WITNESS TO HISTORY IN WARM SPRINGS

The Little White House

While visiting the Franklin Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York, I got to thinking about a visit I made back in 2008 to the tiny village of Warm Springs, Georgia. It was in Warm Spring that President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945.

President Roosevelt was a frequent visitor to Warm Springs, as exercising and swimming in the nearby mineral springs was one of the few things that seemed to ease the pain from polio that he was diagnosed with in 1921. President Roosevelt came to Warm Spring so often that he built a 6-room cottage on Pine Mountain near the tiny village and near the mineral pools.

FDR was sitting in the chair when he slumped forward

He first visited Warm Springs in 1924 and his small cottage known as the “Little White House,” was built in 1932. During his presidency he visited the are a total of 16-time and could often be seen driving around the country side visiting with his neighbors.  Unlike the presidents of today, President Roosevelt would drive himself about the country road of Meriwether County.

On the afternoon of April 12, 1935, President Roosevelt was sitting in the living room of the Little White House, posing for a portrait for artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff.  Early in the afternoon the President complained of a severe pain in the back of his head and slumped forward in his chair. His aides carried him to his bedroom where at 3:35 p.m. he was pronounced dead by his attending physician Dr. Howard Bruenn.

FDR Died in this bed on April 12, 1945

During my visit to the Little White House I toured the cottage and the nearby museum and also made my way down the Mountain to the Warm Springs Pools where President Roosevelt swam and received treatments for his polio. While I enjoyed my tours, it was my visit to the tiny Village of Warm that made a lasting impression on me.

It was late in the afternoon when I finished my tour of the Warm Spring Pools and the Little White House, so before I headed by to my hotel for the night I decided to park and walk around the village.  The Village of Warm Spring is basically a couple of block of locally owned shops.  It was a rather warm day and I found a small ice cream shop and decided to have a cup of Georgia Peach Ice Cream. 

While I was sitting in a rocking chair in front of the ice cream shop an elderly gentleman came up and started talking to me. In small towns everyone knows everyone else so a stranger had to be a tourist.  He asked it I “had visited the Little White House yet.”  I told him that I had and that I had also visited the Pools.

The man whose name was Ed, (I am terrible with last names) told me that he was 12-years old when President Roosevelt died and that he had vivid memories of the time when the President was in the area but none of those memories was a vivid as the day in 1945 when they “brought the President off of the mountain,” to the depot for the “trip back north.”

Wow, how lucky am I to be talking to someone who witnessed one of the most important events of the 20^th Century.  For the near hour or so I sat in a comfortable rocking chair listening to this gentleman reminisce about how the entire community came out and lined the streets as the hearse pulled up in front of the small depot.  The military honor guards stood at attention near the train that would carry the President back to Washington.

Ed told me that one thing that he remembers is the silence. Men, women and children all stood in silence waited for the hearse to arrive. Not one word was spoken.  As the hearse came into view and pulled up in front of the depot, men and women that he had known all of his young life were silently crying as the flag draped casket was removed from the back of the hearse and carried to the waiting train. 

President Roosevelt's 1938 Ford

 For the better part of an hour I talked with this gentleman, and listened intently as he described how it was a common occurrence for a family to be sitting on their front porch on a Sunday afternoon and President Roosevelt would come driving up the road and stop for a visit.  Because of his polio he couldn’t get out of the car but the family would walk down and visit with him while he sat in the driver’s seat of the car. Because of his polio his car had been specially equipped with hand controls. 

After the train departed on the morning of April 13, 1945, the people of Warm Springs silently returned to their homes to mourn the loss of their friend and neighbor who just happened to be the 32^nd President of the United States.

It was late afternoon when I returned to my car and head back toward my hotel in Newnan. As I drove back up the Highway 27, I couldn’t help but think, how Ed’s recollection of that day in 1945 was so much like my memories of a similar day in November 1963. He witnessed history in person and I witnessed it on a black and white Television in the comfort of my home in Virginia. 

FDR NATIONAL HISTORICAL SITE

(November 15, 2016) After spending two days in the lower Hudson Valley, it was time to check out of the Quality Inn in Fishkill. Like I said earlier I don’t usually stay at Quality Inn’s as most of them have exterior rooms and have a reputation of being on the lower in of the Choice Hotel Brands. This Quality Inn had interior room and the customer service was excellent.

