The President Woodrow Wilson House Is a National Historic Landmark and House Museum
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Autumn Newsletter 2013 The President Woodrow Wilson House is a national historic landmark and house museum. The museum promotes a greater awareness of President Wilson’s public life and ideals for future generations through guided tours, exhibitions and educational programs. Above photo: Back garden evening party at The President Woodrow Wilson House. The museum also serves as a community CELEBRATING THE PRESIDENT’S Woodrow Wilson’s legacy, preservation model and resource, dedicated to one hundred years later the stewardship and CENTENNIAL presentation of an Why should anyone care about the President Wilson revived the practice, authentic collection and President Woodrow Wilson House? abandoned for more than a century, of the property. That is a fair question to consider in President delivering the State of the Union 2013, the first of eight years marking the message in person before Congress. He centennial of President Wilson’s term in regularly appeared at the Capitol to The President office, 1913–1921. promote his legislative initiatives. In a Woodrow Wilson “President Wilson imagined the world recent interview, WILSON biographer A. House is a property of at peace and proposed a plan to achieve Scott Berg noted, “There's a room in the National Trust that vision,” answers Robert A. Enholm, Congress called the President's Room. No for Historic executive director of the Woodrow Wilson president has used it since Woodrow Preservation, a House in Washington, D.C. “The Wilson. No president used it before privately funded, non- challenge he issued almost a century ago Woodrow Wilson. He used it regularly.” profit corporation, remains largely unanswered today.” Before President Wilson the national helping people protect, During this centennial period, the government played a smaller role in the enhance and enjoy the Woodrow Wilson House will be developing everyday lives of Americans than is true places that matter to exhibitions and programs to explore the today. Riding the flood tide of the them. history of the Wilson years and the legacy Progressive Era, President Wilson saw the of ideas that President Wilson left to us. establishment of the Federal Reserve “President Wilson is a remarkable System and the Federal Trade subject for study,” notes Enholm. “He Commission, progressive income taxation, revolutionized the role of the presidency in the Internal Revenue Service, the eight- our government, the role of the national hour workday, and the Department of government in America, and the role of Labor. After initial ambivalence, he America in the world.” (continued on page 4) Tax-deductible donations to Inside this Issue: support the President 1 ▪ Celebrating the President’s Centennial 3 ▪ This Season in History Woodrow Wilson House may be made online at 2 ▪ Note from the Executive Director 3 ▪ Spotlight on our Collection WoodrowWilsonHouse.org or 4 ▪ Calendar of Upcoming Events by mail to 2340 S Street, NW, 2 ▪ The Curatorial Corner Washington, DC 20008. 3 ▪ Recent Happenings 4 ▪ Edith Wilson’s Teacake Recipe Autumn 2013 2 The President Woodrow Wilson House A NOTE FROM S T A F F R o b e r t A . E n h o l m Robert A. Enholm EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Executive Director Welcome to President Woodrow Wilson’s Sarah Andrews neighborhood. Manager of Marketing and You are a “Friend of the Woodrow Wilson Events House.” That is why you are receiving this John Pucher newsletter. Manager of Business and Woodrow Wilson possessed an Operations international perspective and saw a new role Amberly Meli for America in the global community. His Curatorial Assistant ideas for the future of our country reflect the The Woodrow Wilson House staff and I notion that the world is increasingly more take seriously our responsibility to develop Stephanie Daugherty interconnected and, as a result, and undertake educational programs that Curatorial Assistant communities or “neighborhoods” are no engage and challenge modern audiences. It Kelsey Clark longer to limited to physical proximity. is part of our responsibility to you, our Communications Perhaps you live near the Woodrow “neighbors.” We wanted to produce a Coordinator r egular newsletter to communicate with you Wilson House, near Embassy Row in the Elena Popchock Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, DC, and others in the community. Collections Care in which case you are literally a “neighbor.” Thank you for the opportunity to serve as Housekeeper More likely you live farther away. Many of the executive director of the President Ashley Rits you live elsewhere in the United States, and Woodrow Wilson House. As I complete my Intern first year in this role, the museum staff and I some of you hail from around the world. Nevertheless, you are all part of the growing all sincerely appreciate the support we community that is President Wilson’s receive from the friends of Woodrow Wilson neighborhood. H ouse, our growing community. Amberly Meli & Stephanie Daugherty