Recreation

Howard Eaton has heard a rumor that President Roosevelt is postponing his African safari. If this is true, Eaton invites Roosevelt and his family to the Eaton Brothers ranch in Wolf, Wyoming, to rest after he leaves the presidency. Eaton also praises the President on his accomplishments and shares that he and others on the ranch voted for President-Elect William H. Taft, but wish they could re-elect Roosevelt. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-24

James R. Sheffield invites President Roosevelt and First Lady Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt to stay with his family at their camp in the Adirondack Mountains. He explains the amenities, accommodations, and activities of the area. He believes that Secretary of War William H. Taft could easily visit so Taft and Roosevelt could privately discuss “Panama, Cuba, spelling reform or Harvard’s chances in England or any other equally important question.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-31

Theodore P. Shonts, chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission, writes to William Loeb regarding social conditions of the Isthmian laborers and the steps taken to accommodate them. President Roosevelt is very concerned that the workers are provided with recreation and diversion. Shonts describes the organization of clubs, masonic groups, reading rooms, and even attempts at baseball teams. The married workers receive cottages for their families and the Commission offers reduced transportation for their family members to travel to the Isthmus.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-12

Alexander Lambert plans to spend time with President Roosevelt over the weekend playing tennis, shooting, and riding.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-19

Postcard entitled Summer St. John featuring two bears waterside. The larger bear fishes while the smaller bear pulls on the rope at the other end of the pole. Postcard contains no message.

Collection

Fritz R. Gordner Collection

Creation Date

1907

A gigantic man and a gigantic woman ride bicycles on a dirt road. They are road hogs, forcing other forms of transportation, mainly diminutive horse-drawn carriages, off the road.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1896-05-20

A member of the clergy, a strict “Sabbatarian,” observes and deplores people engaging in various Sunday activities, including boating and bicycling. In the center vignette, Satan objects to the Sunday outings, too, because they seem “to make people better, instead of worse.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1897-05-26

Former president Grover Cleveland and his wife Frances play with their children, Ruth, Esther, and Marion, in the backyard of their residence. Several men labeled “Morgan, Daniel, Pugh, Faulkner, Vest, Dana, [and] Gorman” spy on them from behind a fence, bushes, and over a hedge.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1897-06-09

Caption: “Now, stop it! Oh, please! / Did you hear what I said?” / She calls him a tease; / “Now, stop it! Oh, please!” / She cries in high keys. / But she means, Go ahead! / “Now, stop it! Oh, please! / Did you hear what I said?”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1913-07-30

At the intersection of a busy city street and a street railroad on a Sunday, many activities are taking place at an amusement park, a golf course, a real estate office, a club house, a baseball game in progress, and on a beach.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1913-06-18

Theodore Roosevelt has been living a “perfect dream” with Alice Lee Roosevelt. The house and servants are “just perfection.” He describes a relaxed, average day during their honeymoon.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1880-10-31

Theodore Roosevelt is enjoying the “loveliest honeymoon imaginable.” They are spending their time driving, walking, playing tennis, and reading aloud.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1880-11-04

Vignettes show accidents taking place in various forms of recreation. At center is an automobile accident involving a horse-drawn carriage. Surrounding scenes show golf and baseball, hunting and fishing, and mountain climbing.

comments and context

Comments and Context

“Wreckreation,” the second major contribution to Puck by the forgotten master Harry Grant Dart, is not a political cartoon but social commentary verging on grim humor.

President Roosevelt wishes Anna Roosevelt Cowles well. He asks her to tell William Sheffield Cowles how much he appreciates his fur jacket.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1904-01-18

A woman wearing a swimsuit stands on a large fish that is splashing through waves.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1911-06-07

A beautiful young woman rides an ocean wave approaching the beach. A lobster and a fish appear below.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1911-08-16

Theodore Roosevelt writes to continue a discussion with Anna Roosevelt Cowles about the need for lively pursuits at home that he compares to the French art of savoir vivre. He gives examples that Oyster Bay ought to have: a park with a bandstand, a Y.M.C.A, and tennis courts; and explains that Edith Roosevelt and Ethel Roosevelt are trying to enlist some of the villagers to contribute to supplying some of these facilities. Roosevelt updates Cowles on his family’s activities. Edith’s fiftieth birthday was two days ago and she was delighted with her presents, which is not always the case. Roosevelt writes that sometimes she even shares his “own mother’s way of looking at a present of which she does not approve.” They ride and row together, and he plays tennis well.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1911-08-08

John H. Hutton provides short answers to questions about the six months he spent in the Civilian Conservation Corps stationed near Watford City, North Dakota. Hutton does provide the names of supervisors and fellow CCC alumni, but the majority of his answers are fairly limited.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1984

Norman V. McLeod recalls in detail the positive experiences he had during the six months he spent in the Civilian Conservation Corps. Because he was not needed at the camp in Medora, North Dakota, McLeod spent two weeks there and was then transferred to northern Minnesota. McLeod reflects on the impacts the CCC had on him, the training he received, and the people with whom he worked. McLeod also includes a short note with more information on the two weeks he spent in Medora, and returns the letter sent to him with the questionnaire with a short note on it as well.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1984

Photograph of a group of Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees standing outside their barracks in the Roosevelt Recreation Demonstration Area.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1941