It's a hot Saturday mid-morning, and Joe and Pauline Francis hold hands intermittently and nod and smile when the other is speaking - although, admittedly, it is the mistress who does most of the talking. They fill in the gaps for each other as they sit at a backyard bar at their Paradise View home, reflecting over the decades and their family business, which has evolved from humble beginnings into a household name. Ask anyone in the know, and they'll tell you that this duo ­ whom everyone calls Mommy Gen and Big Daddy (including the 18 grandchildren) - is the rock upon which Kennedy's Club, as we know it, is built. On November 7, their business will reach its 40-year milestone, and for the Francises and their nine children - Don, Dave, Dion, Kevin, twins Denise and Donna, Kennedy, Kevinia and Kerri - and 13 of their 26 adopted children - who each play a role in the business, as well as Joe's four brothers and initial partners, it is cause to give thanks and, of course, celebrate. The dawn of this November's anniversary will find that Kennedy's Club has spread a long way from its roots: a tavern in Liberta.

The business now encompasses that very first joint; the very popular bar on Prince Klaas Street in Sr. John's; Kennedy's Liquor World Ltd.; Kennedy's Club Ltd. at Cassada Gardens; Kennedy's Enterprises; Wadadli Enterprises; and, to a lesser extent, a heavy-duty trucking business.

But before one gets into Joe and Pauline's success story, credit must be given where due, and that lies with the late Virginia Brathwaite's five boys - Joe, Novelle, Blokey, Irving and Roosie. It was this industrious five who laid the foundation when, collectively, they opened the first in what was to be a chain of businesses - the Kennedy's Club joint in Liberta in 1962.

"As little boys growing up, we used to sit on the block," said Joe's younger brother, Irving Edwards. "I don't know why - perhaps because there were five boys in the home ­but all the young boys started hanging out at a genip tree by our house. Almost every older boy had a nickname (of a respected world leader), and when those boys started talking about international relations it was amazing. At that time there was no electricity - and in the absence of radio, I don't even know how news was gathered then - but those guys used to talk some intelligent things."

His eldest brother, he recalled, was "christened" John F. Kennedy after the thirty-fifth president of the United States.

"As a big brother - and we were brought up without a man in the home - we always had respect for him," Irving continued. "(Joe) had vision beyond our comprehension at that time. He was well ahead, and you could trust him to say the right thing at the right time."

Because of this vision and out of respect for the de facto male head of the household, once the brothers decided to open the joint it was called Kennedy's Club.

"The name continued to flourish. It is a name that is recognized by all. That's where we are today," declared Irving, who, in addition to being one of the company's directors, heads up Kennedy's Enterprises a hardware and lumber store.

Everyone concedes that the going was tough back in those early days. Joe and Novelle were holding down jobs as masons and running a bus from Liberta to town; Blokey, whose real name is Manasseh Jackson, was driving his heavy-duty truck; and Roosie (Roosevelt Edwards) was working as a mechanic and fixing pool tables. While her boys worked, Virginia ran the day shift at the joint until the boys relieved her and worked into the morning.