Springwood - FDR National Historical Site

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, it was time to hit the road for the 20-mile drive back North on U. S. Highway 9 to the Village of Hyde Park. I wanted to visit both the Vanderbilt Mansion and the FDR National Historic Site, but the Vanderbilt Mansion was closed for a wedding or some type of elegant social function. So shortly after the FDR National Historical opened I pulled into the vacant parking lot and made my way into the Visitors Center. 

I was evidently the first visitor of the day and bought my ticket for the 10 a.m. tour of the Roosevelt Mansion. The grounds and the adjacent museum are self-guided but the tour of the mansion is guided by a National Parks Service Employee. 

FDR & Eleanor at the Visitor's Center

I had a bout a 40-minute wait for my tour and passed the time by walking around the grounds that are dotted with statues and monument dedicated to the 32^nd President of the United States. Just outside of the Visitors Center is a statue of Eleanor and Franklin sitting around a table reading books, and a little further along is a bust of President Roosevelt, which stands at the entrance to the museum. Behind the Museum is Freedom Park, which has two large busts of President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill along with two large pieces of the Berlin Wall.  

After walking the ground for about 30-minutes I made my way back to the lobby of the visitor’s center where I was to meet my tour guide.  When I re-entered the lobby of the visitor’s center to join my 10 o’clock tour. Several people were also waiting inside to join the tour and as I waited I heard someone say “Go Deacs”, and a couple of people came up to me and wanted to know if I was from Winston-Salem.  Seems they had noticed my Wake Forest University hat.  Turned out that they were with a tour group from the Winston Salem area.  I told them I wasn’t from the Winston Salem Area but was a Wake Forest Season Ticket hold in both football and basketball.  One of the ladies wanted to introduce me to her husband, who was also a basketball season ticket holder. She introduced me to her husband and after talking to him for a few minutes he said he recognized me as the guy who sits behind the Wake Forest bench taking pictures.

The Living Room

After talking for a few minutes our tour guide joined us to begin out tour. After a brief introduction about the life of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt we began out walk toward the mansion. On our way we past the rose garden where both Eleanor and Franklin are buried along with their Scottish Terrier “Fala.” The guide told us we would be free to return to the rose garden after our tour of the house.

FDR's White House Desk

Out tour of the Roosevelt Mansion lasted about 45-minutes and our guide took use through each room of the house and showed us how the upper class lived and how the house had to be discreetly renovated to accommodate President Roosevelt’s polio. President Roosevelt was very rarely photographed with his leg braces and he was largely confined to a wheel chair. The Roosevelt’s like to entertain so the house contained several renovations that allowed the President to move about including a make shift elevator that operated like a dumb waiter. This allowed President Roosevelt to avoid the stairs and move between floors.

Graves of Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt

Following my tour of the house, I made my way back to the museum, where I spent the next couple of hours touring the Museum. The museum has a number of artifacts belonging to both President and Mrs. Roosevelt including his White House Desk, and the original draft of his “A Day that will live in infamy,” speech that he delivered to Congress on December 8, 1941.

My final stop was back at the Rose Garden where I visited the graves of President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. Most people think that the Roosevelt’s are resting beneath the large marble monument but actually they are resting in front of the monument, with the President’s grave being closest to the monument.  There is a small sundial in the garden, which marks the grave of Fala, the Presidents Scottish Terrier.

Val-Kill

After spending the morning at the Franklin Roosevelt National Historical Site, I traveled about 3-mile down Route 9 to Val-Kill, which is the only National Historical Site devoted to a First Lady.  Following the Death of President Roosevelt in 1945, Val-Kill would become the home of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. It was the only home that she ever personally owned.  During my visit, the small stone cottage was not open for tours

but I was able to walk the grounds.

After spending about 30-minutes at Val-Kill, it was time to move on; after all today is moving day and I am headed toward Valley Forge where I will spend the night.

I crossed the Hudson at Poughkeepsie and a short time later headed south on Interstate 87.  I made a quick stop at the New Paltz Service Area for a fast food lunch before continuing my trek toward Valley Forge.

After about four and a half hours I arrived at the Comfort Inn in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.  I chose this hotel because it is only about 5-miles from the Valley Forge Nation Park. It is a little hard to find and I must say that after enjoying good service throughout this trip, this hotel while clean was really lacking in customer service.  When I arrived I had to wait several minutes for the front desk employee to finish with a personal call on his cell phone. After finally getting checked in I walked up the street to a Burger King and grabbed a quick supper before ending the day.  Tomorrow I plan on spending much of the day before heading east toward Gettysburg.

