Van Minnen, Cornelius A.

Genna Rollins, Secretary of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), highlights the ceremonies and speeches that marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Roosevelt Study Center (RSC) in Zeeland, the Netherlands, on September 19, 2011. Rollins notes the various speakers from the United States and Holland, and she briefly summarizes their remarks. Rollins also provides a history of the RSC, with an emphasis on its relationship with the TRA, which included funding, donations of books and materials, and providing speakers such as John A. Gable, longtime executive director of the TRA. In one of her endnotes, Rollins examines the history of the Roosevelt family in the United States, noting the the two branches headquartered in Oyster Bay and Hyde Park, New York. 

Six photographs populate the essay, including three of the speakers at the anniversary celebration.

In “Best Wishes From Oyster Bay,” twenty-six friends, colleagues, and fellow historians offer their thoughts on the life and work of John A. Gable, the Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) and the founder and editor of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. Some of the themes that recur are Gable’s support and mentoring of historians and biographers in the early stages of their careers, his encyclopedic knowledge of Theodore Roosevelt, and his promotion of membership in the TRA. The authors also note his unsentimental critique of their work and his fostering a truce between the feuding Oyster Bay and Hyde Park, New York factions of the Roosevelt family. Two of the contributors, William N. Tilchin and Gregory A. Wynn, share some of their correspondence with Gable to demonstrate these themes, and almost all of the contributors highlight Gable’s generosity with his time and talents.

The piece includes a table of contents on its first page and it concludes with brief biographies of each of the authors. Twenty-three photographs populate the text, including twenty of Gable.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2005

Twelve books compete for space and attention in this crowded edition of the “Book Reviews” section which includes four feature reviews, two brief children’s book reviews, and notices about six other titles. Matthew Glover counters some of the assertions made by Louis Auchincloss in his Theodore Roosevelt by citing the work of historian John Milton Cooper. John A. Gable provides profiles of Alice Roosevelt Longworth and Eleanor Roosevelt, the subjects of Linda Donn’s The Roosevelt Cousins, and he notes the outsize influence that Theodore Roosevelt had on the extended Roosevelt clan. An anonymous review of Theodore Roosevelt, the U.S. Navy, and the Spanish-American War lists the nine chapters that resulted from a conference of the same name, and it notes some of the authors’ ties to the Theodore Roosevelt Association. 

Gable identifies four themes found in the ten essays that make up European Perceptions of the Spanish-American War of 1898, including most European nations’ hostility to the United States in the conflict, and he emphasizes the role played by the Roosevelt Study Center in fostering the emergence of a cohort of European scholars of American history. Two books aimed at children are reviewed in the “Kids Corner” section, and “Other New Books” highlights six titles published in 2001-2002, including new paperback editions of the Roosevelt biographies written by Edmund Morris and his wife Sylvia Jukes Morris. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Report on the 77th annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held in and around Boston, Massachusetts in October, 1996. The report highlights the conferring of several awards sponsored by the TRA: the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to author David McCullough; the Bertha B. Rose Award to Wallace Finley Dailey of Harvard; the Police Award for a member of the Boston, Massachusetts, Police Department; and the Junior Officer of the Year Award to a member of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The report also details the annual elections of the TRA, including the selection of Lawrence H. Budner as the next president, and it notes that tours of Harvard, including the Theodore Roosevelt Collection, were given for those who attended. The report highlights the many years of service to the TRA of P. James Roosevelt and announces that a lecture series will be established in his name.

Thirteen photographs of those who attended the various events populate the report, including five of McCullough.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1997

Seven books, including two memoirs, are examined in six review essays in this edition of the “Book Notes” section. Michael L. Manson reviews two books on Theodore Roosevelt’s 1914 scientific expedition to Brazil; one penned by Roosevelt and the other by Joseph R. Ornig. Manson praises the forewords to both books written by Tweed Roosevelt, and he finds Ornig’s book provides a detailed look at the expedition and the cast of characters besides Roosevelt who made it successful. Stacy A. Cordery notes that journalist Joseph Alsop’s memoirs deal mostly with the major events and figures of the mid to late twentieth century, and she reveals Alsop’s opinions of various senators, presidents, and generals.

Richard P. Harmon faults Peter Collier’s The Roosevelts: An American Saga for focusing too much on the private lives of the two Roosevelt families, and he says that many of Collier’s assertions are not backed by evidence and that the book relies too much on a psychohistory approach. James Summerville asserts that H. Paul Jeffers’s look at Roosevelt’s tenure as Police Commissioner of New York City, Commissioner Roosevelt, disappoints and that readers should turn to Jay S. Berman’s study or to coverage of this period of Roosevelt’s career in biographies. John A. Gable provides a positive and short review of a short book, William H. Harbaugh’s fifty page history of Pine Knot, which Gable says is written with “charm and style.” Robert D. Dalziel, President of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), reviews the memoirs of Hamilton Fish, a winner of the TRA’s Distinguished Service Medal. Dalziel says that Fish’s opinions are straightforward and blunt like their author.

