Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946

Variety marks the “News and Notes” column as it covers twelve topics over five pages. The first three topics involve awards and prizes conferred in 1988, and describe the Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest for the New York public schools, research grants from the American Museum of Natural History, and the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize. The column reprints Tweed Roosevelt’s address on the 100 year anniversary of Arbor Day in Albany, New York, and notes the passing of Paul Russell Cutright who wrote two books about Roosevelt as a naturalist. “News and Notes” also highlights the speaking engagements of John A. Gable, promotes the Theodore Roosevelt Association’s publication of a collection of Roosevelt’s speeches, The Man in the Arena, and refutes assertions made in the media that Roosevelt believed in astrology.

A photograph from the finals of the public speaking contest, an illustration of Roosevelt, and one of both sides of the Theodore Roosevelt Association medallion appear in the column.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1988

Awards and grants sponsored by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) make up much of this edition of the “News and Notes” column and include the conferring of the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize, the TRA Police Award for the New York City Police Department, and the annual research grants  from the American Museum of Natural History. The column also covers a reunion of the two branches of the Roosevelt family comprising the descendants of Theodore Roosevelt from Oyster Bay, New York, and those of Franklin D. Roosevelt from Hyde Park, New York. A letter from Elliott Roosevelt, a son of Franklin D. Roosevelt, to John A. Gable of the TRA recounts some shared episodes of Roosevelt family history, including Theodore Roosevelt’s role in Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s wedding and Theodore Roosevelt’s attempt to serve in World War I. “News and Notes” also describes the dedication of a rose garden in honor of Jessica Van Ausdall Kraft at Sagamore Hill, highlights the work of some of the TRA leadership, and promotes the publications of the TRA.

Two photographs of the rose garden ceremonies at Sagamore Hill, two from the luncheon for the Naval History Prize, and one of Theodore Roosevelt join a picture of both sides of the TRA medallion to illustrate the column.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1989

Secretary of Agriculture Wilson acknowledges receipt of Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock’s previous letter concerning the proposed Lassen Peak National Park. As Hitchcock requested, he has requested Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot to examine the region and make a report, which Wilson will forward to Hitchcock. Wilson is somewhat doubtful whether a national park should be created inside a forest reserve, and believes the goal of protecting the area could more economically be accomplished if President Roosevelt were to designate the area a national monument using the Antiquities Act of 1906.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1906-11-21

Creator(s)

Wilson, James, 1835-1920

Three book reviews, a book notice, and a look at Paul Russell Cutright’s career comprise the “Book Reviews” section. In “TR: The Making of a Conservationist,” Lewis L. Gould reviews Cutright’s Theodore Roosevelt: The Making of a Conservationist and notes that the work covers the formative years of Roosevelt’s life better than his first work on Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt: The Naturalist. Gould says that Cutright challenges some of the assumptions made by David McCullough about Roosevelt’s childhood asthma. John A. Gable discusses Cutright’s two works on Roosevelt, lists his publications in the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal, and reviews his teaching career and publications in “Paul Russell Cutright: Historian of Natural History.” 

In “Presidential Children,” Gable gives a scathing review of Sandra L. Quinn and Sanford Kanter’s America’s Royalty: All the Presidents’ Children. Gable notes that the book is riddled with factual errors and that it has a “truly pathetic” bibliography. Gable also reviews Richard H. Collin’s Theodore Roosevelt, Culture, Diplomacy, and Expansion and notes that Roosevelt’s foreign policy was impacted by American culture and by the need to counter the imperialism of the leading European states. The section concludes with a notice about the publication of Between Ocean and Empire: An Illustrated History of Long Island which includes an essay on Roosevelt and Sagamore Hill written by Gable. 

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.

A photograph of Harrison Engle and Sidney D. Kirkpatrick working on the documentary “The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt,” an illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion, an illustration of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and the Roosevelt family coat of arms appear in “News and Notes.”

Horace M. Albright recalls some of his memories of Theodore Roosevelt from admiring him as a boy to meeting with him in an effort to join a Roosevelt led division of the United States Army in World War I. Albright recalls meeting Roosevelt three times while a student at the University of California, and he discusses his relationship with Roosevelt’s children, concluding his article with an anecdote about Roosevelt’s eldest daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Albright’s article is preceded by a biographical sketch of the author, and it includes two photographs of Albright during his time working for the National Park Service.

An inset box in the article includes a mailing address for the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) and lists its President and Executive Director.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

John A. Gable introduces three authors and their articles on Gifford Pinchot which make up most of this issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. Gable notes that all three articles were originally presented as papers at the Rose Hill Seminar at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on June 6, 1987. Gable provides a brief history of the Rose Hill Seminars along with brief biographical statements for each of the authors.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

This brief biography of Gifford Pinchot recounts his accomplishments as first Chief of the United States Forest Service, as well as later in life. Pinchot participated heavily in Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive Party, and was later elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1922 and 1930 as a Republican. Pinchot helped found many associations focused on forestry and conservation, and was additionally a founder of the Roosevelt Memorial Association.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

Creator(s)

Unknown

Barry W. Walsh provides an overview of the career of America’s first and most famous forester, Gifford Pinchot. Walsh emphasizes Pinchot’s work in government to promote forest conservation, and she examines his work with President Theodore Roosevelt and his dismissal under President William Howard Taft. Walsh also examines Pinchot’s bitter quarrel with John Muir over building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy valley in Yosemite National Park, and she notes his advising President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the founding of the Yale Forest School. A photograph of Pinchot appears in the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

Creator(s)

Walsh, Barry W.

