Help Us Remember JFK's North Adams' Days

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Thursday is the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's inaugural address but we remember him from back in the day.

Attorney Richard Taskin and iBerkshires were talking about the upcoming anniversary when he brought us this picture from 1958 — when the scion of the Irish-American dynasty was referred to as U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy, D-Mass.

Taskin can't be seen because he's hiding behind the police officer in the back but his brother Howard and his mother Edith are in there. Edith is in the dark glasses next to the officer; Howard is in front of her to the left.

Taskin said Elias Sabin, a mailman, is in the light coat next to Kennedy. The Taskins have had the picture framed on their wall for decades.

The rest of the people? We don't know! Do any of our readers recognize anyone in the picture?

Here's what we've uncovered about the photo: It was taken by United Press photographer Ted Polumbaum on assignment for Life Magazine. Polumbaum documented Kennedy's 1958 Senate election campaign. The up-and-coming senator had already vied for a vice presidential slot in 1956 and was easily taking the national spotlight.

That photo ran in the magazine's inside pages on Feb. 23, 1959, with a story about Kennedy being a front-runner to be the Democratic candidate for the 1960 presidential election. It's on Page 102 if you're too impatient to look through the entire book. A slightly different shot in color can be found here. 

According to Berkshire Eagle and Transcript archives, JFK spent the weekend of Sept. 27 and 28 in the area. Some 500 people greeted him at Bousquet on Saturday night. On Sunday, he apparently greeted well-wishers at the Richmond Hotel. 

He walked in the Fall Foliage Parade and then flew (yes, flew) to Springfield from Harriman-West Airport. That was in Sprague Electric's heyday when the parade drew more than 10,000 people.

We don't know if this picture was taken during this trip but it seems likely, based on another picture from that day taken by Polumbaum.

Also of note, Edward "Ted" Kennedy was the campaign manager for the 1958 Senate election and walked in the parade, too.