Empty Without You
Page 27
Lorena was even more deliberate in her efforts to ensure that the most precious of her gifts from Eleanor be returned to the Roosevelt family. Most of the items went to Eleanor Seagraves. First on the list was Jenny, the sweet little dog that had kept Lorena company to the end. Then came several pieces of furniture from the Val-Kill factory—a walnut desk and chair, a maple daybed, a mirror with a maple frame. Next came Lorena’s collection of the books Eleanor had written and numerous photographs of the first lady taken at various times during the previous thirty years, each signed “Dearest Hick, with all my love, E.R.” Then came the hemstitched napkins and a table runner that the first lady had somehow found time to make, embroidering Lorena’s initials into the fine linen fabric, while living at the White House. Then three final items that Lorena bequeathed to Eleanor Seagraves’s children—her typewriter to Nicholas, her tape recorder to David, and the blue Staffordshire cup from the White House years to Eleanor Seagraves’s only daughter, Eleanor.
Eleanor Seagraves, now in her early seventies, lives in Washington, D.C. Although she never saw Lorena after the first lady died in 1962, Seagraves still has clear—and fond—memories of going on picnics in Hyde Park with her grandmother, her children, and Lorena. “She was very crippled up—had diabetes really bad—and she was penniless, but she was always in high spirits when my grandmother was around. And Lorena always fawned over my children.” Seagraves also speaks fondly of Eleanor and Lorena’s relationship. “They came from very different social strata, and that somehow freed both of them up to talk about the unhappiness of their lives and to share a very special closeness.” When asked about the nature of that closeness, Seagraves does not hesitate. Having been with both women numerous times between 1933 and 1962, she has come to her own conclusions about the relationship. “Lorena was very much in love with my grandmother, but Lorena was also a very emotional woman—and she went overboard. My grandmother was always bound by a sense of duty, and she felt a very strong sense of gratitude and appreciation for what Lorena had given her—in working with the media and in her emotional life as well.” Did Eleanor Seagraves ever detect any bitterness on Lorena’s part because of the downward turn in her career, at least partly because of her relationship with the first lady? “Absolutely not. I never sensed any resentment whatsoever from Lorena toward my grandmother. Lorena loved my grandmother totally and unconditionally—with all her heart. That love never faltered.” Does Seagraves believe Lorena and her grandmother’s relationship included a sexual dimension? “Certainly my grandmother loved Lorena—there is no question about that. But by the time they met, my grandmother had consciously forsaken sex of any kind. Oh, yes, she had participated in sexual activity earlier in her life, in the early years of her marriage. But she had been betrayed. By the time my grandmother met Lorena, she had become entirely asexual.”3
While Lorena devoted a great deal of time during her final years to making sure that the first lady’s granddaughter and great-grandchildren inherited her rather meager worldly possessions, she did not spend as much time considering the disposition of her bodily remains. And that lack of attention, unfortunately, placed a poignantly sad ending to Lorena’s life. Father Kidd did as Lorena had requested, arranging for her cremation at Dapson Funeral Home in Rhinebeck and conducting a simple service, with only himself and the undertaker present, at the cremation chapel. But in the note Lorena had typed and attached to her will, she had failed to indicate exactly who should be responsible for the final detail—“The disposal of my ashes is immaterial, although, if it can be done, I should like to have them dug into the soil around growing trees, which may benefit from whatever chemicals the ashes contain.” With no one specifically named to take that final step, the director of the funeral home placed Lorena’s cremated remains on a storage shelf with other unclaimed ashes. Not so much as a granite headstone or bronze marker—and certainly no white marble slab—was erected to the memory of Lorena Hickok.
Acknowledgments
In an effort to minimize my disruptions of Eleanor and Lorena’s intimate conversation, I opted not to insert citations for the various sources that I used to identify references in the letters and to fill in the gaps between those letters. I certainly am indebted, however, to the dedicated historians who have previously examined the lives of these two women and, therefore, helped me to craft the headnotes, footnotes, and narrative sections of this book. Among the authors I turned to most often were Blanche Wiesen Cook, Doris Faber, and Joseph P. Lash. I sincerely thank them for their fine scholarship.
I also want to acknowledge the assistance provided by my research apprentice, Laura Pohl, who helped me decipher many of the letters contained in this book. Laura’s energy and can-do attitude—not to mention her youthful eyes—were a godsend.
