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Franklin D. Roosevelt

Trailblazing Women: Mary McLeod Bethune

March 14, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Mary McLeod Bethune, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt and others at the opening of Midway HallAs a presidential advisor of African American Affairs during the Roosevelt administration, Mary McLeod Bethune formed the Federal Council of Negro Affairs, which would become known as the Black Cabinet. [Read more…] about Trailblazing Women: Mary McLeod Bethune

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Black History, FDR, Franklin D. Roosevelt, National Archives, New Deal, Political History, Women, womens history

Fala, A Presidential Dog

February 4, 2021 by A. J. Schenkman 2 Comments

FDR-Fala-White-House-1941 “Saturday was a sad day for all of us and I know that all of Fala’s friends will also be sad to know that he slept away, and the little dog’s story had come to an end.”

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote these words in her column “My Day” on April 8th, 1952. She was saddened by the loss of the famous Scottish Terrier that belonged to her late husband FDR. Both Fala and his grandson Tamas McFala, also a Scottish Terrier, were constant fixtures at Val-Kill in Hyde Park, the home of Eleanor Roosevelt after President Roosevelt died. [Read more…] about Fala, A Presidential Dog

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Cultural History, dogs, Eleanor Roosevelt, FDR, FDR National Historic Site, FDR Presidental Library, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hyde Park, pets

Elliot Roosevelt’s Christmas Tree Sales At Val-Kill

December 24, 2020 by A. J. Schenkman Leave a Comment

Elliott Roosevelt and 3 Year Old in NYC 12-11-1948“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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Christmas, Eleanor Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, FDR, Forestry, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Holidays, Val-Kill, winter

Al Smith, John Apperson, FDR & The Fight That Expanded NYS Forests

November 5, 2020 by David Gibson 1 Comment

Paul Schaefer with John AppersonA young wildlands advocate Paul Schaefer was enamored of activist John Apperson from the day he first met him.

It was about 1931. Apperson was an General Electric engineer fighting to protect Lake George and other wild places. As Schaefer said, it was the pure sense of joy that Apperson exuded about conservation in the Adirondacks which galvanized young people looking for a cause.

These were very important years for the Adirondacks, as for the nation. The 1932 national election loomed, as the Great Depression sucked hope and savings from so many. One can imagine the anxiety that gripped the country and the opportunity for hucksters, demagogues, as well as statesmen. [Read more…] about Al Smith, John Apperson, FDR & The Fight That Expanded NYS Forests

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New Exhibits, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: 1932 Election, Al Smith, Environmental History, Forest Preserve, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John Apperson, Lake George, Logging, Paul Schaefer, Political History

Roosevelt Reading Festival at FDR Library Saturday

June 13, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Roosevelt Reading FestivalThe 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

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Conferences, FDR, FDR National Historic Site, FDR Presidental Library, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hyde Park, Political History

Al Smith, FDR, and the Progressive Movement

March 12, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

a new york minute in history podcastOn the most recent episode of the podcast A New York Minute In History, co-hosts Devin Lander and Don Wildman examine how two New Yorkers – Al Smith and Franklin Delano Roosevelt – influenced the Progressive Era of the early 20th Century.  The episode also explores how the administrations of Smith and Roosevelt shaped modern day politics and the role of government. [Read more…] about Al Smith, FDR, and the Progressive Movement

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Al Smith, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Podcasts, politics, State Historian

Knickerbocker Tours Offering Roosevelt-Deep Dive

March 2, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

​Franklin Roosevelt at age 18A 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

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Eleanor Roosevelt, FDR, Franklin D. Roosevelt

A Secret Stay At The White House Revealed

December 23, 2014 by John Conway 2 Comments

EleanorRooseveltThe hamlet of Long Eddy has a rich and colorful history, including a few years in the 19th century when it was known as Douglas City, the only incorporated city ever in Sullivan County. It also has a captivating link to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt White House – a connection made even more fascinating in that it was kept secret for more than forty years. [Read more…] about A Secret Stay At The White House Revealed

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Basket Historical Society, Disability History, Eleanor Roosevelt, FDR, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gender History, Sullivan County

Political History: Northern NY’s Native Son Bill Bray

November 2, 2014 by Lawrence P. Gooley 3 Comments

NYH02AMWBray1933Bill Bray’s rise to power in New York State politics was an impressive feat. From a poor farm life within a few miles of the Canadian border, he worked hard at becoming a successful attorney. By the age of 39, he was chairman of the state’s Democratic Party and a close confidant of Governor Franklin Roosevelt. Bray was running the show and FDR was a happy man, reaping the benefits of Bray’s solid connections in upstate New York.

Ironically, his following across central and northern New York is what eventually drove a wedge between Bray and the governor, souring their relationship. The falling out was over patronage, a common political practice. Roosevelt balked at Bray’s request to replace the Conservation Commissioner (a Republican) with a deserving upstate Democrat. It was, after all, the payoff for supporting FDR and helping win the election. A month or so later, Roosevelt finally acceded to Bray’s wishes, but the conflict hurt Bill’s standing within the inner circle. [Read more…] about Political History: Northern NY’s Native Son Bill Bray

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: FDR, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Political History

Amsterdam Mayor Arthur Carter Was An FDR ally

October 6, 2014 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

Amsterdam Mayor Arthur Carter 1933During the 1920s, Arthur Carter from Amsterdam worked as an auditor for the State Comptroller’s Office in Albany and got to know Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Roosevelt became President in 1933. Later that year, Carter was elected mayor of Amsterdam, defeating incumbent Republican Robert Brumagin by 1,169 votes.

The nation was gripped by the Depression. An estimated ten thousand people turned out in Amsterdam on a raw and windy November 9, two days after the city election, to parade for economic revival. [Read more…] about Amsterdam Mayor Arthur Carter Was An FDR ally

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Amsterdam, FDR, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Montgomery County, Political History

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