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

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Hyde Park, Sunday—In New York City on Friday it rained most of the day and, when we reached Hyde Park, we were told it had been raining or snowing all day. The sky was gray and heavy, but the snow on the fields and on the evergreen trees was a sight which I always enjoy. The driving was none too good and I was glad that we did not have far to go.

Saturday was filled with all the air and exercise we could get. A long walk in the morning, a ride in the afternoon, and then we got out a little cutter. Though the snow was not the kind that makes good sleighing, we did manage by choosing our roads carefully, to drive through the woods and even over to the big house to have a look at the library. Many of the partitions are up now, but it still looks a long way from completion on the inside.

Two quiet evenings and late breakfasts seem great luxury. The sky continues to look as though either snow or rain might fall upon us at any moment. I like particularly the feeling of isolation that winter gives one and I think I shall enjoy being snowed in sometime in the future. Just now, I couldn't indulge in a changed schedule, when there is an engagement, made months beforehand, always ahead.

I see by the newspaper this morning, that the New York World's Fair has formally invited the quintuplets to set up their nursery in the grounds on the Fair next summer. I suppose they will be allowed an occasional peek at the Fair, but judging from the past their nurses and guardians will see that they lead normal lives. One-way glass will undoubtedly make it possible for thousands of visitors to the Fair to look in on these five attractive youngsters who have been so carefully brought up. One may see them at work and at play without being seen by them. I hope that Canada will let them come, for I think the whole United States will feel pleasure in being their hosts.

In this day of hatreds and wars and rumors of wars, it is good to cement friendships between nations through the affection we all feel for children. The quintuplets have drawn innumerable visitors from the United States to Canada and all of them have been captivated by the charm these children seem to radiate. I feel that it is a very happy gesture to have them come as guests of the Fair of the United States. Many people who might never have had a glimpse of them in Canada will be able to see them here.

It has always seemed to me that their care, the simplicity and regularity with which their lives are planned, must serve as an object lesson to many families both rich and poor. Good luck to you, little quintuplets if you come to us as our guests, may your visit be a happy time.

E.R.

(COPYRIGHT, 1940, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

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


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, January 15, 1940

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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