Rare Letters from Eleanor Roosevelt Show Her Warmth for Community, Friends and Family
Tickets are available for Eleanor Roosevelt’s 140th birthday fundraising luncheon featuring a panel of guest speakers and a peek at her letters.
In mid-February of 1949, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a letter to her namesake niece, Ellie, about travel plans to Canada where the former first lady was stepping off on a three-week lecture tour. She confessed in the letter that it “is a rather strenuous trip” and would be glad when it was over.
She went on to explain to her niece, the daughter of Eleanor Roosevelt’s brother, that she had vowed to herself not to make any more “one-night-stand” trips, but that the people in north west Canada had made such “an urgent plea,” that she accepted.
“They are all interested in the work of the [United Nations], and I feel an obligation to foster the interest if I can,” she wrote.
This passage is just a glimpse of Eleanor Roosevelt “letting her hair down” says Anna Eleanor Fierst, the former first lady’s great-granddaughter and Board Chair of the Eleanor Roosevelt Center in Hyde Park, New York. It was written a little more than a year after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948. The former first lady at the invitation of then President Harry S. Truman served as the chair of the Human Rights Commission and led the writing of the declaration.
But, it’s personal sentiments of Eleanor Roosevelt that Fierst is opening up to the public in a tribute to her great-grandmother and former first lady on her 140th birthday celebration scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. ET on Oct. 27 at The Henry A. Wallace Center at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York. The collection that includes over 50 letters, will be on display before they are sent to the National Archives after the event.
The event, Letters From Eleanor: A 140th Birthday Celebration, is a fundraiser to support the Eleanor Roosevelt Center’s efforts in sustaining and expanding programs that honor Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy. It is presented by the Eleanor Roosevelt Center and it will feature a sit-down lunch followed by a conversation among guest speakers William Harris, director of the FDR Library and Museum; Mary Jo Binker, associate editor, The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, The George Washington University; Ellie Lund Zartman, niece of Malvina “Tommy” Thompson and goddaughter of Eleanor Roosevelt; and Fierst, Eleanor Roosevelt Center Board Chair.
Fierst’s mother was the oldest grandchild of Eleanor Roosevelt. And while the public may be familiar with the former first lady’s landmark work on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, they may not be as familiar with her and the relationships she had with her family.
Often Fierst fields questions like: What was she like as a grandmother? Or simply, what was she like?
“This is an inside look at her as a grandmother and how she related to her immediate family,” Fierst tells East Wing Magazine in a recent phone interview, adding that it is already understood that Eleanor Roosevelt “was not the greatest mother because she didn’t know how to do it.”
“But, she was an incredibly wonderful, warm and very generous grandmother,” Fierst said.
In Ellie’s 1949 letter, readers sense that generous spirit when Eleanor Roosevelt shares with her niece that she is sending her an apron with an interesting backstory.
“A Dutch woman who was in a German prison camp for two years conceived the idea. While in prison some one [sic] sent a strip of patch work and the gay colors gave them a lift and a relief from gray, cement walls. Then the idea came to her that something could be made out of the pieces of life after the destruction of war, and that patch work skirts and aprons could become the symbol of what women could do in picking up the pieces and making something useful and constructive—that it is always the women who do the rebuilding morally and spiritually,” Eleanor Roosevelt wrote.
The program will also include discussion about the support Thompson provided to the former first lady as her defacto chief of staff-press secretary. Thompson, according to Fierst, assisted in responding to the former first lady’s letters.
“I think it’s time to acknowledge the role of this person,” Fierst said, adding Thompson was really Eleanor Roosevelt’s right hand woman who allowed her to do so much. “It’s kind of an unsung hero position.”
Whether through letters or the panel’s discussion, Fierst said they will be focused on Eleanor Roosevelt as a community leader and her relationships with family and friends.
Before Eleanor Roosevelt signed off in her letter to her niece, she declared “After the Human Rights Commission meetings are over, I am going to try not to make any engagements which take me away from home. I was away far too much last year …” And, she went on to tell her niece how much she looked forward to seeing her on a future visit to her home “in the stone cottage.”