With regard to the overall content and direction of this project, I want to thank Bruce Nichols, my talented and insightful editor at The Free Press. Bruce envisioned what this book could be and then steadfastly shepherded it from concept to completion, all the while providing me with support and reassurance.
I also want to thank Kyle Rose for his careful reading of a draft version of the manuscript. One of the greatest benefits of being a professor is the pleasure I receive from watching former students grow and succeed. Kyle is one of those students whose evolution has brought me a great deal of joy.
At American University, my gratitude goes to the Senate Research Committee and Dean of Academic Affairs Ivy Broder for providing me with a university research grant. The financial assistance was beneficial; the knowledge that my colleagues supported me was priceless.
On my own faculty in the School of Communication, I want to express my deep appreciation to Dean Sanford J. Ungar. His wise counsel and unwavering support on this book project, as on my various other undertakings during the past dozen years, have been invaluable. Without Sandy, my achievements would have ended long ago.
Finally, I want to acknowledge the central role that Tom Grooms and my children, Matt and Kate, play in every aspect of both my professional and my personal life—indeed, in my very being. I am very proud of them and who they are. Without them, my life would be as empty as Eleanor knew, in March 1933, that hers would have been without Lorena.
Index
Adirondack Mountains, 29
Air travel, 66–67, 77, 84, 85
American Association for the United Nations, 281
American Friends Service Committee, 74n
American Red Cross, 228
American University, 210
American Youth Congress, 220
Amory, Forbes, 24
Amory, Harry, 24
Anderson, Mary, 99
Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, 94
Arnaud’s restaurant, New Orleans, 96–97
Arthurdale, West Virginia, 39–40, 48n, 65, 74, 105, 135n, 172n
Associated Press, xiv, xvi, xxiv, 4–7, 10, 33, 122, 188n, 197, 209, 230
Atlanta Constitution, 67, 177
Atlanta Journal, 67
Atlanta penitentiary, 64, 66
Australia, 250
Austria, invasion of, 232n
Bakersfield, California, 132–133
Baldwin, Joe, 202
Baltimore, Maryland, 139
Banff, Alberta, 113
Barkley, Alben, 277
Barret, Maude, 97
Baruch, Bernard, 226
Beebe, Kay, 4, 6, 7, 130
Belgium, invasion of, 228
Bemidji, Minnesota, 52, 56
Benét, Stephen Vincent, 65
Birmingham News, 87
Bittner, Mary, 70
Black, Ruby, 48–51, 58, 79, 101, 188, 230–231, 235
Black Americans, 51, 74, 99, 175, 193
Boettiger, John, xx–xxi, 22, 23, 26, 33, 35, 39, 40, 45, 61, 77–78, 94, 105, 132, 143, 170, 171, 181, 277, 282n
Boettiger, Johnny, 277
Boston marriages, xviii
Brussels World’s Fair, 286
Bryan,
William Jennings, 108
Bryan, Wright, 68
Bugbee, Emma, 79, 87, 88
Bullitt, William, 36
Butler, Harold, 175
Bye, George, 153, 169, 194, 204
Byrnes, Jim, 187
Caldwell, Erskine, 111n
Cambridge University, 247
Campobello Island, New Brunswick, 28, 130–131, 134, 154–155
Cermak, Anton, 17
Chaney, Mayris “Tiny,” xxi, 64
Chaplin, Bill, 7
Chapman, Oscar, 137
Charlottesville, Virginia, 49
Chateau Frontenac, Quebec, 27
Chaumont de Truffin, Nieves Perez, 25
Chicago, Illinois, 189–190
Chicago Tribune, 43, 73n, 88
Child labor, 115
Christmas holidays, 57, 60–61, 141– 142, 177, 178, 200, 207, 212, 221, 237, 241, 252–253, 281
