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

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Washington, D. C.—Yesterday, I went over to Annapolis for luncheon with Mrs. Wilson Brown, wife of the Superintendent of the Naval Academy. A pair of perfectly beautiful mirrors have been given to the Superintendent's house and hang in the dining room on either side of the doorway. They are perfect in the room and the reflection of the garden in the mirrors is very beautiful.

After lunch, I went over to make my speech, and noticed how beautifully the ship models are arranged in their cases along the corridors in Bancroft Hall. The Naval Academy has some very beautiful models, but the two battle flags always attract my attention first. The addition to the chapel is hearly finished and I think that when the vines have had a chance to grow, they will be a very great improvement.

I drove from Annapolis to Baltimore and took a train to Philadelphia. Here, Mrs. Curtin Winsor met me with Mrs. J.A. Klina of the Welcome Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. I was not expecting to see my grandson, Bill, so when Mrs. Kline pushed a small boy forward, I thought for a second that it was just a young stranger who wished to shake hands. Then I took a good look at him and realized it was Bill, who had grown very much during his summer out West. We all went to the hotel where I hurriedly changed. Then Mr. Rufus Jones and I were each presented by the Welcome Chapter and the Humanitarians with their award for this year.

The Humanitarians are not members who have Masonic affiliation, but they join with the members of the Eastern Star in helping them with their work. I was much interested to hear of the scope of the work carried on by this lodge. I felt deeply grateful for the recognition which was given me, and was so glad that the American Friends Service Committee and Mr. Rufus Jones were being given an award at the same time, for it gave me an opportunity to voice the gratitude I feel for the education the Quakers have given me through the past few years. It is an education to work with people who have ideals and live up to them, but are practical enough to make their ideals becomes realities.

I had breakfast with my grandson and made the acquaintance of his small brother, who is a most responsive baby now. When I saw him last, he was just a tiny bundle.

On the train coming down, a most interesting young woman sat in the seat ahead of me. Just before we reached Washington, she turned and began talking to me about the work of the American Friends Service Committee. She voiced her belief that one of the valuable things done by them is the bringing together of young people from different parts of the country and of various home backgrounds, in work camps during the summer. I do feel that this part of the work is a great education for future citizenship in our democracy.

E.R.

(COPYRIGHT, 1939, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, December 6, 1939

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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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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