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

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HYDE PARK, Sunday—Motoring down to New York yesterday morning at seven-thirty it was already warm, but on the whole the world was pleasant to look at. I had to stop once for gas and I chose a station where I thought I had never stopped before and so I would be unrecognized. As I paid for my gas, however, the boy said to me: "You are travelling alone, Mrs. Roosevelt, don't you usually have someone with you?"

As I stopped at a light somewhere on Riverside Drive, a young man driving a car next to me said: "You drive a car as well as Franklin, Junior, fishes!" I had never thought of Franklin, Junior, as an able fisherman so I wasn't quite sure whether to accept this as a compliment or not!

Once at the apartment I dressed, went to Calvary Church for my young cousin, W. Forbes Morgan's wedding to Miss Marie Newsom of Oklahoma. She looked sweet in her white dress and floating tulle veil, but they both seemed rather alone as they came in together and stood before the altar. Two other young cousins with their husbands were there and a few of Forbes' and Marie's friends. Afterwards they all came back to our little apartment and had luncheon before sailing for Bermuda. I was glad to be able to be there and to have this little party, for while I belong in their generation, I am so much older that I always feel I belong to the older generation. When you are young it is nice I think to feel that somewhere in the background there are some older people to whom you can turn. They are a kind of bulwark between you and the future. After they had gone my brother and I had a little time together and then he went off to Washington. I got back into my country clothes.

Before I left I had a most interesting talk with Miss Louise Yim. She is a most interesting woman from Korea who has had a school there for young girls for some time. She tells me that at one time free public education was making some progress, but at present eighty percent of the people are illiterate and girls, while they may do very beautiful handwork, some specimens of which she brought me, are not able to take business or professional positions because there is no way of getting training along these lines. To give this training is her hope and she is over here trying to get some help from Americans interested in education who have an interest in the Far East. We have many people who have been interested in schools in China and Japan for many years, but I think few of us know much about Korea. I did not realize that they have a language which is entirely different from either that of the Chinese or Japanese. She told me much of their history which was interesting and new to me. Her personality is arresting and I wish many people could hear her speak and tell about her people.

Back at Hyde Park by five-thirty, and my husband came over to the cottage for tea. He had had a peaceful day and in spite of the rain had seen a good deal of his woods. Today we are going to church and having a few people for lunch and supper. On the whole he is getting a good rest.

E.R.


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Geographic
  • Hyde Park (Dutchess County, N.Y., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, August 9, 1937

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
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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)
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  • Binker, Mary Jo (Associate Editor)
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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 June 9, 2017.

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 August 8, 1937, FDR Library, Hyde Park, NY
TMsd, 8 August 1937, AERP, FDRL