Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters

A photo of former U.S. President with his children John Jr. and Caroline in costumes taken on Oct. 31, 1963 is displayed among other items as part of the McInnis Auctioneers Presidential Auction in Amesbury, Mass. Feb. 10, 2013.

The items to be auctioned are part of the estate of David F. Powers, who was a close friend as well as Special Assistant to former President John F. Kennedy. Powers traveled with Kennedy from the beginning of his political career through the president's assassination in 1963. Powers became the first curator of the JFK Library, where he served until he retired from the position in 1994. Powers' family discovered the pieces as they prepared the family home for sale.

See the auction catalogue presented by John McInnis Auctioneers.

Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters

A letter to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy from his mother

Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters

Photos of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis taken in 1955

Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters

Photos of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images

A view from the control room as presidential candidates Senator John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963) at left, and Vice President Richard M. Nixon (1913 - 1994) center appear on the first-ever televised Presidential debate in Chicago, Illinois, September 26, 1960. Debate host Howard K. Smith sits at a table between them in background.

AP

Richard M. Nixon wipes his face with a handkerchief during the nationally televised debate with John F. Kennedy, in Chicago, Ill., Sept. 26, 1960.

During the first televised presidential debates in 1960, a cool John F. Kennedy went toe-to-toe with a sweaty Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Maybe it was just the hot lights and the fact that he was recovering from a recent hospitalization, or maybe it was more, but viewers certainly seemed to notice.

The effect of the debates on the outcome of the election is often discussed, but never proven. Are you hoping tonight’s debate will help you decide? Will there be a memorable moment between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama that could be the deciding factor? We’ll be watching it too, so join us in the discussion - here’s how.

AP

On Oct. 21, 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy, D-Mass., right, and Vice President Richard M. Nixon appeared in the fourth presidential debate from a New York studio.

Ed Clark / Time & Life Pictures, Getty Image

John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon during the 1960 debates.

More photos from the Kennedy - Nixon presidential debates on Life.com

Watch the entire Kennedy-Nixon debate below, and NBC's report on the history of the presidential debates with Chuck Todd.

Update 6:47 p.m., May 24:

From the NBC News "HOT" file:

Per Sean Hadley - NBC producer in Joplin, MO:
National Weather Service's Bill Davis said that the Joplin tornado is the 8th deadliest tornado they have on record, giving it an E-5 rating. Joplin City Manager, Mark Rohr, says the death count has increased to 126 dead.

Update 6:06 p.m., May 23:

The death toll stands at 116, larger now than either the Flint, Michigan or Worcester, Massachusetts tornadoes of 1953. The Joplin tornado is now the deadliest in 64 years, after the April 9, 1947 twister in Woodward, Oklahoma, which killed 181.

Update 1:38 p.m., May 23:

The death toll in Missouri has risen to "at least 90," equaling that of the 1953 Worcester tornado. Officials are worrying that the number will rise, according to msnbc.com's main story on the Joplin tornado.

Stokes Young posts: As I write, our main story on the Joplin, Missouri tornado reports that the death toll is at 89, but could grow larger than the 1953 Worcester, Massachusetts tornado:

As the toll currently stands, the Joplin storm is the deadliest single tornado since the Worcester, Mass., tornado of June 9, 1953, which killed 90 people. If Joplin's toll increases further, it would surpass Worcester and start approaching the toll from a deadly storm that hit the previous day in 1953, when 115 died in Flint, Mich.

This prompted us to do a bit of research about that previous storm, the Worcester, Massachusetts tornado of 1953. The Wikipedia page on the Flint-Worcester tornado outbreak sequence details the massive weather system that devastated Flint, Michigan and Worcester, Massachusetts.

The town of Worcester has a slideshow of images from the tornado.

And, in the aftermath of that horrible storm, a young senator named John F. Kennedy toured the devastated town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts:

AP file

Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, center, accompanied by Dick Mayer, 15, and Melissa Tyler, 14, inspects tornado damage in Shrewsbury, Mass., on June 10, 1953.

Meanwhile, on YouTube, this video is described as "Kathy Lundstrom's father, Henry Ekberg took this rare color film before and after the Worcester tornado tore up the Burncoat area of Worcester,MA in 1953:"

Houston Chronicle via AP

President John F. Kennedy shakes hands with supporters during his visit to Fort Worth, Texas, Nov. 22, 1963.

Justin Newman / AP

A Secret Service agent jumps on the back of the open limousine that President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy are riding in through downtown Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963.

Keystone via Getty Images

Members of the Kennedy family at the funeral of assassinated President John F. Kennedy in Washington. From left: Edward Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, (age 6), Jackie Kennedy (1929-94), Attorney General Robert Kennedy and John Kennedy (1960-99) (age 3).

Here is an interesting read by one of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy's Secret Service agents, Clint Hill, recounting JFK's fateful ride 47 years ago on Nov. 22, 1963. View Clint Hill's interview on Morning Joe, below.