Plimpton, Francis T. P. (Francis Taylor Pearsons), 1900-1983

This edition of the “News and Notes” section is mostly devoted to the various activities, celebrations, and commemorations marking the 125th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth. The section lists some of these celebrations and includes more details about the “Roosevelt Renaissance” held at Theodore Roosevelt Island in June 1983. The section reviews the May 1983 meeting of the American Forestry Association which marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of Roosevelt’s Conference on Conservation, and it devotes parts of four pages to a visit to Medora, North Dakota, by members of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). It also recommends five books about Roosevelt.

The section has a photograph of the TRA group in Medora, North Dakota, and three photographs of members of the TRA with the Governor of North Dakota, Allen I. Olson. An illustration of Roosevelt in his buckskin hunting outfit and a montage of Roosevelt with images of the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace and Sagamore Hill National Historic Sites are also found in the section.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1983

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.

“New Classes of Membership and Dues Schedules” notes that the TRA will be creating new membership categories and raising the cost of membership dues for the first time since 1956. The notice lists the six new categories along with the cost of membership dues for each. A profile photograph of Roosevelt appears to the left of this notice.