The morning of July 17, 1999, was typical of the misty summer days on Cape Cod.
At the Sheraton Hyannis Resort, where I served as the front desk assistant, we were just a couple of miles from the Atlantic Ocean. This prime location offered humid afternoons that were only relieved by a cool breeze from the sea.
That particular day, the wind was unusually strong.
The hotel was just a quick five-minute drive from the renowned Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port. This six-acre estate was where Rory Kennedy, the youngest child of the late Robert F. Kennedy and his wife Ethel, planned to celebrate her wedding with more than 200 guests.
However, the wedding would not take place as planned that weekend.
Tragedy struck when John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane, carrying his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and her sister Lauren, went missing off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.
John F Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (pictured in May 1999) died in a plane crash off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard on July 16, 1999. The couple were on their way to Cape Cod for the wedding of Rory Kennedy and Mark Bailey
The wedding, which was later postponed, was set to take place on the six-acre Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts (pictured on July 18, 1999)
As a Sandwich native, it wasn’t unusual to run into a member of the Kennedy clan on the Cape.
While they were considered local celebrities, they did not always carry a sterling reputation.
In fact, there was a long-running joke that some members were notoriously bad tippers and expected to receive a meal for free. So much so, a handful of bars and restaurants on the Cape would display a sign that read, ‘No Kennedys.’
I held a second job at the movie theater in Hyannis, where John Jr and his uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, would buy tickets for a showing from time to time, and I once encountered the George magazine editor at a local Blockbuster Video.
It was January 1998, and, just more than a year before his own death, JFK Jr was in town for the funeral of his cousin Michael Kennedy. I saw him amble towards the check-out counter, a teetering tower of VHS tapes stacked 12 high, where he informed the cashier that he did not have a membership card.
Unlike most people on Cape Cod – or the world, for that matter – the cashier didn’t recognize the Kennedy prince staring at him from across the cash wrap and denied the rentals.
Most famous figures would take that as an opportunity to ask, ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ He did not.
It wasn’t until after he left that I had the unfortunate job of breaking it to the cashier that he had just turned away Kennedy royalty.
Such frequent run-ins were perhaps why I was not as starstruck as most people would be when I clocked into my shift at the Sheraton Hyannis Resort that fateful day in 1999.
Rory Kennedy and her fiancé Mark Bailey walk across a private pier to the family compound while awaiting the outcome of the search for her cousin JFK Jr’s plane on July 18, 1999.
Ethel Kennedy (center), the widow of the late Robert F Kennedy, is seen with friends and family at the Kennedy Compound after word that debris from the plane had been found off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard
Joe Kennedy (left) stands with Andrew Cuomo (center) and other Kennedy family members in the garden of the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port
It was sure to be a busy weekend, seeing as the hotel was fully booked.
It wasn’t just Rory’s wedding guests staying there either; American folk legend Willie Nelson was also scheduled to perform that Sunday at Melody Tent – a music venue located just across the street from the Sheraton Hyannis.
For me, I was on the lookout for Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who became a frequent guest of the hotel’s fitness center after marrying into the Kennedy family 13 years prior.
But those who stayed at the hotel were largely considered B-list members of the Kennedy family, considering only high-profile members like Ethel and John Jr stayed at the compound.
Some guests had arrived early that day, dressed in seersucker jackets and Patriots jerseys with their wedding attire tucked in garment bags, buzzing with pre-wedding excitement.
Much like them, it wasn’t until I arrived at the hotel that my manager, Carlos, informed me of the news.
‘I guess you haven’t heard – they can’t find John Jr’s plane.’
Working the front desk at 21, I was typically the first face guests saw when they walked in, and the go-to source for questions about their stay. That morning, however, my job as receptionist quickly became unlicensed therapist.
For the guests who couldn’t quite process what was happening, I offered them comfort, reassurance and local restaurant recommendations to get away from all the noise. As a distraction, many of my conversations quickly turned to small talk about sports.
As the rest of the world caught wind of the news, some guests arrived to the hotel completely unaware that JFK Jr’s plane was reported missing.
And while some checked into their hotel rooms anyway, others canceled their stays. In total that day, about half of our reservations were canceled.
Massachusetts State Police divers pictured on July 19 searching for the wreckage of the plane carrying JFK Jr, his wife Carolyn and her sister Lauren
The US Coast Guard’s search and rescue mission became a search and recovery mission after debris from the plane was found about 200 yards off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard
Rescue operations discovered wreckage from JFK Jr’s Piper Saratoga II aircraft on July 20
Meanwhile, the resort’s restaurant, which was located across from the front desk and fully equipped with four TVs at the bar, became the unofficial news hub of Hyannis Port. Some guests had gathered around the TVs, partly to stay updated on the news but also because it seemed they didn’t want to be alone.
Media crews for ABC, NBC and CBS began setting up camp outside the Kennedy compound, and they later retreated to the hotel that night.
The US Coast Guard’s search and rescue efforts eventually turned bleak, reporting that debris from the plane was found about 200 yards off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.
When the shuttles that were meant to transport guests from the hotel to the compound never arrived, I knew that the wedding was postponed.
By then, it was all but confirmed that JFK Jr, his wife Carolyn and her sister Lauren had died in the crash.
While the so-called ‘Kennedy Curse’ has remained something of an American myth, that day, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some truth to the urban legend.
And based on the somber shadow cast over the Cape that day, I had a strange feeling I wasn’t the only one thinking the same thing.
