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

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Boston, Mass., Friday—Such an afternoon as we spent yesterday! There is no doubt about it, public officials should have no private lives and, above everything else, they should not plan a family wedding at the time Congress is getting ready to adjourn. That was the situation in which the President found himself and so, during the entire afternoon, Elliott and Ruth and I wavered between journeying to Boston on the President's train or travelling like everyone else on the Federal Express.

After lunch Ruth and I went over to the Housing Administration to look at some little model houses which are being planned as suggestions to communities that wish to do inexpensive housing. Then we drove out to the country to see a friend and returned at 4:20, just a little late for an appointment. After that, appointments with various people followed in close succession, ending at 6:00 p.m.

My last information was that, if the President could leave, he would leave at seven. I called Mr. McIntyre at 6:00 and he said no, the President couldn't leave; Congress was still in session; he would leave as soon as Congress ended.

At 6:30 the President himself came over to the White House and we finally decided that Ruth and Elliott, Mrs. Somerville and I would leave on the Federal at 8:00, and that we would dine at seven. I telephoned Anna and John in New York and arranged for them either to get on our train or take the regular midnight. I told them that two cars would meet us in the morning at South Station in Boston and we would all go out to James' and Betsy's for breakfast at their new farm at Framingham.

When we left the White House at twenty minutes before eight, they were still cheerfully saying to my husband, "Congress will adjourn at any moment." We arrived this morning and found the cars we had expected were not on hand, but a kind friend did meet us with two cars, and after a stop at the hotel to leave our bags, we motored on to James' and Betsy's place and spent a delightful hour and a quarter with them. They have bought a lovely farm with great possibilities and a house that is over 100 years old and perfectly charming. Our only disappointment was to find their children, Sara and Kate, both in bed and I fear they will not be at the wedding tomorrow.

Back in Boston, Anna and John and I took a little walk, saw some of the wedding presents and were back at the hotel in time for a press conference. This seemed to me an unnecessary formality, for after all, it is the mother of the bride who has news to impart on these occasions—certainly not the mother of the bridegroom. I found myself repeating over and over again, "That is something which you will have to ask the young people themselves." or "That question only Mrs. Clark can answer."I am afraid I was unsatisfactory, for as my newspaper son-in-law told me,"The reporters wanted a story and you didn't give them one."

E.R.

(Copyright, 1938, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

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  • Boston (Mass., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, June 18, 1938

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

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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.

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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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