GUIDES THE CURATORIAL CORNER Curatorial Assistants Jean Baker In early October, members of our staff Impressionist” and “President Electric,” have Barbara Bates visited the exhibition space at the Woodrow been displayed at several sites in the last Wilson International Center for Scholars. year and continue to travel. These are Barbara Cherry Our objectives were to view their exhibition, examples of recent collaborations with other Mary Kay Cooney which includes several Wilson House President Wilson organizations. Heather Curtis objects, and to speak with members of the These partnerships sharpen and deepen Dick Goodwin Wilson Center staff in order to gain insight the memory of President Wilson, and we will Rich Goodwin on their objectives for promoting President continue to advance these relationships with Marjorie Kavanaugh Wilson’s legacy. pleasure and pride. Collaborations with other institutions that Carol Newell share the goal of keeping President Wilson’s Ivan Mogensen ideals alive are instrumental to the mission Elizabeth O’Brien On the Road: Traveling Exhibition of the Woodrow Wilson House. The Mary Frances Repko Woodrow Wilson House currently has “The Art of First Lady Ellen Axson Wilson: Barbara Troutner objects on loan to the Wilson Center, the American Impressionist” exhibition opens Betty Van Iersel Woodrow Wilson Presidential Museum and November 14 at the National First Ladies Peter Winkler Library in Staunton, Virginia, and the Edith Library in Canton, Ohio. The exhibition, Bolling Wilson Birthplace Foundation and which features the landscape paintings of Museum in Wytheville, Virginia. Further, our Wilson’s artistic first wife, will be in Ohio traveling exhibitions, “The Art of First Lady until May 2014. Ellen Axson Wilson: American Autumn 2013 3 The President Woodrow Wilson House This Season in History: President Wilson in the White House Nov. 25, 1913 – President Wilson’s second daughter Jessie marries Francis Bowes Sayre in the White House. Dec. 23, 1913 – President Wilson signs From left: His Excellency Petr Gandalovič, Ambassador of the Czech Republic, and Director Bob Enholm at “WILSON” biography book reception; check-in table at the annual Kalorama House and Embassy Tour; C-SPAN camera crew filming at the Wilson House for “First Ladies” series; performing historic restorations on the original 1915 iron gate in the front driveway. into law the Federal Reserve Act. RECENT HAPPENINGS at the House This act set up the central Lights! Camera! Action! banking system of the and Times about President Wilson’s United States of America. The President Woodrow Wilson House Secretary of the Navy. Craig, an expert on enjoyed some time in the spotlight in late economic history, discussed Daniels’ Dec. 26, 1913 – September when C-SPAN broadcast live controversial influence on twentieth-century President Wilson and from the museum during an episode of their politics as a longtime leader of the family begin a three original series First Ladies: Image and Democratic Party and key member of week holiday on the Influence. The special two-hour episode Woodrow Wilson’s cabinet. Both biographies Mississippi Gulf Coast. focused on the two First Ladies Ellen Axson are on sale in the Woodrow Wilson House Wilson and Edith Bolling Wilson. Executive This vacation allowed museum gift shop. Director Robert Enholm served as tour guide Wilson time to recuperate through the house to television viewers, who following a bout of House and Embassy Tour had the opportunity to see the official Wilson th influenza. September 15 marked the 28 annual White House China set in the formal dining Kalorama House and Embassy Tour for the «« • «« • « • » • »» • »» room. The excitement of preparing for the live broadcast was in the air at the Woodrow benefit of The President Woodrow Wilson Wilson House for weeks as the staff pulled House. Ticket holders took a peek inside special objects from collections storage and some of the gorgeous private homes and mapped the route of the on-air tour through embassies in the historic neighborhood. the museum. The episode featuring the Highlights on the tour this year included the Wilson First Ladies can be streamed online elegant residence of the Ambassador of at firstladies.c-span.org. Austria, the recently redecorated residence of the Ambassador of Portugal and the Biographies This season has marked the release of modern Embassy of the Republic of two Wilson-related biographies. In mid- Slovenia. Gorgeous weather and a hearty Spotlight on September the biography WILSON by volunteer force made the event a success for our collection Pulitzer prize-winning author A. Scott Berg attendees as well as for the Wilson House. was released. To celebrate the Woodrow League of Nations flag Wilson House invited guests to a reception at Repair and Maintenance Alice H. Allen of the residence of the Czech Ambassador. His With a building that is nearly a century Springfield, Ohio created Excellency Petr Gandalovič welcomed old, the museum staff is diligent about and patented in 1918 this guests, and museum director Robert Enholm attending to maintenance and repair.