The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Program Foreign Service Spouse Series BEATRICE BISHOP BERLE Interviewed by: Jewell Fenzi Initial interview date: September 9, 1989 TABLE OF CONTENTS Washington Years 1 38-1 44 Adolf Augustus Berle Jr. is member of FDR*s Brain Trust (1 32- Becomes Assistant Secretary of State Family moved to Washington. into Woodley. Henry Stimson*s home Cordell Hull entertained the 0fancy people1. Berles the 0others1 Hull. cro2uet enthusiast. played daily at the Berles*. children re2uired to be 2uiet Daughter Beatrice is stung by yello3 jac5ets during a game Hull*s cro2uet s5ills. other players 6 Stanley Hornbec5. Jimmy Dunn Balances children. household. entertaining. and medical research internship While at Public Health Service. establishes a health service for 7S8 employees Is commissioned a Ma4or in the Coast 8uard during World War II Entitled to 0C1 gas ration card: chauffeurs three children to Potomac School and AABerle to State. before reaching her office Rio de Janeiro. Brazil 1 45 AAB disillusioned 3ith government service. hesitant to become Ambassador to Brazil Family urges. convinces him to accept BBB bought hotel silver service. linens for family and numerous domestics. extra daily china; 3as not reimbursed Dining room could seat sixty Aolunteer 3or5 at Santa Casa. Rio city hospital Administered first penicillin in Brazil Portuguese lessons for family 3ere at Berle expense Opinion of 0Regular vs. Non-career attitude to3ard host country AEP Jefferson Caffery. an able diplomat but 0not of the people1 Founds Aolunarias. volunteers 3ho met 3ee5ly at Embassy Residence to se3 for favela Children Society 3omen floc5ed to assist; Aoluntaries became 0a social thing1 Se3ing machines. donated by Singer. 3ere set up in Embassy ball room Celebration for 8eneral Mar5 Clar5 and the Brazilian Expeditionary Forces 0Boo5 of Preventative Medicine1 3hich had Brazilian publisher; ho3 to build 1 privies. discussion of tropical diseases Washington. DC Disapproval of Mrs. Hull*s gossiping about Sumner Welles scandal during BBB*s annual protocol call Beatrice. age 12. arranges seating for representative dinners by calling Chief of Protocol Intimate family dinners 3ith Henry Wallace and Harlan Stone Attributes her ability to balance medical career and State entertaining to availability of good hel Rio de Janeiro. Brazil 1 45-1 4C Sets up Saturday clinic in Residence pantry for families of Embassy staff Washington. DC Saga of Alice finding Daddie. a stray Beatrice. at 11. 3ears the Hope diamond Mrs. Delano Robbins and her purple hair Marie Beale. Evalyn Walsh McDean. Airginia Bacon as noted Washington hostesses Mrs. Beale and Mrs. Shipley (Passport Office- Dac5 of funds for spouse training Eleanor Roosevelt*s lac5 of formal education INTERVIEW Q: This is Jewell Fenzi on September 9, 1989. I am tal ing with Beatrice Berle and her daughter Beatrice Meyerson at my home. Why don't you just briefly fill me in on how you and your husband happened to come to Washington, and what year. BERDE: Well. Adolf Berle 3as a member of the original Brain Trust in 1 32. before Roosevelt 3as nominated; and he 3as called in by Sam Rosenman. 3ho 3as a partner and special friend of RooseveltEs and 3ho collected various people. including Raymond Moley and Adolf Berle and Rexford Tug3ell as members of the original Brain Trust. After Roosevelt 3as elected. Adolf became financial adviser to the Federal Reserve headed by Jesse Jones. Then people 3anted Adolf to come to the State Department. In 1 38 he came to the State Department. He 3as a man 3ho usually had great vision of 3orld events but he said FOh. IEll be home soon. thereEs not going to be anything --F Of course. there 3as. so in the summer of 1 3 3e moved to Washington. only for the summer. 3e thought. We lived in 2 FWoodley.F the residence of Henry Stimson at 3000 Cathedral Ave.. NW. We did not have a lease. rather. an arrangement. Adolf said. FIt 3on*t be for long but if you insist on spending the summer in Washington. letEs have a nice house. Stimson 3ill let us rent the house for not very much on the condition that 3hen or if he should be called bac5 into government. 