Wolfe, Tom

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

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

Robert D. Dalziel speaks on the occasion of being elected 12th President of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). He recalls the beginning of his interest in Theodore Roosevelt, as well as his involvement with the TRA and how the TRA has developed. The TRA has grown greatly and strengthened its ties with a number of Roosevelt-related sites, and Dalziel hopes to continue growing the membership of the TRA across the country. Other areas that Dalziel hopes to focus on include putting the TRA on a firmer financial footing and enhancing the scholarly reputation of the TRA.

Accompanying Dalziel’s speech is a brief list of recent recipients of the TRA’s Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal, and photographs of President George Bush interacting with members of the TRA at a lecture by David G. McCullough.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1990

“News and Notes” reports on the donation and delivery of six stained glass windows for the chapel onboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. The windows were donated by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) and four religious denominations from Oyster Bay, New York, and feature scenes from the Bible and other religious themes. The section also notes the passing of Hamilton Fish who was a recent recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal. “News and Notes” provides a biography of Fish and remarks upon the other recent winners of the medal. Other topics covered include promotion of the TRA’s genealogy of the Roosevelt family; a text box “About the Theodore Roosevelt Association” that relays some of the history and mission of the TRA; a change in the leadership of Sagamore Hill National Historic Site; and an announcement that the next annual meeting of the TRA will be held at Bulloch Hall in Roswell, Georgia.

Photographs of three of the stained glass windows, as well as one of the carrier, join three photographs of Fish and a drawing of Theodore Roosevelt’s head as illustrations in the section.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1991

John A. Gable reviews two works in the “Book Reviews” section. Gable praises James B. Reckner’s history of the Great White Fleet and notes that the work favors the military and technological aspects of the cruise, and he emphasizes that the cruise served as an important test for the navy in many respects. Gable also favors Louis Auchincloss’s The Vanderbilt Era: Profiles of a Gilded Age which looks at how the fortune of the Vanderbilt family helped shape American art and architecture in a quest to create an “American Renaissance.”

Two photographs appear in the section: one of Reckner and one of the USS Theodore Roosevelt underway in the Mediterranean Sea with other ships of her battle group and planes from her air wing.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1989

Various photographs depicting the Dolonor Summer Balls and the Sunset Reception, occurring in July and August of 1986, respectively. The balls were benefits for the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, and were attended by officers of the ship, as well as supporters and members of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1986

Creator(s)

Unknown

John A. Gable recounts the ceremony on April 20, 1985, in which the Theodore Roosevelt Association gave its highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal, to Reverend Norman Vincent Peale and Brigadier General Chuck Yeager. Gable notes that Yeager, a famous test pilot, broke yet another record with his flight from California to New York to attend the awards dinner. Gable lists those from the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) who organized and ran the ceremony, and he summarizes the remarks of the speakers. The article also includes a congratulatory letter from President Ronald Reagan and a listing of some of the guests. A listing of the officers of the TRA along with the members of its executive committee is included in the article.

Three photographs of Peale and Yeager at the awards dinner supplement the text.

John A. Gable explores the two Theodore Roosevelts, the mythic “Teddy Roosevelt” and the real Roosevelt. Gable says that there are three kinds of mythic Roosevelts: the Boy Scout, the American Mussolini, and the Teddy Brewster which represent the inspirational leader, the macho imperialist, and the cartoonish buffoon. Gable examines the real Roosevelt by looking at his many accomplishments as president in conservation and foreign affairs and by highlighting his intellectual life, especially his numerous books and essays. He argues that Roosevelt sought to achieve Jeffersonian goals of democracy through Hamiltonian means, and he asserts that both liberals and conservatives can find things to embrace in Roosevelt’s record.

A photograph of Gable with author Tom Wolfe and a photograph of P. James Roosevelt, Ruth Stafford Peale, Reverend Norman Vincent Peale, and Brigadier General Chuck Yeager at the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal Awards Dinner accompany the text. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal