Experiencing a little bit of Boston history

Crandall event scheduled for end of May

The Front Page

Morning Update

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

By Ken Tingley

It had been a long time since I visited Boston. I believe they were still doing “The Big Dig” the last time I was there.

With my son working in Lowell this spring, it seemed like a perfect time to make another visit, especially since it was my birthday weekend.

We drove out on Friday - my 65th birthday - and found our way to the downtown hotel without getting lost. Anytime you can find your way around Boston without a variety of wrong turns is a pretty good day. Of course, I’m pretty sure I had not been to Boston since I got a smart phone with GPS. That definitely helped.

Our hotel was close to Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market, so we made our way to several local pubs while waiting for our son to arrive by train after work.

We were really enjoying ourselves. While the spirits helped, I think it was so nice to be back in a vibrant city and doing something we had not done in a long time.

Our final stop before out son arrived was a Samuel Adams pub drawn up with the next generation in mind. It had picnic tables filling the main room - a little bit like the beer gardens in Germany - and they were filled with a diverse group of young people. I wondered what type of careers they were pursuing.

Almost no one was wearing masks.

There is probably no better moment when visiting loved ones as when you arrive. I met my son in the hotel lobby, then we walked him over to the Samuel Adams brewery. We had a couple of Cherry Wheat lagers waiting for us. It meant a lot sharing a beer with him on my birthday.

But the real highlight was still to come.

I had made dinner reservations at the historic Union Oyster House. I had a history there from a much earlier time. I had always been an admirer of President Kennedy. Thirty years ago, my sister-in-law and her husband took me to the Union Oyster House for lunch. The waiter ushered us to the upstairs dining room where they had arranged for me to sit in the “Kennedy Booth.”

The union Oyster House in downtown Boston was one of President John Kennedy’s favorite haunts.

The legend is that before Kennedy was president the Union Oyster House was one of his favorite haunts and he used to love to have dinner upstairs with his family in the private dining room - Booth 18.

When I made my reservation online, I requested the Kennedy booth. “Listen, I know everyone asks for it, but if it is possible to get the Kennedy booth that would be great.” I may have mentioned it was my 65th birthday.

When I approached the hostess about our 7:45 p.m. reservations, she immediately gave me a big smile.

“Oh, you’re the one with the note,” she said. “Then, she explained what I wrote in the note to our waitress.”

She told us we were getting the “Kennedy booth.”

It was great to be back in the Kennedy Booth at the Union Oyster House in Boston.

My mission was not so much for me this time, but to give my son the experience in the Kennedy booth.

I ordered the “Kennedy Booth martini” and some oysters to start. The drinks were great. The dinner was outstanding. But the company was best of all. I could not stop smiling. Birthdays come and go and some are quiet and others boisterous. But I couldn’t think of a better birthday.

“The Kennedy Booth” martini was pretty good, too.

Later, I read about this history of Union Oyster House and Kennedy’s visits there. I also read on one site that some have seen the spirit of Kennedy still haunting the old tavern after all these years.

Some have seen him checking out the latest visitors to his booth.

Others have caught a glimpse of him in the mirror of the men’s room upstairs.

None of us caught sight of the late president, but if he was looking in on us, I’m pretty sure he would have been pleased to see four people so enjoying themselves.

Crandall Library event

I’m pleased to announce Crandall Public Library will be hosting me as their first official in-house program since the beginning of Covid.

The “Conversation with Ken Tingley” will be facilitated by my long-time colleague and recently retired Post-Star projects editor Will Doolittle.

The event is scheduled for Tuesday, May 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Doors open at 5 p.m. with seating set for 100.

Tweet of the Day

Preet Bharara @PreetBharara

“No draft decision in the modern history of the court has been disclosed publicly while a case was still pending. The unprecedented revelation is bound to intensify the debate over what was already the most controversial case on the docket this term.”