John F. Kennedy

:JFK redirects here. For other uses, see JFK (disambiguation).

The Muckers Club

An interesting thing about most Kennedy biographies is that they only say so much about his years at Choate Preperatory School in Connecticut. Most say he attended the school, which was one of the country's most elite, and he graduated in 1935. A few things they leave out are that during his years at Choate, Kennedy was not exactly the brightest or most well-behaved student. Though most of his teachers thought he could get very good marks, if only he set his mind to the task in front of him and applied himself, he seldom did. He only did well in the classes that interested him, such as English and history; but in classes like biology, chemistry, and Latin he did quite poorly.

Related Topics:
Biographies - Connecticut - 1935 - Student - Teacher - English - History - Biology - Chemistry - Latin

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As far as behavior went...not so good. As the headmaster of the school described his job, he had two tasks, one, to look out for the welfare of the students and the school, and the other, "to control Jack Kennedy and his friends." Indeed, Kennedy was no teacher's dream. He was often late for class and routinely forgot materials and assignments. When it came to his room it was similar, as his things were always a mess, and he was constantly pulling pranks, such as short-sheeting friends' beds and piling up pillows in the doorway, so that the person could not get through the door. Once, he even went as far to steal a life-size cardboard cut out Mae West from a nearby theater and stuck in in his bed, causing near heart attacks for the surprised maids when they found West in Kennedy's room. On another occasion, his mother sent him a crate of orange up to Connecticut from their winter home in Palm Beach, Florida. Instead of eating the oranges, like most sensible folks would do, Kennedy thought it fun to throw them out his window at passersby below. His mother was not too pleased.

Related Topics:
Headmaster - Pranks - Mae West - Heart attack - Orange - Palm Beach, Florida

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Together, with a group of friends, Kennedy started a club they called the Muckers Club. The purpose of this organization was solely for the amusement of the group, or as they put it, to disrupt the administration. For the most part Kennedy and his fellow Muckers caused a ruckus and did things such as sneaking out at night and pulling typical pranks. But during their senior year at Choate, the headmaster had had enough and called a school assembly, one dedicated to acknowledging the group that called themselves "The Muckers" and to put shame to their actions and antics. Of course, thinking the boys would be thoroughly embarassed, the headmaster thought the problem of the Muckers would cease immediately. Much to his fury, the young men only thought it utterly hilarious. And that's when the parents were called in. More, that's when his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, who at the time was Ambassador to Great Britain, was pulled out of Washington, D.C. to speak with the headmaster about his son's misbehavior. Though his father's visit saved him from expulsion, it opened Jack's eyes and showed him that it was time he grew up. And so ended the Muckers Club. But Kennedy and his friends still had one last prank to pull.

Related Topics:
Joseph P. Kennedy - Ambassador - Great Britain - Washington, D.C.

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At the end of the year, elections for the graduating class were held. Some of the catergories included "Most Handsome", "Most Athletic", etc. Jack and his friends swapped, bargained, bribed, and dealed (aka rigged the election) to earn Kennedy the one title all his teachers thought he deserved least. In the end, he was voted "Most Likely to Succeed".

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