The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
APRIL 27, 1955
[This column has emendations. View original version]
NEW YORK—On Thursday night of last week the CIO Community Services Committee presented me with the Philip Murray award. This award was instituted before Philip Murray's death in his honor, but now whoever receives it has a special sense of pride.
I happen to be the first member of the CIO to be given this award and I felt it a very great honor. I know that they would not give it to anyone whom they did not genuinely feel had been helpful in the health and welfare field to the people whom Phil Murray was concerned about.
Even so, I knew quite well it was not my own accomplishments that earned for me this recognition. It was very largely my husband's work as well as mine, and I accepted the honor with that understanding for if I have been more or less useful in these fields much of it is due to my husband's teaching.
The audience laughed on Thursday night when I said that my husband had taught me to look at wash lines as a gauge of the well-being of people and in many ways he developed my powers of observation. I think I may have started him in his original interest and study of the conditions of many different classes of people in our country and he learned fast!
The plaque that I received will take its place in my husband's memorial library at Hyde Park and the money will go to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and to Wiltwyck School for Boys. Both these organizations, I think, contribute greatly to the health and welfare of the people.
On Friday I took a flying trip to Washington to appear before the subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee to testify at the hearings on the revision of the United Nations Charter. The gentlemen were very polite and kind to me. I had been afraid that I might not be able to hear their questions clearly, but they took great trouble to speak clearly so that I had no difficulty.
I was there from 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 and then returned to the airport. My plane was half an hour late, so I was able to get a little lunch before departure. To my surprise I met my son, John, in the airport and we came home together!
On Saturday I attended the show of the Junior Americans of the United States, a youth group that was given space at a big food exhibition in the Kingsbridge Armory in New York City. After the show we drove up to Hyde Park.
One evening last week I went to the theatre with a friend to see "Bus Stop." I enjoyed watching Kim Stanley, who did a wonderful bit of acting. As a play this is not a great play, but the cast is so good that it gives one a most-entertaining and pleasant evening. I look back on it as one of the thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing evenings that I have spent in the past few weeks.
(Distributed by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)
E.R.
About this document
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, April 27, 1955
Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007
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.
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