The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt

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EN ROUTE TO SEATTLE, Wednesday—I said yesterday that I wanted to tell you more about the Girl Scouts. I find that I know so little about the variety of work which they are doing and I am so pleased whenever I see the evidences of their good training, that I feel I must tell more people about them. Yesterday, the girls had on new uniforms which are not only good-looking but so comfortable that it is hoped they will want to wear them more of the time. They met me down in the lobby with smiling faces, even though I had kept them waiting a long time. The girl who sold me the cookies, made her little speech unperturbed by flashing cameras.

In the board room there was a most lovely portrait of Mrs. Herbert Hoover. I wish so much that a similar one was hanging now in the White House in Washington. It seems to be impossible to acquire one. I would understand this quite easily if she had never been painted and had the same feeling that I have about artistic efforts to preserve a set of features which might better be forgotten. However, when one is a good subject and can be well painted, it seems sad not to join the gallery of President's wives and look smilingly down upon the innumerable visitors who flow so endlessly through the White House.

I don't suppose the Girl Scouts would give up their portrait, but I wish they would. I listened in awe and admiration when I was told the Girl Scout organization is now 93 percent self-supporting. That means good business management and energy and vigilence which never flags. I certainly admire those who are doing the active work in connection with this organization.

When you are not accustomed to New York City, do you find that a day running around, in and out of shops, is exciting but rather wearying? One amusing incident occured yesterday. I went into a very small store on Seventh Avenue thinking no one was paying any attention to me, and suddenly turned around to find a large crowd waiting for me outside the door. They were very polite and did not try to come in to slow up my shopping, but stood there quietly and waited until I came out, and then parted to let me get back to my brother's car which was awaiting me. Such an amount of interest is rarely evidenced in New York City, where I think to most people I am plain Eleanor Roosevelt and not thought of as the President's wife.

My husband went to Hyde Park today and I took off from Newark, N. J., at 8:00 a.m. and am now flying straight through to my daughter in Seattle, Washington. This is just a pleasure trip and I hope the weather will be kind all the way through.

E.R.

(Copyright, 1938, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Geographic
  • Seattle (Wash., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, November 3, 1938

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
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Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

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Digital edition published 2008, 2017 by
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project

Available under licence from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

Published with permission from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

MEP edition publlished on June 30, 2008.

TEI-P5 edition published on April 28, 2017.

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Transcription created from a photocopy of a UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
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