I was a long drive yesterday from Jacksonville, through D.C. through Gettysburg, P. A. to the far outskirts of suburban NYC. Two interesting notes from yesterday...the drive from Maryland up through Gettysburg was amazingly beautiful, with a nice sunset and great views off the highway. Once dusk hit, there was a bonanza of fireflies, which looked almost like fireworks going off there were so many. One oddity...July 1-3 is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. While driving the outskirts here today I noticed that the outlet mall had a huge Abraham Lincoln with a big "150th" beneath it....all in lights. A bit odd.
Today's activities amazed me. I visited Franklin D. Roosevelt's homeplace in Hyde Park, New York. The tour is great. The home was actually owned by his mother, who, depending upon what you read, was a shrew, a mean controlling thing....or someone who was out to see that her son was well cared for. Either way, I learned a few weird facts. Roosevelt obviously grew up with wealth, but by fourteen he had traveled to Europe seven times, and was fluent in both French and German. His father gave him a gun to shoot birds, but he had to promise not to hunt during nesting or mating season. In the Hyde Park mansion there were dozens of stuffed birds.
I have not seen the new movie with Bill Murray as FDR, but the rooms are clearly marked where the former future King and Queen of England stayed when they visited the Roosevelts in 1939. The tour guide also mentioned that while FDR gave us the famous line, "there is nothing to fear, but fear itself," he was deathly afraid of fire (after developing polio and losing the use of his legs). They showed us all sorts of ancient fire prevention devices in the house (kind of like a fire extinguisher today). The guide also provided a funny quip about why FDR used those long cigarette holders...once, when asked he replied, "my doctor told me to stay as far away from smoking as possible."
Also on today's agenda was a visit Val-Kil, the cottage/home built by Eleanor Roosevelt with two of her friends during the mid-1920s. The home was built on the Roosevelt property, and Eleanor never spent the night there until after FDR died in 1945. Visiting here was a treat. Much like Eleanor Roosevelt, the home is very unpretentious, cottage-like, very liveable, and with things replicated exactly as they were when she died in 1962. Because her father and another relative both had issues with alcoholism, Eleanor tolerated alcohol, but never enjoyed its use. The guide noted that when she hosted people for dinner, she would have a "ten minute cocktail" before dinner...literally not serving drinks until 6:50 and ushering everyone into the dining area at 7:00pm. Eleanor Roosevelt achieved some amazing feats. I think the appeal for both her and Franklin are that while both had great money and power, they both also faced tremendous obstacles (Eleanor's horrible upbringing, the death's of many loved one's, the betrayal of her husband....along with his polio). Yet, despite these obstacles (and in part because of their money), they never let these personal tragedies undermine their determination in life to do what they thought would advance the human spirit.
The real surpise at Val-Kil was that our guide was a woman who actually knew Ms. Roosevelt when she lived in Hyde Park, from the 1950s-to her death. The woman shared several interesting stories about her compassion and interest in people.
More museum activities tomorrow!
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