FDR

Friday, May 26… 

I did NOT want to get up this morning. Much as I’m looking forward to visiting the FDR sites, I was still in what I call “dream-recovery mode” and feeling very secure in my warm little cave. And when I finally rolled onto Greg’s side, where the sheets had cooled, those felt really good too. But time was marching on, so a shower was taken, a banana and a muffin consumed, a list of other stops compiled, rain gear gathered (it’s still drizzly), and eventually we’re out the door.  

Springwood is unique in that Roosevelt was born and raised there, raised his own family there, visited the property as often as possible during his presidencies, and is buried there. It was truly his home in every sense of the word. It’s a big house, but not a show house. 

Roosevelt's (home) library - some fireside chats given here.

Parcheesi game in "family side" of the library.

Only bloom in the rose garden.
(Double Delight)

We also toured the Presidential Library (the first such library I’ve been to), which includes over 34,000 items – not all of which are on display. (Thank goodness! I was exhausted just trying to take in everything specifically related to his presidential years.) After lunch we visited Val-Kill, originally Val-Kill Industries, a project of Eleanor & her friends that employed local farming families making handcrafted furniture and fabrics. That enterprise closed during the depression, and the building was then used as a casual gathering place for the Roosevelts and their friends and visiting dignitaries (King George VI and Elizabeth enjoyed hot dogs there). After Roosevelt’s death, Eleanor made Val-Kill her private residence.

Eleanor's bedroom at Val-Kill. Nothing fancy here.
(and until last summer, I had hand towels just
like those on the bed in my own linen closet)

On the way home, we sidetracked to try out the Walkway over the Hudson, an old railroad bridge repaved for pedestrians. Cool idea.

Upriver...

This caught my eye as we were
heading out this morning.

...and westward toward Poughkeepsie City/Town (only the politicians care)

BlogThoughts… I read Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time a few years back, and I need to read it again. Folks may not agree with all of FDR's politics or choices in his personal life, but he and Eleanor certainly were 2 amazing individuals (and a team until the end). What impressed me most today was the story of how he dealt with his polio. He was 39 when it hit (and it hit hard), and he spent the rest of his life actively battling to maintain an appearance of normalcy. I'm not talking about forbidding photos of himself in a wheelchair. I'm talking about discipline and determination - treatments and therapy (he originally had upper body paralysis as well) for the next 45 years, and finding a way to appear to walk by leaning his upper body forward and then letting each leg swing forward (separately) while resting on the other leg (brace) and gripping someone's arm. At Springwood, he had an elevator (actually an over-sized dumbwaiter) installed, but he had a rope pulley & counterweight to pull it up himself rather than use electricity.