Two photographs appear in the section: one shows three members of the Rio Roosevelt Expedition of 1992 and the other dignitaries of the Dutch government at the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

This sprawling edition of “News and Notes” encompasses sixteen pages and contains thirty-four parts. The conferring of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) police awards for New York City, Boston, and western New York State opens the section along with a feature on the design of a new medal for the award by sculptor Marc Mellon. News of the ceremonies and outings of the 1993 annual meeting of the TRA in Charlottesville, Virginia, follows with a description of the association’s required elections, a field trip to Pine Knot, and the naming of the Junior Officer of the Year Award for the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The meeting also saw the presentation of the Bertha B. Rose Award to Barbara J. Comstock and historian William Henry Harbaugh.

“News and Notes” also provides a history of Pine Knot, Theodore and Edith Roosevelt’s presidential retreat, discusses the reopening of Sagamore Hill National Historic Site after an extensive renovation, and highlights the contributions of Conrad L. Wirth and Horace M. Albright to both the TRA and the National Park Service. The Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands is featured with news of its hosting a conference of European historians; the conferring of the annual Lawrence J. Saunders Awards for essays in American history; and the publication of a book on Dutch-American relations by the Center’s director, Cornelius A. van Minnen. The section closes with a detailed look at the process of compiling a comprehensive article and picture index for the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal from 1975 to 1992 by the staff and volunteers of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in Buffalo, New York.

Twenty photographs illustrate the section with entire pages devoted to the Boston Police Award ceremonies and the TRA annual meeting.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

The front cover of the Fall, 1989 volume of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal features Theodore Roosevelt atop a steam shovel in Panama during his 1906 inspection of the construction of the Panama Canal. The back cover shows a delegation from the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) to the Netherlands, as well as the winners of the third annual Lawrence J. Saunders Awards of the TRA at the Roosevelt Study Center.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1989

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Much of this lengthy edition of the “News and Notes” section, eight of fourteen pages, is devoted to the election, dinner, and ceremonies surrounding the 1991 annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) in Roswell, Georgia. The meeting news includes the conferring of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to Eugene P. Odum, the complete text of the medal’s citation, and a report on the state of the TRA by its president, Robert D. Dalziel. The section also includes three quotes from Theodore Roosevelt on nature and conservation and an announcement that an expedition will undertake to retrace Roosevelt’s expedition on the River of Doubt in Brazil in 1992. The reopening of Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall at the American Museum of Natural History, after an extensive renovation, the results of the TRA’s annual Teddy Bear Drive, and the conferring of the TRA’s Bertha B. Rose Award to Cornelius Boertien of the Roosevelt Study Center are also detailed. The section closes with a indictment of NBC television’s movie “The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw” for its portrayal of Roosevelt, labeling the program as a “stupid film” and “trash.”

The section includes ten photographs from the annual meeting, two photographs from the Rose Award ceremony, a photograph of Odum, and a photograph of the members of the Brazil expedition team. A text box noting that this issue is dedicated to Oliver R. Grace and an illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion supplement the section.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1991

This edition of the “News and Notes” section opens with the somber news that three aircrew from the USS Theodore Roosevelt were lost in combat during Operation Desert Storm in February 1991. The section encourages members of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) to contribute to an education trust fund for the four children of the lost airmen. “News and Notes” also provides details about the various awards, grants and prizes conferred by the TRA and its associated organizations in the first half of 1991: Lawrence J. Sanders awards for essays in American history at the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands; natural history research grants from the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund at the American Museum of Natural History; Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest for the New York City public schools; the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize; and the TRA Police Award for the New York City Police Department. The latter report features a reprint of a story from the New York Times detailing the heroism of Police Officer Yolanda Lugo. The section also conveys the death of a National Park Service staffer at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site who died in a fire, and highlights the meeting of the Rough Riders reenactors group in Tampa, Florida.

“News and Notes” includes photographs of: winners of the essay awards at the Roosevelt Study Center; meeting of the Rough Riders, Inc. in Tampa, Florida; TRA Police Award winner Yolanda Lugo; and a F/A-18 Hornet on the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1991

Report on a conference held at Hofstra University, April 19-21, 1990, on “Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of Modern America.” The report covers the various proceedings of the conference, including the showing of films on Theodore Roosevelt, highlights the major addresses, and lists all of the speakers. The report also notes that the conference included the conferring of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to three recipients, Tom Wolfe, Hamilton Fish, Senior, and Paul H. Nitze. It includes biographies of each recipient and also lists the many individuals, organizations, and corporations that supported the conference. The report includes eighteen photographs of conference participants as well as a listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1990

Creator(s)

Unknown

Six of the ten pages of this edition of the “News and Notes” column are devoted to the visit of a delegation from the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) to the Netherlands in October 1989. The TRA, for the first time, held its annual meeting and dinner outside of the United States. The column notes the group’s visit to various sites across the Netherlands, describes the activities of the Roosevelt Study Center, and discusses fundraising efforts to support the Center. The column also discusses efforts to increase the endowment for the TRA and to establish an endowment for the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University.

