When I was a minister in Texas in 1960, I invited John F Kennedy to speak at the Houston Ministerial Association, of which I had recently become president. ![]() Herbert Meza is a retired Presbyterian minister who arranged for JFK, then a senator, to give a talk about politics and religious tolerance at the Rice hotel in Houston, on 12 September 1960. Kennedy addresses the Houston Ministerial Association on the ‘religious question’ of his Catholicism. My Kennedy Years by Jacques Lowe (Thames & Hudson) is out now Herbert Meza, September 1960: 'He seemed very sincere. But I'm aware of what an impact Kennedy had on my father's life, not just in terms of his career but also what it meant to be involved in such an important historic experience. I now work for a charity and do a lot of work in the community. I was raised to believe in taking responsibility for not just ourselves but also for our neighbours, and I feel quite strongly about that. I was born in 1968, so I wasn't around during the Kennedy era, but Kennedy's civic-mindedness and ability to inspire people to make a difference is something I inherited. I know it's strange, but I've always thought of as quite normal people. I am still trying, and I think I am successful in guarding the memory." Despite the iconic status that Kennedy has, my dad always spoke about him in personable, modest terms, as someone he admired, someone who had inspired his politics. ![]() He writes: "You are the son of a president I loved, a president who changed my life, a president whose edict and expectations of me I hope I fulfilled. I came across a letter recently that my father wrote to John Junior in 1998. And they just got on: Kennedy had a very dry sense of humour, didn't take himself too seriously, and was quite a bon vivant – my dad certainly appreciated that. ![]() There was clearly a great deal of trust and respect between the two of them, which is why so many of those photographs are so intimate, so unposed. Once Kennedy announced his candidacy, he asked my father if he would document the campaign trail. That was the beginning of their relationship. He apologised for having been a grumpy subject, and thanked him for the photos. Could you come over?" He went over, and it was all slightly surreal Kennedy greeted him in a towel, and Jackie shouted out "Is that Jacques?" as she was splashing away in the bath with the door slightly ajar. But late one night, my dad got a call from him: "Jackie and I are in New York tonight and we wanted to go through the pictures. It's hard to imagine now that this awkward first meeting turned into a friendship. It shows us Kennedy as a politician, but also as a dad and a husband. At first, he was quite reserved and not very forthcoming, but when my dad asked if Caroline and Jackie could be involved in the photo shoot, he became more at ease, providing a more intimate shot. ![]() Joe Kennedy, who had arranged the shoot, had obviously not told his son that there was going to be a photographer around when he came home, and insisted that he wear a suit, which Jack Kennedy wasn't best pleased about. It was the first time they'd ever met, and was a difficult meeting. This contact sheet was my father's first photo shoot with Jack Kennedy at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in late summer 1958.
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