Theodore Roosevelt Association

John A. Gable, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), provides a summary of the TRA’s efforts to promote the study and appreciation of Theodore Roosevelt in the Bicentennial year 1976. He touches on subjects covered in detail in articles in this issue of the Journal, such as the Roosevelt film collection, the reissue of Roosevelt’s biography of Gouverneur Morris, and efforts to improve the neighborhood surrounding the Roosevelt Birthplace in New York City. He closes by noting that there has been an increase in memberships in the TRA in the past year.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1976

Report on the 57th annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) on October 29, 1976 at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Oyster Bay, New York. The article details the events of the meeting which center around the Trustees Dinner followed by the various reports given by the officers of the TRA including the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Executive Director. Highlights of the reports include an update on the revitalization effort surrounding the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site in New York City, the state of the TRA’s finances, and the work of the Executive Director in answering inquiries to the TRA. Historian Frederick W. Marks addressed the guests as did representatives of the National Park Service. Dorothy Horton McGee was honored for her work as a historian of Oyster Bay, Long Island.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977

This article describes the dedication ceremony for the “20th Street Revitalization Day” that was held in front of the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site on October 2, 1976. The article notes the music and dance performances, the invocation, and gives a brief synopsis of each of the speeches, including one by Mayor Abraham Beame of New York City that was accompanied by the yelling of striking New York City policemen. The article notes the many private organizations, including the Theodore Roosevelt Association, and the government agencies that supported the urban renewal project.

The article has two photographs: one shows Mayor Beame speaking at the ceremony and the other shows John A. Gable, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, addressing the crowd.

Architectural historian James Sanders gives a detailed report on the East 20th Street Revitalization Project which aimed to reinvigorate the neighborhood surrounding the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site in New York City. Most of the work involved cleaning and painting buildings, planting trees, and installing new signage. Sanders gives a history of the Roosevelt Birthplace, detailing the neighborhood’s decline as the area moved from residential to light industrial use. He looks at the plans to revitalize the neighborhood and credits the various individuals, private entities, government bureaus, and corporations that contributed to the project.

The article has two accompanying photographs: one shows the exterior of the Birthplace at 28 East 20th Street in New York City and the other shows Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt IV with their son on the front steps of the Birthplace.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

This notice, a regular feature of each issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal, notes the role the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) played in the preservation of Theodore Roosevelt’s homes and Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C. and its cooperation with the National Park Service. It notes the TRA’s work with Harvard University, its student contests, and its publications, including the TRA Journal.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977

History of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) that highlights the role the TRA played in preserving Theodore Roosevelt’s homes in New York City and Oyster Bay, New York along with Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C. The TRA later transferred all of these historic sites to the National Park Service. The article covers the TRA’s work with Harvard University and the Library of Congress in collecting and preserving  papers, books, and film on Roosevelt, and it covers the Association’s support of natural history grants awarded by the American Museum of Natural History. The past Presidents and Directors of the TRA are listed, and aspects of the TRA’s governance and finance are noted.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977

History of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) that highlights the role the TRA played in preserving Theodore Roosevelt’s homes in New York City and Oyster Bay, New York along with Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C. The TRA later transferred all of these historic sites to the National Park Service. The article covers the TRA’s work with Harvard University and the Library of Congress in collecting and preserving  papers, books, and film on Roosevelt, and it covers the Association’s support of natural history grants awarded by the American Museum of Natural History. The past Presidents and Directors of the TRA are listed, and aspects of the TRA’s governance and finance are noted.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977

This notice describes the ceremonies marking the dedication of a bird sanctuary on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts in honor of Hermann Hagedorn, a historian and long-time Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). The article reprints the inscription on the plaque marking the sanctuary, summarizes the speeches given, and talks about Hagedorn’s work with the TRA and as a writer.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977

John A. Gable describes in detail the life and work of Hermann Hagedorn, historian, biographer, and long-time Director of the Roosevelt Memorial Association and its successor, the Theodore Roosevelt Association. Gable covers Hagedorn’s life as a child of German immigrants in Brooklyn, New York, his education and teaching at Harvard, and his early career as a writer and poet. He notes Hagedorn’s difficulties as a German-American during World War I and the start of his friendship with Theodore Roosevelt that would define his career. Gable traces Hagedorn’s leadership of the Roosevelt Memorial Association over nearly four decades, discusses his many publications on Roosevelt, and looks at his other writings, including a number of biographies and many works of poetry.

