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

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MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—We woke this morning to the most beautiful sunshine. Last night I had seen the moon cast a pathway of silver across the ocean and this morning I saw the sunrise light up the same scene. It is really beautiful to be quartered high in a hotel, facing the ocean and looking down on an endless line of buildings and yet feel as far away from them as you can at this height. Mr. Clark Eichelberger, Miss Baillargeon and I had breakfast out on my porch, and it was a very pleasant beginning to what has been a busy day.

Shortly after nine o'clock we went to the University of Miami accompanied by Mrs. Joseph Gordon. After a brief reception by some foreign students who gave me a lovely little corsage of red roses, the real business of the state meeting began.

The assembly was well attended and a new chairman was elected—Dr. Franklin Johnson, a professor at Rollins College in Winter Park. Our former chairman, Colonel Frank Dunbaugh felt that for personal reasons he could not continue and at the same time said that it would be better to have a chairman from the central part of the state. Thus located the new chairman could reach the other parts of the state more easily and help to start new chapters.

Dr. Johnson previously had been chosen by the governor of Florida to help organize United Nations Day celebrations, and after sending out letters to 92 mayors throughout the state he received only 21 replies. This was a very poor return, and as our state chairman, one of the first things Dr. Johnson shall try to determine is the reason for the apparent lack of interest in the U.N. in this state.

We discussed many other problems during our state meeting and all in all, I think it was a very good meeting.

Finally, I was introduced to all the teachers of English from foreign countries who are studying here. I did not count them but I think there were about 30 present. A number came from Japan, Portugal, Italy, and several South American countries as well as from Iran. These teachers have six months in this country under Fulbright scholarships—three months here and three months in travel, which gives them not only a chance to improve their English but to learn a great deal about the United States as well.

A little reception was followed by a luncheon and every person attending the luncheon not only paid for his lunch but paid for a membership in the Florida Association for the United Nations. It was said that at least two-thirds of those present, who numbered about 200, were new members.

Mr. Philip Wylie, the writer, talked to me at some length during lunch about the need for greater understanding of what modern weapons really meant to the world today. Of course, these conversations have to be in very general terms, since no one can give precise information about anything of this sort that may be restricted information.

We were back here in our hotel before four o'clock, and when this column is written I shall be free until we meet for dinner before our evening mass meeting, which takes place in the band shell and which, I am assured, will be well attended. Then Wednesday morning we shall fly to Charlotte, N.C., and another state program which I will tell you about tomorrow.

E.R.

(Copyright, 1955, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Persons
  • Baillargeon, Patricia, 1928-2020 [ index ]
         American assistant to ER at American Association to the UN
         [ Other source ]
  • Dunbaugh, Frank Montgomery [ index ]
         American US Army lieut. colonel
         [ VIAF ]
  • Eichelberger, Clark M. (Clark Mell), 1896-1980 [ index ]
         American peace activist
         [ LC | ISNI | VIAF | Wikidata | SNAC | FAST | US Nat. Archives | ANB ]
  • Gordon, Joseph, Mrs. [ index ]
  • Johnson, Franklin [ index ]
         American professor and state chairman of Florida
  • Wylie, Philip, 1902-1971 [ index ]
         American writer
         [ LC | ISNI | VIAF | Wikidata | SNAC | FAST | ANB ]
Organizations
Geographic
  • Miami Beach (Fla., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, October 6, 1955

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.

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Transcription created from a photocopy of a UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
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