Tickets are $125 per person and must be purchased in advance. For information on tickets, click here.
Calendar
Oct. 24, 2024
History Happy Hour: Mourning Dress and Drapery at the White House
The White House Historical Association will present History Happy Hour: Mourning Dress and Drapery at the White House, a virtual conversation exploring the Association’s recently launched digital exhibit, Black Cloth: Mourning Dress and Drapery at the White House. The online exhibit, launched last month in partnership with New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, was created by NYU student Rachel Bellis and the Association’s Digital Library team. Read more
Oct. 26, 2024
Trick-or-Treating at Mount Vernon
Limited tickets remain for Mount Vernon’s Halloween celebration “Trick-or-Treating at Mount Vernon” featuring 18th-century entertainment and activities. During this special event, children can collect candy, join in a costume parade, meet Lady Washington, and enjoy musical entertainment. Read more
Nov. 8, 2024
Legacy Lecture: Unveiling Edith Wilson's Political Power
The National First Ladies Library & Museum presents the virtual Legacy Lecture on Friday, Nov. 8, from noon to 1 p.m.EST with Edith Michel, Senior Manager of Education and Collections at the President Woodrow Wilson House, about the captivating life and legacy of former First Lady Edith Wilson. Discover how she became more than just a first lady—becoming a political powerhouse, symbol of resilience, and the so-called “First Lady President.” Read more
Nov. 21, 2024
Special Third Thursday Night Out: Pat Nixon Biographer Heath Hardage Lee
The National First Ladies Library & Museum presents Heath Hardage Lee, the acclaimed author of the newly released book, The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington's Most Private First Lady presents Heath Lee members of Nixon's East Wing staff for a one-night-only at the museum. These remarkable women, who worked closely with Mrs. Nixon, will participate in a Q&A following the program. Read more
Nov. 24, 2024
First Ladies Fine Dining: Inauguration
Cookology at Ballston Quarter in Arlington, Virginia, presents a hands-on cooking class wand lecture by Andrew Och, aka “The First Ladies Man” on Nov. 24, 2024. Dolley Madison, Edith Wilson and Rosalynn Carter all come from different eras, decades and even centuries. However, that’s no reason not to cobble together the perfect meal from some of their favorite dishes and recipes. Comparing and contrasting the First Ladies through food and the events they hosted is a remarkable way to learn about the life and times of these incredibly influential women before, during and after their time in the White House as First Ladies. Read more
Nov. 25, 2024
First Ladies on the Page Book Club – Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush
The National First Ladies Library & Museum presents a virtual First Ladies on the Page Book Club discussion on former First Lady Laura Bush’s memoir Spoken from the Heart. This month’s discussion offers a rich exploration of Laura Bush's life and historical connections. Read more
Through Nov. 30, 2024
Lafayette’s Bicentennial Celebration Tour – Next Stop: Tudor Place
The American Friends of Lafayette, in collaboration with Tudor Place and other historic sites nationwide, announce a bicentennial celebration of Lafayette’s tour tracing his footsteps as the “Guest of the Nation” in the exact order he traveled.
In 2024-2025, communities throughout the U.S. will commemorate the bicentennial of Marquis de Lafayette’s return to America. Between July 1824 and September 1825, ”the Hero of Two Worlds” toured America, visiting all twenty-four states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 50 years after the American Revolution, Lafayette was received with parades, banquets and military salutes. In October 1824, he paid a visit to Martha and Thomas Peter at Tudor Place, a much-awaited reunion between Lafayette and Martha Peter, a granddaughter of Martha Washington.
Tudor Place will celebrate this bicentennial commemoration with a lineup of related events:
Oct. 15-Nov. 30: Tudor Place. Welcoming Lafayette. See rarely displayed collection objects and ephemera in the historic house around themes of memories and mementos of Lafayette’s visit to Tudor Place in 1824. Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET and Sunday Noon to 4 p.m. ET
Tudor Place preserves the stories of six generations of descendants of Martha Washington, and the enslaved and free people who lived and worked here for nearly two centuries.
Submit calendar items, announcements and press releases to East Wing Magazine at jtaylor@eastwingmagazine.com.