Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Floating White House” Oakland, California 2011 Winter Edition FDR and The March of Dimes INSIDE THIS ISSUE: By Edward I. Bloom Eleanor and the Royal Visit When Franklin Roosevelt con- By PAULETTE LANGGUTH tracted infantile paralysis (polio) Thoughts from the First Lady on the in 1921, very little was known British Royals’ 1939 visit . .2 about its cause, treatment, or potential for a cure. The best The Potomac Challenge Coin medical advice available was to By LES MARKS Newly minted, and more than just base treatment on a regimen of another collectible . 4 hot compresses, massages, and gentle exercise of the afflicted Mooring Lines areas. Searching for anything By VIRGINIA RAPP that might assist in even a par- Notes on “going electronic” . .4 tial recovery, Roosevelt heard of the healing properties of the hot Marti’s Musings… mineral waters at Warm Springs, By MARTI BURCHELL Georgia. He went there and A gift from the past . 5 found a tiny village with an old Notes from the Archives… hotel near the famous springs. FDR enjoying a therapeutic swim in Warm Springs The Potomac’s Inaugural Cruise He felt that the waters did have a By HANK LANEY, Curator beneficial effect, perhaps out of wishful thinking, and arranged to buy the entire The maiden voyage is an all-around property. This led to the establishment of the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation success - good seas, good will, and in 1927, supported in part through solicited private donations given at Birthday good fishing. .6 Balls hosted by FDR on the anniversary of his birthday, January 30. The purpose of the Foundation was to support pioneering research in physical therapy and “All Aboard” - FDR & Railroads water treatments for polio victims. By BRAD BUNNIN Railroads in the President’s life On September 23, 1937, FDR issued a presidential proclamation announcing and death . .7 the creation of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to carry on the 2011 Cruise Schedule fight against polio on a nation-wide basis. This inspired entertainer Eddie Can- The Potomac offers a wide range of tor to organize a national fund events and cruises for the coming raising campaign for the next season. Take a look - it’s not too Birthday Balls in California. soon to book your favorites now. 9 Meeting with Hollywood studio executives in November, Cantor Friends of the Potomac proposed a 30-second national The most important page in this radio spot asking the public to issue of Potomac Currents. 10 send dimes and other small don- POTOMAC LINKS: tions directly to the White House to support the new foundation. Visit the USS Potomac on Facebook In a take-off on the well-known Events and Cruises The March of Time newsreels, Student Tours Cantor came up with the catchy Private Charters phrase “March of Dimes” that Become a Friend of the Potomac FDR and Eddie Cantor, 1938 captured the public’s imagination. Continued, Page 5 ELEANOR AND THE ROYAL VISIT By Paulette Langguth I find it interesting that a nation of people whose forefathers suffered and died to separate from the British Monarchy seem to have a never-ending obsession with the English Royal family. (Given the current media frenzy over Prince William’s engagement, I am resigned to the fact that this engagement, and the ensuing wedding, will be top news stories for months to come. Define “news” as you will.) Consider that George Washington, “aware that everything he did set a precedent, at- tended carefully to the pomp and ceremony of office, making sure that the titles and trappings were suitably republican and never emulated European royal courts. To that end, he preferred the title ‘Mr. President’ to the more majestic names sug- gested.” Fast forward to 1939. One can only wonder what Eleanor was thinking as the English Royals’ visit approached, the first ever in this country’s history. In August of 1938, FDR sent a letter to England’s King George VI inviting the King and Queen to visit the United States and stay at the White House. This visit would coincide with the Royals’ scheduled visit to Canada in June of 1939. The visit was not strictly social, although it was later publicized as such. Con- sidering the escalating trouble in Europe, FDR was anxious for an opportunity to personally establish a sound, working relationship with the King of Eng- land. After a great deal of correspondence, the invitation was accepted and plans were put in place for the royal visit. The expression “the devil is in the details” takes on new meaning when you read what was necessary to accommodate these guests. First, obviously, it was not