History, Natural History & the Arts
“Last week I acquired from my husband’s estate about two-thirds of the land which he owned here in Hyde Park. My son Elliott and I have gone into partnership and we are going to farm the land on a commercial basis,” Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” column on August 19, 1947.
This would be the beginning of a joint venture with her third child Elliott to turn a profit from the estate lands of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. [Read more…] about Elliot Roosevelt’s Christmas Tree Sales At Val-Kill
New York State’s recent acquisition of the 86-acres Parker tract in the Finger Lakes area, recalls the role of New York State Governor and later U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the creation of New York States Forests and Wildlife Management Areas.
The State purchased the parcel from the Parker Trust for $171,300 utilizing federal Pittman-Robertson Act (1937) funds. To ensure that use is in compliance with the Act, the state is planning to include the land in the High Tor Wildlife Management Area in Yates County.
[Read more…] about 80-Acre Addition To High Tor Area Part of FDR’s Preservation Legacy
Frances Perkins, who served as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor in all four terms of his administration, is often credited with designing many of the New Deal’s social welfare programs, including Social Security. As such, she ranks among the most influential women of the 20th Century.
Few however, know that Perkins began her career in the Hell’s Kitchen area of the city of New York, work that as inspired inn part by a chance meeting an Irish Tammany Hall District Leader Tom McManus. [Read more…] about Frances Perkins, One of America’s Most Influential Women, Remains Unrecognized
The 16th annual Roosevelt Reading Festival has been set for June 15th at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 4079 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park, from 10 am to 5 pm. [Read more…] about Roosevelt Reading Festival at FDR Library Saturday
A two-and-one-half day introduction to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, set for May 4-6, has been announced by Knickerbocker Tours.
The event will feature tours of the homes of FDR and ER (Springwood, Val-Kill, & Top Cottage), sessions with National Park Service staff describing their work in maintaining and curating these national treasures, informational sessions on the life stories of ER and FDR and the wider world into which they were born, and more. [Read more…] about Knickerbocker Tours Offering Roosevelt-Deep Dive
The National Park Service will commemorate President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 136th birthday on Tuesday, January 30th at 3 pm.
The event is held in the Rose Garden at the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York.
Brigadier General Cindy R. Jebb, Dean of the Academic Board, United States Military Academy, West Point will present the remarks. The United States Military Academy provides the honor guard and color guard for the event. [Read more…] about FDR’s 136th Birthday At West Point Tuesday
The National Park Service and the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt Historical Association have announced a new lecture series focusing on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and Human Rights, beginning on Thursday, January 25th.
The speaker series will include lectures, panel discussions, film screenings, and performances presented by historians, park rangers, activists, artists, and entrepreneurs.
All programs will be held at the Henry A. Wallace Visitor Center, 4079 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park, NY. The list of scheduled programs includes:
[Read more…] about FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Series In Hyde Park
Douglas Brinkley will read from and discuss his latest book, Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America (2016), at 8 pm on Thursday, April 27 in the Clark Auditorium, New York State Museum, Cultural Education Center, in downtown Albany. Earlier that same day, at 4:15 pm in the Ballroom of the Campus Center on the UAlbany uptown campus the author will hold an informal seminar with audience discussion.
Free and open to the public, the events are sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute and cosponsored by the Friends of the New York State Library. [Read more…] about Douglas Brinkley On FDR’s Environmental Legacy April 27th
In the midst of the Jazz Age, while Americans were making merry, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was stricken by polio and withdrew from public life. From 1924 to 1926, believing that warm water and warm air would help him walk again, he spent the winter months on his new houseboat, the Larooco, sailing the Florida Keys, fishing, swimming, playing Parcheesi, entertaining guests, and tending to engine mishaps.
During his time on the boat, he kept a nautical log describing each day’s events, including rare visits by his wife, Eleanor, who was busy carving out her own place in the world. Missy LeHand, his personal assistant, served as hostess aboard the Larooco. [Read more…] about New Book: FDR On His Houseboat
When presidential historians and scholars rate America’s greatest leaders, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is among the few who nearly always appear among the top five, along with Washington and Lincoln. While others certainly served admirably, those three achieved elevated status by facing stern tests of leadership during great crises in our history: the battle for independence, the fight to preserve the Union, and in FDR’s case, both the Great Depression and World War II.
It’s less well known that Roosevelt very nearly didn’t serve as President due to assassination attempts prior to his first inauguration. One of those stories brought ignominious headlines to the North Country over a period of several months.
Roosevelt first won the presidency in November 1932. The 20th Amendment was ratified on January 23, 1933, officially establishing January 20 as the new inauguration date for all future presidents, and making FDR the last President to be inaugurated on March 4. He very nearly didn’t survive the waiting period. [Read more…] about The North Country Man Who Threatened A President