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William L. Smith thanks Theodore Roosevelt for speaking at the Harvard Travelers Club meeting and says it was the largest turnout the club has had.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-12-19
Theodore Roosevelt informs Charles S. Whitman that Francis B. Sayre was the Valedictorian of the Class of 1909 at Williams College. He was a great student, and Roosevelt asks if Whitman would be willing to place him in a job at his law office.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-02-02
On behalf of Theodore Roosevelt, his secretary returns an agreement to James M. Marvin and informs him that Roosevelt has decided not to lease the suite in Claverly Hall for Archibald B. Roosevelt. He will likely not attend Harvard until the next year.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-02-03
Theodore Roosevelt advises Archibald “Archie” B. Roosevelt to sell the horse, Diablo, as they can get through their desert trip without him. Theodore informs Archibald that he had contact with H. D. Evans, and he will discuss the Harvard matter with Archibald. Theodore suggests that Archibald not attend Harvard until next year. His brothers, Kermit Roosevelt and Nicolas Roosevelt agree.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-02-02
Theodore Roosevelt explains to Richard Grant that he does not know what he can do on the matter, as he does not know the captain of the Harvard University track team. He asks Grant to tell him who he should write to.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-01-10
Theodore Roosevelt sends Secretary of the Navy Meyer a letter from Harry E. von Kersburg, who played varsity football at Harvard University and has since coached the football team. Kersburg wants to join the Marine Corps and Roosevelt hopes that Meyer will agree to interview him.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-01-09
Scrapbook of materials related to Theodore Roosevelt’s life between 1876 and 1881, including his time at Harvard University and the 1881 New York state election, specifically focused on the New York State Assembly.
1876-1881
Photograph of the O.K. Society, a group of publication editors, at Harvard University, taken in 1880. Theodore Roosevelt is on the far right standing in the second row.
1880
Photograph of Henry Cabot Lodge with inscription, “Class photo. 1871.”
1871
Wallace Finley Dailey, curator of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University, recreates an exhibit on Theodore Roosevelt’s involvement with Harvard from his days as a student to his work as an overseer. The exhibit was displayed at Harvard in 1977, 1980, 1996, 2005, and 2012. The exhibit in article form consists of twenty-five photographs, including thirteen of Roosevelt, and numerous documents including letters, certificates, diary and notebook entries, and publications by and about Roosevelt. The accompanying text identifies each photograph and document, noting its source and providing context.
William N. Tilchin provides a detailed look at the 2007 annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) in Boston, Massachusetts. Tilchin notes the committee and leadership meetings of the TRA, and he highlights the field trips to the USS Constitution, Harvard University, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Tilchin’s account also covers the awards presented by the TRA, including the police award for Boston, the Bertha B. Rose Award, and the USS Theodore Roosevelt Junior Officer Leadership Award. Tilchin also notes the various speakers and the topics they addressed in different venues during the weekend meeting.
Fifty photographs populate the report, including five pages with six photographs each, which show the various guests, dignitaries, award winners, speakers, and TRA leaders.
Stacy A. Cordery examines the “shadows and sunshine” of Theodore Roosevelt’s time in Boston while an undergraduate student at Harvard College. Cordery identifies the shadows as the death of Roosevelt’s father, his disenchantment with his natural science major, and his failed courtship of Edith Kermit Carow. The countering sunshine was provided by Roosevelt’s successful pursuit of Alice Hathaway Lee. Cordery looks at each of these episodes, especially the courtship of Carow and Lee, and she argues that these episodes were pivotal to Roosevelt’s life and career.
Four photographs appear in the text, including two of Roosevelt with Lee.
This edition of the “News and Notes” column reports on the success of the 1988 Teddy Bear Drive sponsored by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) and the National Park Service, and it notes that President George Bush has placed a portrait of Theodore Roosevelt in the White House’s Cabinet Room. The column also covers the Lawrence J. Saunders Awards for essays in American history conferred by the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands, and Dayton Ritt, commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, reports on the aircraft carrier’s deployments in 1988. “News and Notes” closes with the announcement of a campaign to increase the endowment of the TRA to fund its own activities and to be able to support the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard and the Roosevelt Study Center.
Two photographs from the Roosevelt Study Center, a photograph of Theodore Roosevelt at his desk in the library of Sagamore Hill, and an illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion appear in the column.
The covers of the Fall, 1988, Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal feature illustrations from two pieces of sheet music present in Harvard University’s Theodore Roosevelt Collection. The front depicts the piece “Teddy You’re A Bear,” from Roosevelt’s 1916 campaign, while the back shows “Col. Roosevelt’s March,” which was dedicated to the Rough Riders.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1988
In an address before the Cambridge Union at Cambridge University in England, Theodore Roosevelt talks about two kinds of success: the success that belongs to the very few who can be qualified as geniuses and the success that is open to everyone else if one tries very hard and very often to develop one’s talents. Roosevelt also touches on the historic ties between his alma mater, Harvard University, and Cambridge, and he talks about the need to reform American football and make it more like the game of rugby.
A photograph of Roosevelt speaking with the Mayor of Texline, Texas, supplements the text.
This edition of “News and Notes” opens with coverage of the commissioning of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. A letter from Captain Paul W. Parcells, Commanding Officer of the ship, praises the work of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) in making the commissioning a success. The section also discusses the thirteen flags donated by the TRA to the carrier. Each flag of the city, state, or entity is identified and is followed by a brief paragraph about its history and meaning to Theodore Roosevelt. The individual responsible for donating the flag is also noted. A notice about a new prize, the Roosevelts Gold Medal, awarded by the New York Council of the Navy League of the United States, also features in the section.