just the King and Queen to plan for. The Royal Party included Ladies-in-Waiting, the Prime Minister of Canada, Lord-in-Waiting to the King, Lord Cham- berlain to the Queen, Acting Private Secretary to the King, Medical Officer, Chief Press Liaison Officer, Assistant Private Secretary to the King, Equerries to King and Queen boarding the Potomac the King, and the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada, among others. Next, consider the accommodations. This is a partial list provided to the White House of “Suggestions for the furnishing of His Majesty’s Room: • Large bed with the head against the wall. (Never with the side along the wall) • No bolster – two pillows, Very soft eider down quilt, which can be accordion-pleated at the foot of the bed • On each side of the bed a bedside table with a lamp • Great number of hangers – some of them very wide with the back slightly curved, others with a double bar for trousers • On the desk an inkstand with two inkwells – one full of blue-black, the other of red ink • To be ready to supply if requested, garnet-red and white carnations for boutonnieres.” Needless to say, there was a similar, extensive list for the Queen. Of interest to our Potomac Currents readers is a section of the itinerary submitted to the King and Queen, by FDR, in a letter dated January 18, 1939. Plan I included the following schedule for Thursday, June 8. Continued, Page 3 -2- “Eleanor” from page 2 “11:30a.m. Arrive at the White House 12:30p.m. Motor to Navy Yard and go on board my small yacht USS POTOMAC Lunch on board while proceeding down the river to Mount Vernon – a distance of about eighteen miles. Go ashore at Mount Vernon, visit the house, lay a wreath on President Washington’s Tomb and motor back to the White House where we would have family tea and give you a couple of hours of rest. 8:00p.m. State Dinner.” The subsequent days and nights of the visit were filled with tours, inspections, dinners, teas, ceremonies, and meetings. It would appear that every available minute was scheduled. In Eleanor’s book, This I Remember, she recounts the time immediately following the trip on the USS Potomac. (Due to a fear of drowning, this was one of the very few times Elea- nor was aboard the yacht.) “On the way home we stopped at Fort Hunt to visit a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. My husband, of course, could not walk with the King and Queen, but I have a vivid recollection of that visit; it taught me many things. The King walked with the commandant of the camp toward the boys, who were drawn up in two lines in the broiling sun. As we went down the long line, the King stopped at every other boy and asked questions while the Queen spoke to the intervening boys. I, of course, walked with the Queen. At the end of the first line, the commandant was prepared not to go down the second one, but the King turned automatically and started down.” The King, who had King and Queen casting off. established summer camps for boys from the mining areas of Great Britain, was interested in creating something that he perceived to be as useful as our CCC. Eleanor also writes about a thoughtful gesture, on the part of the Queen, as the royal couple were about to board their train leaving Hyde Park station. “…the Queen suddenly came back to me and said: ‘Where is the man who has been driving the King? I want to thank him.’ I found my husband’s chauffeur and the Queen thanked him for the care with which he had driven.” The Roosevelt’s had found much to ad- mire in the King and Queen and sent them off with compassion and concern for what lay ahead of them. The visit King and Queen aboard the Potomac. was deemed successful, if exhausting. Note Royal Flag forward and Presidential Flag midship. Trivia Question What did Winston Churchill call Franklin Roosevelt ? Answer: “POTUS” ( President of the United States ) States United the of President ( “POTUS” Answer: -3- THE POTOMAC CHALLENGE COIN By Les Marks out work for a coin. One side was a no-brainer; it would be FDR’s Presidential Seal. The flip side required a lot of imagination and creativity. We looked at many pictures of the Potomac, the White House and FDR, and by September the design work was complete to our satisfaction. With funding provided by an anonymous donor, our design was sent to a coin maker to develop a proof. It was beauti- fully rendered, and we put in an order for 200 coins. The shipment arrived in plenty of time to go on sale in our on- board gift shop during Fleet Week. They were well received, The idea to create a Challenge Coin for the USS Potomac and continue to be a popular item with our visitors.