of John F. Kennedy, running for president, lined the streets. Since JFK based much of his campaign- ing out of the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, journalists covering the campaign stayed in Main Street hotels, and downtown area was filled with activity and commerce. The phototgraphs of the Kennedys on the Sturgis Charter Public School across the street, pay tribute to the family’s legacy in Hyannis Port.

Main St. Hyannis and JFK’s Campaign for President

Imagine yourself in the year 1960.  If you were to glance across the street, you would have seen Woolworths and other popular stores. In that year, Hyannis had an active role in John F. Kennedy’s campaign for U.S. President against Richard Nixon. Kennedy’s wife, Jacqueline, learned she was pregnant early in her husband’s campaign and by summer, doctors had advised her to keep travel to a minimum, so she remained mostly here, in Hyannis Port. To stay connected with voters, Jackie penned a weekly newspaper column called, ‘Campaign Wife’ in which she discussed issues and shared personal stories and advice. On election day, an astonishing 93.8% of town of Barnstable voters (7,373 out of 7858 voters) went to the polls. JFK won with one of the slimmest margins of victory in a presidential contest, with a difference of only .17% in the national popular vote. On November 25, 1960, only 17 days after her husband was elected president, Jacqueline, then 31, gave birth to a son, John Kennedy Jr.

Sturgis School - Corner of Main & Pearl

Looking across the street you will see the Sturgis Charter Public School soon along the Pearl Street side of the building you’ll see large Photographs depicting the Kennedy Family enjoying the beauty of Hyannis Port, enjoying time sailing off the Cape’s sandy shores and gathered for a family portrait on the beach front of the Hyannis Port compound. This project is collaboration with the Sturgis School. The school opened its doors in September of 1998 and since 2007 has been consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top High Schools.