Main Content

Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day," 1/4/1937

The White House as Children's Playhouse

Copyright © White House Historical Association. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this article may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for reprint permissions should be addressed to books@whha.org

WASHINGTON, Sunday—I said goodbye to Franklin, Junior1 on Friday afternoon and took the five o'clock train to New York, expecting to have a chance to see a friend that evening. I went from the station straight to her apartment and rang the bell. After a long time the door was opened and I discovered that she expected me at five-thirty and being very weary she had gone to bed thinking that something strange had happened to me because as she said "You usually let people know when you change your mind." Needless to say I did not keep her up for long but went on to my own abode.

On Saturday morning I hurried through a few errands and Mrs. Scheider2 and I took the twelve-thirty train for Washington. Johnnie3 and Betsey,4 James'5 wife, met me at the station and as we drove up they told me funny little incidents about the grandchildren. Chandler,6 Elliott's7 little girl not quite three, seems to have an independent spirit and at six a.m. one day the night watchman in the White House picked her up in the basement where she was wandering around unconcernedly in her night clothes. He took her to the third floor, knocked on the first door he came to which happened to be little Kate's room and said to her nurse: "Does this belong to you? I found it in the basement," pointing at Chandler under his arm. She had waked up in the room next to her father and mother and finding no one to entertain her, had finally walked out to explore the world by herself. Since then she has had no further adventures and this one of course, filled all the boys with glee.

At the door of the White House the usher greeted me carrying the little card plaque on which I seat the dinners. I laughed and said: "Must I do that before I take off my hat?", and Johnnie cheerfully said: "I'll seat the table for you!" After greeting everyone in the house, I fell rapidly into the usual routine, seated the table for dinner, started to go through the mail on my desk and then decided to look at my Christmas presents!

On nights of big receptions we have to dine at seven o'clock as the reception begins at nine. My son Elliott and his wife8 had two young couples from Fort Worth, Dr. and Mrs. Violette and Mr. and Mrs. McCurdy staying with them so it made us quite a party. Our children wanted to hear all the introductions last night so they lined up behind us during the Diplomatic Reception and I think some of the Diplomats must have wondered who the very tall boys with the two charming but rather diminutive ladies were. I felt that it needed only a few grandchildren peeping out from behind the palms to make the family picture complete! I remember well the time that my own small children hid behind the screen at a large dinner party in their night clothes and crawled out across the hall in full view after we were in the dining room!

E.R.

Copyright, 1937, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Footnotes & Resources

  1. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. (Franklin Delano), 1914-1988, Third son of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
  2. Malvina Thompson, (see also Mrs. Scheider), 1893-1953, Eleanor Roosevelt's secretary from 1928 until Thompson’s death in 1953
  3. John A. (John Aspinwall) Roosevelt, 1916-1981, Youngest son of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
  4. Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney, 1908-1998, First wife of the Roosevelts' eldest son, James (1930-1940)
  5. James Roosevelt, 1907-1991, Eldest son of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, presidential assistant to FDR 1937-38
  6. Ruth Chandler Roosevelt, 1934-?, Eldest daughter of the Roosevelts' second son, Elliott
  7. Elliott Roosevelt, 1910-1990, Second son of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
  8. Ruth Googins Roosevelt, 1890-1974, Second wife of the Roosevelts' second son, Elliott Roosevelt (1933-1944)

Share

Related

Related
Next The 2023 White House Christmas Ornament

You Might Also Like

  • Collection

    The 2023 White House Christmas Ornament

    Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament. These unique collectibles — honoring individual presidents or specific White House anniversaries — have become part of the holiday tradition for millions of American families. In this collection, explore the history behind our 2023 design and learn more about President Gerald R. Ford. Buy

  • Collection

    The 2021 White House Christmas Ornament

    Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament. These unique collectibles — honoring individual presidents or specific White House anniversaries — have become part of the holiday tradition for millions of American families. In this collection, explore the history behind our 2021 design and learn more about President Lyndon B. Johnson.Buy

  • Collection

    The Nixon White House 1969 - 1974

    On January 20, 1969, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. During his time in the White House (1969–74), President Nixon sought to unite a divided nation after the social, political, and cultural turbulence of the 1960s. Before becoming president, Nixon served in the U.S. Navy, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and as

  • Collection

    Presidential and First Lady Portraits

    Since 1965, the White House Historical Association has been proud to fund the official portraits of our presidents and first ladies, a long-standing tradition of the White House Collection. Recent presidents and first ladies typically select their respective artists before leaving the White House and approve the portraits before their formal presentation to the public and induction into the collection. The

  • Collection

    The 2022 White House Christmas Ornament

    Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament. These unique collectibles — honoring individual presidents or specific White House anniversaries — have become part of the holiday tradition for millions of American families. In this collection, explore the history behind our 2022 design and learn more about President Richard Nixon. Buy the

  • Collection

    Weddings and the White House

    From First Lady Dolley Madison's sister Lucy Payne Washington's wedding in 1812 to the nuptials of President Joseph Biden and First Lady Jill Biden's granddaughter Naomi Biden on the South Lawn in November 2022, the White House has long been the site of wedding ceremonies and receptions. In over two hundred years, there have been nineteen documented weddings and four receptions hosted

  • Collection

    The Ford White House 1974 - 1977

    Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the nation’s only unelected president and vice president, served thirteen terms in Congress before rising to national attention in 1973, when President Richard Nixon nominated him as vice president. Less than a year later, Ford became president, following President Nixon's resignation from office. The Fords made and celebrated history during their time in the White House, fr