Stephen R. Fox explores the divide in the American conservation movement between camps headed by followers of John Muir and those of Gifford Pinchot. He talks about the popularity of each and of the scholarship that has been produced about each of them. Fox argues that Pinchot “is best understood not as a conservationist but as a politician,” and he examines Pinchot’s autobiography in some detail to support this assertion. Fox argues that Pinchot had presidential aspirations and that he demonstrated little interest in practical forestry matters in his later years, but he also contends that Pinchot remains an important figure in the history of the American conservation movement.

A photograph of Roosevelt and Pinchot appears in the article as does a listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. A notice that this issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal is dedicated to Jessica Kraft appears on the last page of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

John W. Furlow asserts that Gifford’s Pinchot later career as a politician, most notably as Governor of Pennsylvania, is often overlooked in favor of focusing on the time when he was ascendant in the American conservation movement. Furlow closely examines Pinchot’s time as Governor, and he stresses the role of his wife, Cornelia Bryce Pinchot, as an important influence on Pinchot. Pinchot favored prohibition and the building of farm to market roads as Governor, and Furlow argues that Pinchot’s political career focused on the preservation of human resources. Though he supported President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, Pinchot remained active in Republican politics, but he never held elective office again after 1935.

A photograph of Gifford Pinchot on horseback in 1925 and two photographs of Cornelia Bryce Pinchot appear in the article. In addition to endnotes, the article also features a paragraph that lists a number of studies and biographies of the Pinchots and their home, Grey Towers.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

The front of the Summer, 1987 Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal shows a portrait of Gifford Pinchot, while the back cover depicts the Pinchot Family Home in Milford, Pennsylvania. The home is now owned by the United States Forest Service, and is open to the public as a museum.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

John A. Gable provides a comprehensive accounting of the conservation record of President Theodore Roosevelt, and in ten quotations dating from 1905 to 1912, Roosevelt explains his philosophy of conservation. Roosevelt stresses that natural resources must be carefully managed for future generations and that conservation is the most important issue facing the country. Gable lists the 21 reclamation projects, 150 national forests, 51 bird refuges, and 4 national game preserves established by Roosevelt during his presidency. Gable also lists the 5 national parks and 18 national monuments created during Roosevelt’s tenure. He also notes the 7 different commissions and conferences called by Roosevelt during his presidency to study issues related to conservation and natural resources.

Photographs of Roosevelt at the dedication of the Roosevelt Dam in Arizona, at a federal bird refuge in Louisiana, and on horseback supplement the text.

A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association along with the members of its executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees is included in the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Richard Robbins details Theodore Roosevelt’s visit to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on his fifty-sixth birthday on October 27, 1914. Robbins explores the political scene that found Roosevelt in western Pennsylvania campaigning for Gifford Pinchot for a U.S. Senate seat on the Progressive ticket. Robbins quotes extensively from the city’s newspapers anticipating Roosevelt’s visit, and examines Roosevelt’s itinerary, the parade in his honor, and his speech.

A photograph of Roosevelt speaking in Uniontown in 1914 and one showing the same site in 1984 accompany the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1983-07-03

Two passages from Theodore Roosevelt, one from a speech and one from a magazine article, about conservation. In the first, Roosevelt praises the work of James R. Garfield and Gifford Pinchot and emphasizes that they actually carried out the policies that they and Roosevelt talked about. In the second passage, Roosevelt asserts that it is becoming recognized that trees, wildlife, and flowers need to preserved for future generations. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1910-1915

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

History of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal awarded by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). The article highlights twenty-one of the winners, lists the thirteen different fields of endeavor for which individuals are honored, and details the design of the medal by James Earle Fraser.  It also discusses the various venues at which the Medal has been awarded. An illustration of both sides of the medal accompanies the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1985

Creator(s)

Unknown

The “News and Notes” section returns after a hiatus in the prior two issues. The section opens with a listing of the deaths of seven people in 1985 who had some connection to Theodore Roosevelt or the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), and this issue is dedicated to them. The deaths of Peter R. Fisher and John E. Roosevelt are discussed at length in the issue while the life of Harold R. Kraft is examined in this section. The section also covers the visit of a delegation from the Netherlands to Oyster Bay, New York, in connection with the establishment of the Roosevelt Study Center in Middelburg, Province of Zeeland, in the Netherlands. The purpose of the Center, some of its leadership, and the role of the TRA in its founding are examined. 

A brief on the “Theodore” exhibit at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum and a notice about a lecture given by John A. Gable at Grey Towers, Gifford Pinchot’s home, complete the section. Two photographs of members of the Dutch delegation in Oyster Bay, New York, are found in the section.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Edward P. Cliff provides a brief history of Theodore Roosevelt’s leadership of the conservation movement. Cliff highlights Roosevelt’s role in founding the Boone and Crockett Club, emphasizes the importance of Roosevelt’s friendship with Gifford Pinchot and their role in establishing the Forest Service, and notes the use that Roosevelt made of the Antiquities Act to create national monuments.

A photograph of Roosevelt at the dedication of the Roosevelt Dam and an illustration of Roosevelt in a dynamic speaking pose accompany the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1983

William Davison Johnston provides a detailed report on the building of an elaborate playground in Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay, New York. Johnston gives a history of the park, describes the work of designer Robert Leathers, and lists the many groups, organizations, and individuals who volunteered to build the new playground. Johnston discusses the complex logistics of building the playground entirely with volunteers in four days.

Six photographs of the playground under construction and one of the dedication ceremony accompany the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1983

John A. Gable provides a brief history of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal awarded by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). Gable highlights twenty-one of the winners, lists the thirteen different fields of endeavor for which individuals are honored, and details the design of the medal by James Earle Fraser. Gable also discusses the various venues at which the Medal has been awarded.

A photograph of TRA President William Davison Johnston presenting the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to Captain Edward L. Beach is found on the second page of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1984