The very real threat of nuclear war loomed large during his presidency, so JFK had three fallout shelters at his disposal, one near Washington, DC, one on Nantucket and a third on Peanut Island, Florida, hilariously dubbed “the Detachment Hotel”. Each was equipped to handle Kennedy, his family, 20 Cabinet members and, presumably, his hundreds of paramours for a month (in the fullness of time, each site became a tourist attraction). The president even urged ordinary Americans to build shelters in their backyards. This 99% of people did not do - only 200,000 got constructed nationwide out of a population of just over 182 million. But I know one family who did. This is their story.
© 2024 John Oliver
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