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW - THE LEGEND LIVES ON

My final stop of the day was in the Village of Sleepy Hollow, New York.  The small village was originally known as North Tarrytown. It was made famous by in the writings of Washington Irving and his popular short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”   The village embraced its notoriety and changed its name to Sleepy Hollow in 1996. Thanks to Irving, Sleepy Hollow is said to have some of the most haunted places in America, including Philipsburg Manor House, The Old Dutch Cemetery and the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

It was late in the afternoon when I arrived in the tiny village and I made my way to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where Washington Irving himself is buried. In addition to writing “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Washington Irving also wrote the “Rip Van Winkle.”

 

Washington Irving was born in New York City on April 3, 1783. He was named after George

Washington and actually attend his inauguration in 1789. He received a private education and developed an early love of writing, penning a number of short essays using the pen name of Jonathan Oldstyle.  By his own admission he was a poor student, but did practice law for a few years after passing the bar exam in 1806.  In 1815 he traveled to England to help his brother in the family business which eventually failed. During this time, he composed a collection of stories and essays that became the basis of his most famous works, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle.” Irving spent most of his adult life traveling abroad and at his “Sunnyside” Estate in New York.  On November 28, 1859, only 8-months after finishing the final volume of his Biography of George Washington, Washington Irving died at his estate.  He is buried here in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Just a short distance from the grave of Washington Irving, is the grave of Andrew Carnegie who is credited with leading the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19^th century.  Through his leadership he made Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Steel Company the largest and most successful steel

companies in the United States. He eventually sold the company to J. P. Morgan for $480 million dollars, which is about $80 billion in today money.  Under Morgan’s leadership, Carnegie Steel became U. S. Steel. Over the years, Carnegie developed a personal wealth of more than $310 billion dollars and devoted his life to philanthropy, giving away must of his wealth to funding local libraries, and universities. He founded the Carnegie Institution for Science and Carnegie Mellon University.  He also built Carnegie Hall and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.  Andrew Carnegie died on August 11, 1919 at the age of 83.

Both Washington Irving and Andrew Carnegie are buried in the older section of the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. And it was getting late when I made my way to the newer section, which is dominated by large private mausoleums. While driving around, I stumbled on the large Chrysler mausoleum. It is here that the founder and first president of the Chrysler Corporation is resting.  Walter Percy Chrysler was born on April 2, 1875 in Wamego, Kansas. He became involved in the automobile industry at an early age,

eventually becoming president of the Buick Motor Company.  In 1921 he took control of the Maxwell Motor Company and a few years later he absorbed Maxwell into his newly formed Chrysler Corporation. The new company grew and began creating the Plymouth and DeSoto Brands of Automobiles and in 1928 took control of the Dodge Corporation.  As a result of his success, Walter Chrysler financed the construction of one of New York City most famous buildings. At the time of construction, the Chrysler Building was the tallest building in the world but that claim to fame was short lived as a few years later the Empire State Building surpassed it.  Walter Chrysler suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away on August 18, 1940.

Just a short distance away is another very large private mausoleum where the “Queen of Mean” is resting. Leona Helmsley was a real estate agent when she met and married multi-millionaire real estate investor Harry Helmsley. Together the two concentrated on building and owing some of the world’s best and most exclusive hotels, including the New York Palace, the Park Lane Hotel and the

St. Moritz.  The Company’s portfolio also included the sole ownership of the Empire State Building. Being personally involved in all aspects of the business, Leona was notoriously known for being mean and cruel to everyone she came in contact with.  Employees often referred to her as “The Queen of Mean.” Leona was charge and convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United State and tax evasion, for either failing to file or for filing false tax returns.  Harry was originally charged with the same crimes but was in ill health and physically unable to stand trial. During her trial Leona’s former housekeeper, Elizabeth Baum testified that she once asked Leona “You must pay a lot of taxes,” to which she replied, “We don’t pay taxes, only the little people pay taxes.”  The jury wasted no time in convicting her and she eventually served 18-months in prison. Harry died on January 4, 1997 while Leona lived 10 more years and died on August 2, 2007.

It was about dusk dark when I started to make my way out of the cemetery and my route took be down the hill and around the back side of the cemetery. It was here in a heavily forested part of the

cemetery that I encountered a small wooden bridge that crosses Pocantico Creek.  Legend has it that this is where Ichabod Crane was unseated by The Headless Horseman in Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”  While the original bridge has long since rotted away and its original location is unknown, “The Headless Horseman Bridge is one of the area most popular destinations.

It was almost dark when I left the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and returned to the Quality Inn in Fishkill. After another quick supper at the 84 Diner another great day came to an end.