New England - Day Two

Day 2 - We were off to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Museum and Library.  I can’t compliment the Park Service enough for their knowledge, helpfulness, friendliness, and on and on at not only here but all the places we visited.

Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park, New York, called Springwood, is in a beautiful setting.   My header photo above is the view of what would have been the driveway.   

Entrance to the Roosevelt Museum and Library

Letters from everyday citizens to  FDR.

There was a special exhibit that focused on Roosevelt’s final campaign.  

FDR with General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz aboard the USS Baltimore arriving in Hawaii in 1944.

FDR addressing shipyard workers in Bremerton, Washington.   Spectators were shocked at the weight loss the President showed as well as his ashen and pained expression.   Later is was discovered he had an angina attack during the speech and despite great pain, continued with his speech.  For many years, Roosevelt was in quite a lot of pain that hid from even his closest advisors.  

Great selection of campaign buttons from FDR’s political career.

MacArthur’s returns to the Philippines.   On a person note, my Aunt was a WAC in the US Army and was in the crowd when MacArthur made his “I shall return” speech in 1942 after a US defeat.

FDR’s fedora

Approaching Springfield, FDR’s home

The barn, where as a child, FDR rode his horse daily

Beautiful grounds.  And 180 degrees from above, is the entrance to his home.

Spectacular views across the valley

Intricate carvings on a piece of furniture in the front hall of the home.

Carvings on the banister to the steps leading upstairs.

Sara Roosevelt, Franklin’s mother, decorated this room for the visit of the King and Queen of England in 1939. (Queen Elizabeth II parents).   It was called the Dresden Room because of the chandelier, clock and candelabra.  The photos on the piano are photos of dignitaries who visited.  It was customary to leave a photo with your hosts.

The Dining Room

The telephone

The Library where FDR greeted guests and dignitaries

His wheel chair in the Library would never have been in view when visitors were at Springwood.   Roosevelt designed the wheelchair himself.   He wanted something without arms and used the back of a kitchen chair to hid his need of a wheel chair and to increase the ability to navigate narrow hallways in the home. He used bicycle tires for the wheels.

I think this would be a great place to display smalls under the glass top cabinets.

Sara Roosevelt’s room

Eleanor’s Room.   Eleanor moved into this room after Franklin contracted polio in 1921.

FDR’s closet.

FDR loved this room because of the view if offered of the Hudson River.

Just to the left of the headboard is a phone that was a direct line to the White House.

The Blue Room, where FDR was born, weighing in at a whopping 10 lbs!

The Chintz Room where Queen of Elizabeth stayed in 1939.  The beds were made at the furniture factory at Val-Kill that was established by Eleanor.

Yes, there was a commode.   It is behind the door on the right.

The elevator used to move FDR upstairs.   It is a luggage lift installed by FDR’s father when he owned the home.  It’s intended use was to haul the steamer trunks of guests to the second floor.

Linen Closet - I’d love to have a linen closet this big!

View from exiting the second floor.

Charming screen porch off the Library

The barn.

Some of the many ribbons won for horsemenship

Stable

FDR’s tomb.   He is one of the few modern day presidents that is buried at his home and not in Washington, DC

This is the view down what was once the driveway to the home.

Within the museum, we saw the leg braces Roosevelt worn under his clothing to help him stand upright.  Weighing up to 10 lbs per leg.

This is what FDR’s private library would have looked like.

Below is a replica of how his White House desk appeared.  Notice the small flag on his desktop….

…it is a punch needle flag.

Now on to Val-Kill.   This was Eleanor’s Retreat.   If Franklin was not in residence at Springwood, Eleanor would be found here at Val-Kill.   It is about 2 miles from Springwood. 

Her dining table set with Franciscan ware in the Apple Pattern.  I know it well; it was my Mother’s pattern as well.

Eleanor’s sitting room.

Eleanor did not stitch but did knit and do needlepoint.   Sorry to say there are no pieces of her work on display.  

Val-Kill is the only National Historic Site dedicated to a First Lady.  Her partnership with  Val-Kill played an important role making Eleanor and her ability to empathize.  That  empathy contributed to some of the greatest social achievements of contemporary life: her tireless work for human rights, advancement of women’s leadership, and the drafting and passing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the support of meaningful civil rights progress in the United States, and the pioneering of infrastructure development through the New Deal.  Construction on Val-Killbegan in 1925 and was completed the following year. At the same time, they built an adjacent factory for Val-Kill Industries to demonstrate how a revival of handicraft traditions could support local economies. The Industries employed furniture makers, finishers, metal crafters, and weavers producing a range of goods. Under financial stress brought about by the Great Depression, Val-Kill Industries would close just ten years later in 1936. At that time, Eleanor Roosevelt converted the factory into a residence for her separate use.  

Following FDR’s death in 1945, Val-Kill became Eleanor Roosevelt's primary home. At Val-Kill, she surrounded herself with family and friends and hosted individuals who shared her diverse interests, including national and world leaders, activists, students, and local youth and students.

Other important structures at Val-Kill are the Stable-Garage, the Doll House, the Playhouse, and the swimming pool. The Doll House is a small wooden structure, originally located near the FDR Home and moved to Val-Kill by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1945 for the use of her grandchildren. The Playhouse, a one-story frame building, was built in several phases beginning in 1928 and was adapted for various uses, including a forge and metal-working shop for Val-Kill Industries.

On to the Vanderbilt Mansion.   Unfortunately….you guessed it.   It was closed.   They were decorating for Christmas.   We peeked in the windows of the front door and it look similar to what any of our houses would look like during decorating.   Boxes everywhere, sprigs of this and that, garland, Christmas balls…..albeit on a MUCH larger scale.  

Beautiful views of the Hudson River and Valley.   Built in 1895 this 54 room mansion was one of the earliest mansions on the Hudson.   At one time, the property consisted of 660 acres.

We left the Vanderbilt Mansion and went on to Staatsburg Mansion.   This was the home of Ogden Mills and Ruth Livingston Mills.  Built in 1895, this mansion has 65 rooms, 14 bathrooms and 23 fireplaces. Ogden Mills was a lawyer, business man and politician who served as Secretary of State to Harry Truman.   Another “grounds only” location.   

We headed north and ended up in Rhinebeck, NY for a stroll thru the quaint downtown area.   Two places I wanted to visit and you guessed it - one was closed.   Story of my life on this trip!   This was at A. L. Stickles 5 and Dime.   I heard it was a great store and was told to be sure to stop. I have never run into so many places that were closed for the day…..and I did my internet research ahead of time and none were showing as closed. 

The second place was Samuel’s Sweet Shop.  Owned and operated by Jeffrey Dean Morgan (of Walking Dead fame among other things).   So very much packed in this tiny coffee and sweets store.   I bought the kiddos these cookies that came with edible water color paints.   Too bad the cookies cracked into pieces on the ride home….nonetheless, they had fun painting then eating the cookies.

Somewhere along the way of this day, we managed a trip back to the cross stitch store as well as a trip to Michael’s to find some last minute fixings for the exchange at the retreat.

Day 3 - off to our retreat up next.