3eEll have to move. When I 3ant to get out of it. IEll move SsssttHF (ma5ing short 3histling sound- Of course Stimson did get called bac5 Ias Secretary of WarJ. 3hich 3as least expected. and 3e had to move. I donEt 5no3 if his place on Cathedral Avenue still exists. Q: Oh yes, I thin it is -- the Maret School. So you lived there that summer. Where was Stimson at that time, BERDE: He 3as in Ne3 Yor5 in his la3 office. So. he became. unexpectedly. Secretary of War. We continued living here. in various places. Q: I just want a bit of bac ground on what brought you here. I remembered your telling of your interesting living arrangements. Did you immediately assume a public role when you came to Washington, supporting your husband in his State Department entertaining and -- BERDE: No. Q: -- because you yourself were a doctor. BERDE: Yes. I am a retired physician no3. Eventually Adolf and I 3ere stuc5 3ith a great deal of entertaining because Mr. ICordellJ Hull ICordell Hull 3as Fran5lin D. RooseveltEs Secretary of State. 1 33-44J didnEt entertain. He lived at the Wardman Par5 Hotel. Sumner IWellesJ ISumner Welles. a career diplomat. 3as 7nder Secretary of State 1 37-43J lived out at Oxon Hill. Maryland. so he entertained the FfancyF people out there. and did it very grandly. So 3e 3ere the ones 3ho 3ere left 3ith Fother peopleF (she laughs- so 3e eventually had to do a great deal of entertaining. After the Stimson house 3e lived at Single Oa5 (2 00 Cathedral Ave.. NW- for one year; itEs no3 the S3iss Embassy. Eventually 3e lived at 4000 Nebras5a Avenue. 3hich is no3 the site of the Japanese Embassy. The house 3e lived in 3as torn do3n. There 3ere tennis courts at Woodley 3hen 3e lived there. and a cro2uet court at the bottom of the hill. Henry Wallace ISecretary of AgricultureJ 3as among the prominent Ne3 Dealers 3ho came to play tennis; Mr. Hull played cro2uet. At one point there 3as a scientific congress 3hich the White House 3as supposed to FdoF but didnEt. and they as5ed us to do it and advanced money. That resulted. at Woodley. in a party to end all parties because 3e danced on the tennis courts. And one of my recollections is Albert Einstein 3al5ing do3n the long slope in front. That night I also learned never to 3ear a ring on my right hand 3hen standing in a receiving line and sha5ing hands 3ith a thousand people. It hurtsH 3 Another of my notable memories is of a dinner party on a sno3y night at Single Oa5. Henri5 Lauffmann. then Danish Ambassador to Washington. came in early in his dinner 4ac5et and as5ed if he could borro3 our s5is. I remember him slipping into the s5is and sailing do3n the hill. That house had the best sledding hill in Washington. When Hull played cro2uet. the young. that is to say my children. 3ere supposed to be not seen and not heard. My daughters. Beatrice and Alice. climbed a tree one afternoon 3hile the game 3as in progress. Beatrice sat on a branch 3here yello3 jac5ets had nested. OH O7CHH she cried out; and screamed and screamed. Which therefore made her a Fheard.F Finally she jumped out of the tree -- after being stung about eight times -- and after I plastered her 3ith bicarbonate of soda. 3e 3al5ed do3n to the tennis court to apologize to Mr. Hull for messing up the game. and also to sho3. I guess. that 3e 3erenEt into torturing children at the BerlesE house. Hull played cro2uet every single day. at 5 oEcloc5. I thin5 it 3as. 3ith three pic5ed people at the State Department. He 3ould designate 3hom he 3anted to play 3ith. The best player 3as Stanley Hornbec5 IStanley Hornbec5 3as a Far East advisor. and in 1 44 ambassador to The Netherlands.J another 3as Jimmy IJames ClementJ Dunn IJames C. Dunn 3as Assistant Secretary of State 1 44-4C; Ambassador to Italy. France. Spain and Brazil 1 4C-5C.J -- the only people 3ho ever beat him. Stanley Hornbec5 had a large abdomen. The children 3ould sit at the bottom of the hill and 3atch him. Most people shoot cro2uet sort of side3ays. a fe3 3ould shoot bet3een their legs. Stanley Hornbec5 3as fascinating 3hen he leaned do3n. you could see the tummy coming in bet3een his legs. They (the children- had a 3ormEs eye vie3. Hull al3ays pic5ed the 3ea5est player to be his partner. And he al3ays used a red ball. He 3ould go around the 3hole course in one turn. because of course 3hen you go through a 3ic5et you get a free shot. and he 5ept going the 3hole 3ay around. Before hitting the final sta5e. he 3ould usually 3ith his free shot go bac5. get his partnerEs ball. and hit it through all the 3ic5ets. you see. (Fenzi gasps- It didnEt al3ays end that 2uic5ly; but he 3as almost never beaten except by Hornbec5 and Jimmy Dunn. I can*t recall 3ho it 3as 3ho al3ays said. FIEll have the yaller ball.F 3hich surprised my children 3ho didnEt thin5 it 3as yaller at all. it 3as orange. Adolf seldom seemed to have the time to play. and 3hen he did. since he 3asnEt very good. he 3as al3ays HullEs partner.