Two photographs accompany this article. One is a formal portrait of Hagedorn and the other shows Hagedorn with President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the dedication of Sagamore Hill in June 1953.

The Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) was founded shortly after Theodore Roosevelt’s death in 1919, and was later issued a formal charter by Congress. It originally operated side-by-side with a separate women’s organization, which it subsequently merged with. The TRA has helped care for Roosevelt’s homes, developed a collection of documents at Harvard University, sponsored a public speaking and essay contest, and promoted publications about Roosevelt, among other activities.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1975

Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) John A. Gable reviews the different publications of the Association that have preceded the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. He critiques the movie The Wind and the Lion and argues that it “is a work of fantasy.” He closes with a review of the contents of the last two issues of the TRA Journal and reminds readers that the TRA needs an infusion of new members and dues to continue its work.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1975

Advertisement and membership application for the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) listing membership categories and costs. The ad features pictures of Sagamore Hill and the Roosevelt birthplace as well as the TRA medallion.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1975

The article relates the history of the “Roosevelt Motion Picture Library” compiled by the Roosevelt Memorial Association and the Women’s Roosevelt Memorial Association in the 1920s. Headed by Caroline Gentry, the organizations procured films featuring Roosevelt from individuals and film studios and from these produced fifteen silent films about various aspects of Roosevelt’s life.  Made between 1924 and 1930, the films were shown at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace as well as at schools and libraries. The article notes the praise the films received (including from Thomas Edison), their retirement in the 1950s due to changing technology, and their revival and reproduction as video cassette tapes in the 1970s.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1976

Four photographs of guests at the Theodore Roosevelt Association Annual Meeting and Dinner on October 27, 1975 at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Oyster Bay, New York.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1976

This inaugural issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal highlights the efforts of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) to foster the study and appreciation of Theodore Roosevelt through its many outreach programs such as its public speaking contest, gifts of Roosevelt related books and materials to public and academic libraries, and support of institutions with historical ties to Roosevelt like the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. This issue also makes clear how closely tied the TRA was at the time to the greater New York City metropolitan area. The cover of this first issue features a picture of Sagamore Hill National Historic Site.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1975

The fifty-fifth annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) was held on October 27, 1974, at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. In its description of the proceedings, this article notes some of the guests and highlights reports given by John A. Gable and P. James Roosevelt of the TRA as well as the work of the Nominating Committee. Additionally of note was a slide show presented on Bulloch Hall, the childhood home of Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt’s mother.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1975

The Theodore Roosevelt Association voted in May 1974 to establish the Theodore Roosevelt Association Library Program, with the aim of donating “books and other scholarly materials” to public and academic libraries to promote the study of Theodore Roosevelt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1975

Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) John A. Gable says that the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal will now act as the “official periodical” of the TRA. Gable thanks members of the Association for their response to a recent fund raising drive, but he notes that the TRA needs more members and income to continue its work.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1975

Advertisement and membership application for the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) listing membership categories and costs. The ad features pictures of Sagamore Hill and the Roosevelt birthplace as well as the TRA medallion.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1975

This issue features two articles on the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund administered by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City which provides research grants to those studying North American wildlife. It has an analysis of Theodore Roosevelt’s 1906 speech “The Man With the Muckrake,” along with the first appearance in the Journal by famed Roosevelt biographer Edmund Morris who reviews the 1975 film The Wind and the Lion.

The cover of this issue features a photograph of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City showing the entrance to the New York State Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall. The photograph also shows the equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt which was commissioned in 1925 and removed in 2022.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal