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

[This column has emendations. View original version]

      

ON THE TRAIN, EN ROUTE KANSAS CITY, Mo.TO FORT SMITH, Ark., Friday—We left the sudden mid-winter that we brought to Denver yesterday, and found ourselves this morning in a fairly springlike Kansas City, Missouri. Though it is none too warm, everyone assured us in Denver that an April blizzard was unusual, but even in New York State I have come to look upon such things as quite possible freaks in the weather. I could quite well believe the young radio man who told me that a few days ago he was sitting in the sun in Denver with a sports shirt on. Somehow I got myself tangled up with the various radio companies yesterday and, before the day was over, I had spoken three times to the people in Denver over various stations, so I think they must have been a little weary of hearing my voice.

Quite a number of good Democrats, headed by Mr. Marsh, the Democratic National Committeeman, came in to greet me. I appreciated the Governor taking the time to come and I was very glad to see our old friend, ex-Governor Sweet. I had an opportunity to talk for a few minutes with Mrs. Costigan about the work of the National Youth Administration. They seem to have a very good program in Colorado. I was sorry not to find Miss Josephine Roche in Denver, but was glad to see the head of the local Young Democrats, and particularly pleased to have one of my young friends, who is travelling through the country, drop in for lunch with us. We found that Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Massey were in Denver on tour with "Abe Lincoln In Illinois." They came in for a few minutes' talk before they had to be on their way.

I am particularly happy to have Mr. Massey touring the country in this play, because Mr. Massey's performance, with the excellent support given by the rest of the company and the very beautiful writing in the play itself, is an experience which as many Americans as possible should enjoy. By the time we took the train again in the afternoon, the snow had stopped and, cold as it was, quite a number of children with a few adults, came to the station in Limon, Colorado, to greet me. One enthusiastic lady reminded me that my husband and I had been there in 1920 for nearly an hour.

This morning, in Kansas City, a young girl who was for some time a patient in Warm Springs, Ga., came to the station with her mother to see me. She is very much upset because she has not been able to find a college within her means where it would be possible for a crippled youngster on crutches, to attend and get the proper assistance. Her solution would be a special college for crippled children, but I feel that the question should be studied a little more carefully and that facilities should be provided in state universities, so that handicapped young people may obtain college educations at the least possible expense but in normal surroundings.

We are now on our way to Fort Smith, Arkansas. A lecture tonight, and tomorrow a flight to Chicago and a few busy hours there.

E.R.

(COPYRIGHT, 1940, by UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Geographic
  • Kansas City (Mo., United States) [ index ]
  • Fort Smith (Ark., United States)


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, April 13, 1940

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
[ ERPP bio | LC | VIAF | WorldCat | DPLA | Wikidata | SNAC ]

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

  • Brick, Christopher (Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]
  • Regenhardt, Christy (Associate Editor)
    [ ISNI ]
  • Black, Allida M. (Editor)
    [ VIAF | ISNI ]
  • Binker, Mary Jo (Associate Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]
  • Alhambra, Christopher C. (Electronic Text Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]

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.

XML master last modified on June 8, 2017.

HTML version generated and published on May 3, 2022.

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