Churchill, Winston, 241, 242, 256, 257
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), 97
Civil Works Administration (CWA), 46, 53, 56, 91, 156
Claff, Julian, 220n, 221–222
Claff, Ruby, 220–222
Cleveland, Frances Folsom, 11
Cleveland, Grover, 11
Cleveland, Ohio, 165
Cohn, Joe, 202
Colfax, California, 116, 123
Collier, Kassie, 69, 70
Cook, Blanche Wiesen, xv, 295
Cook, Nan, xix, xx, 2, 5, 17, 19, 21, 22, 35, 50, 72, 100n, 130n, 131, 134n, 140, 141, 155, 157, 161
Coolidge, Calvin, 2
Coolidge, Grace, 27
Copeland, Royal, 96
Corry, Ray, 293
Cosmopolitan magazine, 137, 155n, 169n
Cox, James M., 2
Crowlie, Leone, 252
Cruger, Dorothy, 231
Curnan, Tubby, 284, 287
Current Controversy magazine, 161n
Dall, Anna. See Halstead, Anna
Dall, Curtis, 35, 94n, 114
Dall, Curtis (Buzzie), 22, 58, 60, 94, 101, 117, 165, 181, 277
Dall, Eleanor (Sisty). See Seagraves, Eleanor Dall (Sisty)
Dana, Bill, 62, 114, 123
Dana, Ella, 114
Daniels, Addie Bagley, 108
Daniels, Josephus, 108
Daughters of the American Revolution, 25
Davey, Martin, 165–167
Davis, Alice, 72
Davis, Norman, 228
Dayton, Katharine, 58
Delano, Laura, 73, 74, 77
Democratic National Committee, 72, 213–214, 221, 225, 233–234, 238, 249, 258, 260, 265
Democratic National Convention
1936, xviii, 186–188
1940, 228–230
1944, 256
Devries, Eileen, 291n
Devries, Hitze, 291n
Devries, Patricia, 291n, 293
Devries, Sandra, 291n
Dewey, Thomas E., 256, 259, 276, 277
Dewson, Molly, 72–73, 81, 236
Dickerman, Marion, xix, xx, 2, 5, 50, 72, 100n.98, 130n, 134n, 155, 157
Dickinson, Ellie Morse, xix–xx, 3, 4, 79, 116, 123, 129
Dickinson, Roy, 116, 123
Dillon, Clarissa, 37, 48n
Dillon, Thomas, 37, 48
Dix, Dorothy, 72
Dixon, Jean, 18, 20, 166
Douglas, Lewis, 137
Duse, Eleanora, 105
Early, Steve, 24–26
Einstein, Albert, xviii, 72
Einstein, Mileva Marie, 72
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 280, 291
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Biography (Black), 235
Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 117, 245
Emmet, Ellen “Bay,” 74
Emmet, Lydia Field, 74
Evanti, Lillian, 175
Faber, Doris, xv, 295
Fala (dog), 271
Farley, Jim, xviii, 96, 104, 189, 213, 214, 221, 237
Farmers, 42–43, 163
Fascism, 192n
Fay, Elton, 23
Fayerweather, Margaret, 38
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ, 54n
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), xxv, 33, 156n, 168
“Fireside chats” (Franklin Roosevelt), 210, 217
Flynn, Eddie, 236, 238, 276
Fort Myers, Virginia, 101
Fort Worth, Texas, 102
Fox, Eddie, 64
France, invasion of, 228
Franco, Francisco, 192n
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, xiv, xxii, 272, 293
Furman, Bess, 10, 20, 21, 51, 188, 277
Gabriel Over the White House (movie), 26
Garner, Etta, 21
Garner, John Nance, 78
Gaspé Peninsula, 27–28, 30–31, 155, 220
Gennerich, Gus, 22, 80
George VI, King of England, 117, 245
German Jews, 212
Girl Scouts, 25, 96
Godwin, Kathryn, xxvin
Gold standard, 41, 50n, 137n
Goodbye Mr. Chips (Hilton), 158
Gordon, Gloria Kidd, 291n
Gordon, John, 291n
Gray, Maude, 26
Great Depression, xvi, 43. See also Relief programs
Great Falls, Virginia, 94
Green, Theodore Francis, 185
Greensboro, North Carolina, 69–70
Greenway, Isabella Selmes, 7, 18, 38, 74, 92–93, 114
Greenway, Jackie, 94
Gridiron Widows parties, 51n, 58, 219