The column is illustrated with fifteen photographs from the TRA’s visit to the Netherlands and two more from the fundraising dinner held to support the endowment of the Roosevelt collection at Harvard.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1989

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.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1989

Much of this edition of the “News and Notes” column is dedicated to a report on the annual meeting and dinner of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held in Dallas, Texas, in October 1988. The report notes the meeting of the Board of Trustees, highlights the annual election of the leadership of the TRA, and discusses the various talks and reports presented at the meeting. The column details the opening of a special exhibit at the DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University, “The Incredible Teddy Roosevelt,” that comes from the Theodore Roosevelt collection of Lawrence H. Budner and Doris Albert Budner of Dallas, and it quotes from various Dallas newspaper editorials on Theodore Roosevelt.

The column also announces that the 1989 TRA Annual Meeting will be held at the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands and notes the publication of a previously unpublished article by Roosevelt, “Sou’-Sou’ Southerly,” in Gray’s Sporting Journal. The column includes Roosevelt related news from Buffalo, New York, Bethlehem, New Hampshire, and from the USS Theodore Roosevelt. “News and Notes” concludes with John A. Gable’s speaking engagements and reminders about Roosevelt related publications available from Meckler Publishing, including a reissue of the Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia.

The column features seven photographs of guests at the TRA annual dinner, a portrait painting of Roosevelt, and a photograph of the Budners in their Dallas home. An illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion appears on the last page of the column.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

The “News and Notes” column describes John A. Gable’s teaching a course for the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands in July, 1988, and it also notes two of his other speaking engagements about Theodore Roosevelt. The column features an obituary for Franklin D. Roosevelt, Junior, son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who supported the work of the Roosevelt Study Center. “News and Notes” promotes new publications on Theodore Roosevelt, including the publication of past issues of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal in microfiche form by the Meckler corporation, and it lists some other sources for studying the life and work of Robert Barnwell Roosevelt. The use of Sagamore Hill National Historic Site as a voter registration site is also discussed.

Illustrations of the Roosevelt family coat of arms and both sides of the Theodore Roosevelt Association medallion appear in the column.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1988

This lengthy edition of “News and Notes” opens with a report on the annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held in New York City on November 8, 1987. The report details the election of the leadership of the TRA, and it highlights an address to the gathering by the Director of the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands. A section on the Broadway musical “Teddy and Alice” follows with a listing of its cast and crew, numerous quotes from New York newspaper reviews, and comments on the actors’ performances. A section on the Roosevelt Studies Center in the Netherlands highlights the conferring of the first Lawrence J. Saunders Awards for essays on American history by Dutch university students.

Updates from the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, the Navy League of the United States, and TRA member George Epstein also garner sections. A report on the second annual Teddy Bear drive sponsored by the TRA and the National Park Service, an update on the Roosevelt family genealogy project, and information about the 1988 TRA annual dinner to be held in Dallas, Texas, complete “News and Notes.”

Two scenes from the musical “Teddy and Alice,” three photographs from the Roosevelt Study Center, and a photograph of members of the TRA in Medora, North Dakota, join an illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion as supplements to the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

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.

Six photographs appear in “News and Notes”: two depict scenes of the carrier’s commissioning; three show Roosevelt, one in a dynamic speaking pose and two with members of the United States Navy; and one shows dignitaries at the opening of the Roosevelt Study Center. An illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion also appears in the section. 

John A. Gable provides a detailed report on the opening of the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands on September 19-20, 1986. Gable discusses the inaugural symposium held at the Center, listing the speakers and their topics, and he examines the genealogy of the Roosevelt family, looking at its roots in the Netherlands and the split of the family into the Hyde Park and Oyster Bay, New York, branches. Gable also touches on the purpose of the Center, to provide a European home for the study of American history, and he notes the various resources available to students and scholars. Gable also lists the members of the Roosevelt family and the Theodore Roosevelt Association who attended the opening and are involved in the Center’s administration.

Ten photographs supplement the text; seven show people at the opening of the reception with an emphasis on members of the Dutch government, and three show the exterior of the Center’s building, the Middelburg Abbey.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

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.”

Article on the establishment of the Roosevelt Study Center in Middleburg, capitol of the Province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. The article notes that the Center will focus on the lives of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt. It details the visit made to the Netherlands by John A. Gable, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), in November and December of 1985 in which he gave five lectures and visited with various government officials. The article discusses the history of Middelburg and lists the various individuals and entities, including the TRA, that will be involved in its operation and governance. 

A picture of the Middleburg Abbey which will house the Center accompanies the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

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