“News and Notes” reviews the plans of Prism Entertainment to issue a video cassette of the film “The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt,” and it notes that the company will establish a fund to promote historical and environmental films, and will donate money to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund at the American Museum of Natural History. The section also highlights two recent publications by John A. Gable, Editor of the TRA Journal, and it quotes from a letter from President Ronald Reagan on the occasion of the opening of the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands. “News and Notes” closes by quoting from three letters by members of the TRA praising its work.
Four books are scrutinized in this edition of the “Book Reviews” section. A catalog to the Theodore Roosevelt film collection at the Library of Congress is discussed, and the review notes how the collection was assembled, how the catalog is organized, and it highlights other Roosevelt collections and their printed guides. Kenneth D. Crews reviews two historical novels about Roosevelt, Bully! by Mark Schorr and The Big Stick by Lawrence Alexander. Crews finds more entertainment value in Schorr’s book, and he asserts that both titles cater to simplistic and stereotyped views of Roosevelt at the expense of a carefully crafted character. John A. Gable examines Theodore Roosevelt: Wilderness Writings edited by Paul Schullery, and most of the review focuses on, and quotes extensively from, Schullery’s introduction. Gable notes that Schullery tackles the thorny issue of Roosevelt’s hunting, and he describes how the book is organized.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1986
William Davison Johnston, President of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), opens this lengthy and crowded edition of the “News and Notes” section by praising the documentary “The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt,” noting the opening of the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands, and discussing the role of the TRA in the commissioning of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. The section covers the conferring of two awards sponsored by the TRA: the TRA Police Award and the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize. Officer Vivian F. Picciarelli won the Police Award for 1986 and was the first woman to do so while Ronald H. Spector won the Naval History Prize for his book Eagle Against the Sun. “News and Notes” also discusses the work of historians Edmund Morris and Joe F. Decker on Theodore Roosevelt’s political language, and it notes the recent publications of TRA Executive Director John A. Gable on Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and Amos Pinchot.
“News and Notes” also covers the death of David Russell Roosevelt, a great grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, the reprinting of Sagamore Hill: An Historical Guide by the TRA, efforts to mark the spot of Roosevelt’s famous bear hunt of 1902 in Mississippi, and the various student contests and awards for high school students sponsored by the TRA. The section also examines the donation of letters to Harvard University by Joanna Sturm, Alice Roosevelt Longworth’s granddaughter. Letters to and from Theodore Roosevelt with Alice Hathaway Lee, his first wife, and Longworth, his daughter, make up most of the donation. An exhibit at Harvard and an article, both based on the correspondence, are also covered. The section closes with a report on three benefits, two balls and a reception, held in July and August 1986, to benefit the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The historic locations for the events, the involvement of the Roosevelt family, and the officers of the ship who attended are all discussed.
This edition of “News and Notes,” seven pages in length, is divided into six sections. “TR Quasquicentennial Year Ends” covers events marking the 125th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth at venues in Indianapolis, Indiana, Oyster Bay and Buffalo, New York, Harvard University, and the National Archives in Washington, D.C. It notes that the final event of the celebration year was appropriately held at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace in New York City, and it highlights some of the lectures and interviews given by John A. Gable, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), during 1983. An illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion and a photograph from the 125 Anniversary Dinner in New York City supplement the section.
The “Annual Meeting of the TRA Board of Trustees” examines the financial health of the TRA and notes that there needs to be an increase of revenue for the Association. It also covers changes to the By-Laws of the TRA regarding membership categories and terms for members of the Board of Trustees. It closes by noting the governance of the TRA and listing its officers and members of the Executive Committee.
“Filming ‘The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt'” discusses the production of this documentary film and highlights the narration provided by actor George C. Scott and the music of John Philip Sousa. It notes its fluid mixing of reenactments and archival film footage. A photograph of the Roosevelt family as portrayed by actors and descendants and one of Gable in a cameo role accompany the section.
In “TR and the Wall Street Journal,” Gable attacks an article written by Art Pine of the Journal about the history of debt collection from foreign nations because of its sometimes “misleading” and “false” statements about Roosevelt. Gable enlists the work of historians Barbara Tuchman and Frederick W. Marks to refute some of Pine’s reporting.
This four page edition of “News and Notes” is divided into six sections and is mostly concerned with a series of celebrations and commemorations of the 125th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth. The article details the celebrations held in Indianapolis, Indiana, in New York State in New York City, Oyster Bay, and Buffalo, and at Harvard University. The Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace hosted events as did the American Museum of Natural History. Oyster Bay held a parade while the Indianapolis gathering saw the planting of a tree at the home of Roosevelt’s Vice President, Charles W. Fairbanks. The meeting at the American Museum of Natural History saw the awarding of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to four recipients. A dinner was held in Buffalo while at Harvard, John Morton Blum gave a lecture.
The article also discusses the 1983 Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest for the New York City public high schools held at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, and it details the premiere of the documentary film The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. “News and Notes” closes with an obituary for Helen M. MacLachlan who worked for both the Theodore Roosevelt Association and the National Park Service at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace in New York City.
A photograph from the Oyster Bay parade and two photographs of members of the Roosevelt family at Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C., are included in the article.