Guadalcanal, 251
Hale, Fred, 26
Halle, Rita, 66
Halsey, William, 251n
Halstead, Anna, xx–xxi, xxii, xxvi, 18, 22, 33, 35, 39, 40, 58, 59, 61, 70, 72, 77–78, 84, 92, 94, 105, 108, 114–117, 123, 132, 143, 170, 171, 178, 181, 260n, 277, 282
Halstead, James, 282
Hamilton, Alice, 186
Harding, Warren G., 2
Harper & Brothers, 206, 280
Harriman, Averell, 283
Harron, Marion, 224, 231, 232, 241, 243–244, 248, 249n, 250, 253, 255, 256, 258–260, 263, 265, 268, 271–273
Haycraft, Howard, 162n, 166, 203, 207, 214n, 270
Hayes, Helen, xviii, 177
Hearst, William Randolph, 50, 122
Hibbing, Minnesota, 56
Hickok, Wild Bill, xiv
High, Stanley, xviii, 189
Hilton, James, 158n
Hitchcock, Ralph, 19, 20
Hitler, Adolf, 192n, 217, 218, 267n
Holidays
Christmas, 57, 60–61, 141–143, 177, 178, 200, 207, 212, 221, 237, 241, 252–253, 281
French Canada, 27–32, 88, 155, 220
Puerto Rico, 83–88
West Coast, xxvii, 90, 116, 119–126, 151, 284
Holland, invasion of, 228
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 20, 21
Holt, Alicent, 203, 204
Holt, Thad, 93, 94
Home for Incurables, Washington, 70
Hoover, Allan, 132, 133
Hoover, Herbert, 3, 77, 132, 133n
Hoover, Ike, 23, 25, 77
Hoover, Lou Henry, 10, 27
Hopkins, Barbara, 66, 136, 243n
Hopkins, Harry, 33, 34, 53, 61, 66, 74, 83, 84, 91, 95, 118, 136, 146, 149, 155, 166, 172, 197, 243
House Un-American Activities Committee, 220n
Houston, Texas, 97
Howard, Roy, 184, 194
Howe, Grace, 183, 275n
Howe, Hartley, 183
Howe, Louis, 2, 8, 19, 22–25, 35, 40, 67, 70, 92–94, 99, 107, 128, 135n, 139–140, 147, 175, 177, 183
Howe, Mary, 19
Hull, Cordell, 25
Hull, Mrs. Cordell, 25
Human Rights Commission, 274–275, 278
Hurst, Fannie, 51
Ickes, Harold, 70, 77, 167
Imperial Valley, California, 117–118, 132
Japan, 240–242, 281n
Jenny (dog), 292–294
John Brown’s Body (Benét), 65
<
br /> Johnson, Lyndon B., 291
Joseph, Nannine, 279, 281, 283, 284, 292
Kansas City Star, 177
Keller, Helen, 284–286, 292
Kennedy, John F., 286, 287, 291
Kennedy, Joseph P., xviii, 98
Kennedy, Rose, xviii, 98
Keyes, Frances Parkinson, 77, 101
Kidd, Gordon, 291–292, 295
Kreisler, Fritz, 67
Kristallnacht, 212
Ladies’ Home Journal, 206
Ladies of Courage (Roosevelt and Hickok), 280–283, 285, 292
Ladies of the Press (Ross), 196
Landon, Alfred M., 185, 194
Lape, Esther, xviii–xx, xxiin, 2, 5, 162, 192
Lash, Joseph P., xvii, xxvn, 224, 251n, 295
Leach, Agnes, 74
LeGallienne, Eva, 38–39
LeHand, Missy, 8, 17, 19, 23, 24, 25, 35–36, 60, 64, 183, 191
Lerman, Rhoda, xv
Lesbianism, xiv–xv, xvii–xxii
Liberty magazine, 162n
Lindbergh baby, 28
Lippmann, Walter, 80
Literary Digest magazine, 44
“Little Cabinet,” 81
Long, Huey, 163, 229
Longworth, Alice Roosevelt, 2
Look magazine, 230
Lorrimer, George, 153, 169
Los Angeles Times, xiv, xvn
Luray, Virginia, 49
Luxembourg, invasion of, 228
Lynching, 54n, 99, 101
MacArthur, Douglas, 251n
Macy, Annie Sullivan, 292
Macy, Louise, 243
Magazine articles by Eleanor Roosevelt, xxiv, 137, 153, 154, 155n, 158, 161, 162, 169, 171, 179, 205–206, 208
Major (dog), 131
McIntire, Ross, 56, 62, 183
McNaught Syndicate, 64, 147n
McNutt, Paul, 227
Medill, Joseph, 73n
Meggie (dog), 16
Mercer, Lucy Page, 1, 2, 76n, 266
Michelson, Charlie, xviii, 189, 214, 216, 234, 260
Midway, Battle of, 242
Migratory workers, 132–133
Miller, Adolph, 99n
Miller, Earl, 39, 64n, 105, 131, 135, 136, 147, 148