The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt

[This column has emendations. View original version]

      

NEW YORK—I came to New York late yesterday afternoon in order to attend the opening of Todhunter School this morning. Since my first association with the school I have never missed the opening day and I was particularly anxious not to miss it this year on my small granddaughter's account. If a child knows that you have an obligation I think they are very quick to sense whether you make an effort to carry it out or not.

Since I first became a part of the management of the school there have been one or two amusing incidents in connection with being there on the opening day. For instance, in 1928 I was at the State Convention in Rochester, New York. At the time I was doing the supervision of office work for the Democratic National Committee, Women's Division, under Governor Ross, and Governor Alfred E. Smith was running for the Presidency. At the State Convention there seemed to be a deadlock on the nomination for Governor. If I was to be at school for the opening I had to leave on the midnight train, and all that afternoon and evening Mr. Raskob and Governor Smith had tried unsuccessfully to reach my husband in Warm Springs, Georgia on the telephone. Finally they put it up to me to get him and I felt that they really had a right, at least to talk to him, regardless of what his final decision might be. Fifteen minutes before my night train was leaving for New York City, I reached my husband on the telephone and turned the wire over to Mr. Raskob, I made my train and never knew the decision which had been made until I got off the train in the morning in New York City and bought the newspaper!

It is interesting to see a group ranging from little girls up to young girls in their last year of school, starting out on a new school year. Some of them come back reluctantly, regretting the freedom of summer, some of them get a certain excitement out of starting something new. As one looks at them, one hopes that the new year will bring them the realization that after all the benefit of whatever we do lies in the effort which we put into it, and that all achievement is really measured by our own effort.

Now, I am starting for Syracuse, too late to join my husband's train in Poughkeepsie, but I will be in Syracuse by 5:41, join him on his car and be at the evening session of the Convention.

E.R.


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Persons
Geographic
  • New York (N.Y., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, September 30, 1936

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
[ ERPP bio | LC | VIAF | WorldCat | DPLA | Wikidata | SNAC ]

Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

  • Brick, Christopher (Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]
  • Regenhardt, Christy (Associate Editor)
    [ ISNI ]
  • Black, Allida M. (Editor)
    [ VIAF | ISNI ]
  • Binker, Mary Jo (Associate Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]
  • Alhambra, Christopher C. (Electronic Text Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]

Digital edition published 2008, 2017 by
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project

Available under licence from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

Published with permission from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

MEP edition publlished on June 30, 2008.

TEI-P5 edition published on April 28, 2017.

XML master last modified on May 2, 2022.

HTML version generated and published on May 3, 2022.

Transcription created from a photocopy of a draft version of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library. My Day column draft dated September 29, 1936, FDR Library, Hyde Park, NY
TMsd, 29 September 1936, AERP, FDRL