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John F. Kennedy’s months as an Arizona ranch hand

Arizona Daily Star. Apr 10, 2011  Last updated February 20, 2020

Joseph Kennedy got it into his mind in 1936 that his two oldest boys would benefit from manual labor in a good climate. Through a friend, he found out about the J-6 Ranch near Benson.

The younger of the two sons, John, was just about to turn 19 and had recently spent time in a Boston hospital while doctors figured out whether he had leukemia. John and Joe Jr. headed out to Arizona, where John G.F. Speiden put them to work on a crew building adobe office on his 40,000-acre ranch.

According to historian Michael O’Brien in his book “John F. Kennedy: A Biography,” it was the first paying job either brother held. They received a dollar a day and worked six days a week over four months, he wrote. (Other sources say they stayed two months, received nothing more than room and board, and he also built corrals and helped with the cattle.) Work wasn’t the only thing the future president did out West. O’Brien quotes a letter Kennedy wrote to a friend in which he describes in crude terms a visit to a Nogales whorehouse. Joseph Kennedy got it into his mind in 1936 that his two oldest boys would benefit from manual labor in a good climate. Through a friend, he found out about the J-6 Ranch near Benson.

JFK at J-6 Ranch
John F. Kennedy’s first job was at the J-6 Ranch in the spring and summer of 1936. Alongside brother Jack, JFK, just 19 at the time, rode fence, herded cattle and helped construct adobe offices, earning a dollar a day over the course of four months.

The younger of the two sons, John, was just about to turn 19 and had recently spent time in a Boston hospital while doctors figured out whether he had leukemia. John and Joe Jr. headed out to Arizona, where John G.F. Speiden put them to work on a crew, building adobe offices on his 40,000-acre ranch.

Residents of Red Hawk are alert to artifacts related to the JFK stay at the J6 Ranch during the summer of 1936. Rumors continue of a collection of JFK letters written from the J6 during his summer work sojourn.

According to historian Michael O’Brien in his book “John F. Kennedy: A Biography,” it was the first paying job either brother held. They received a dollar a day and worked six days a week over four months, he wrote. (Other sources say they stayed two months, received nothing more than room and board, and he also built corrals and helped with the cattle.) Work wasn’t the only thing the future president did out West. O’Brien quotes a letter Kennedy wrote to a friend in which he describes in crude terms a visit to a Nogales whorehouse.