. , I. Papers of LO RENA HICKOK 1913 - 1962 Accession Number: MS 59-2 The papers were presented to the Library by Lorena Hickok in 1958. They were kept c losed until ten years afte r he r death (until May 1, 1978) accord ing to a prov i sion in her 'deed of gift. Miss Hickok donated her copyrights in the papers to the United States Govern­ ment . Copyrights in the .,r itings of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in the papers have been retained. In format ion concerning them should be sought from her 1 iterary executor, Mr. Fran kl in D. Roo sevelt, Jr. Quantity: 8 1 inear fee t (approx imate ly 16,000 pages) Re s trictions: Material wh ich might be used to emba rrass, harass, or inju re 1 iving persons has been closed . Related Materials: Selected fi l es in the Persona l and Official Files of the Pape rs of Franklin D. Rooseve lt as Pres ident of the United Sta t es, and in the papers of Mary Dewson, Har ry Hopkins, El eano r Rooseve lt and Aub rey Will iams. ) / LORENA HICKOK 1893 - 1968 Lore na Hickok w~s born on Ma r ch 7, 1893, in East Troy, Wiscons in. Throughout he r ch il dhood , she traveled with he r fam i ly through the up­ per midl'/est as her fathe r fol l Ol'/ed his itinerant buttermak i ng trade . Her mothe r died ,"/hen Mi ss Hickok was th i rteen. Three years afterY/ard she went to Battl e Creek , l'l i ch i gan , to I i ve with he r mothe r' s cousin, Ell a Ell ie . The r e she attended High School, f ini shing i n three years . Afte r a br i eF attemp t at coll ege, Miss Hickok took her first job with a newspaper, col l ect i ng persona l s For the Battle Cr eek ~vening News . Af ter a second a nd a th ird attempt at co l l ege , she dec i ded to pursue a career in journal ism . In the summe r of 19 19 she was ap- po i nted Sunday editor of the Minneapo l is !r i bun~_. The paper ' s manag­ ing editor, Thomas J . Dill on, gave he r opportun i t i es that ,"Ie r e seldom g i ven to a l'loman . He gave her a by-I ine and made her the paper ' s chief r eport e r, and for the next s i x yea r s she cove r ed pol i t i cs and footba ll and prepare d ed i tori a l s . In 1926, Mi ss Hickok left the Tribune and, afte r a per i od of trave l and ill-hea lth, she \-Ient to Nel" York. She ,;orked, f i rst, for about a year, for the Mirror . The n, i n 1928 , she began "/ork with the Assoc i ated Press, wh e re she aga in found an editor, Ma rtin A. White , Vlha diJ not restrict he r to the Fevi a reas o f the proFess i on tradit i on­ al.1y a llotted to ,·:omen. Her spec i a l ty ",as po li t i ca l report i ng, and she often shared campa i gn tra i ns with dozens of he r ma l e coll eagues . In the summer of 1928 , whil e she was cove ring the headquar t e r s of the Democratic National Committee i n NBI"J York City, "\iss Hic kok 'vas introduced to El eanor Rooseve l t by '·\rs. Roosevelt ' s secretary, Ma lvina Thompson . Mrs. Rooseve l t vias head of the \-Iomen ' s Divis i on of the Democ r at i c Na t i onal Co mm i ttee dur i ng the 1928 campa i gn, and Mi ss Hickok wo uld on vlhat she called " du ll days" at Democratic Na- tiona l Headquarte r s I'Jande r down to the 14ome n ' s Di v i sion and l ook for a story. The two women formed dur i ng this per iod a s l i ght acqua i nt- ance . FOllr yea r s l ater, '-i iss Hi c kok was as s i gned by 'the Assoc iated Press to, cover the Pres i dentia l campa i gn ' of Fr ank l i n D. Rooseve l t . Sh e s uggested that someone be ass i gned to cove r Mrs . Roosevelt, but the A.P . r es i sted the i dea un ti l ve'r y l ate i n the c ampa ign vlhe n Roosevelt's v i ctory appeared certa i n. In October 1932, Mi ss Hi ckok was assigned excl us ive l y to '·\r s . Rooseve l t . Fo r t he f ina l mont h of the camp aign, and then fo r the four mo nth interreg num period, the t wo \-Iomen went eve r y" here t oge t her. By i na ugurat io n day, 1933 , they had become close fr i ends . ~ Mi ss Hickok ' s pr'ess cove r/age o f /; r s . Rooseve lt ended on i na u- g uration day, a nd she r eturned to New York . She found tha t her friendship "lith Mrs . Roosevelt had compromised her ab il i ty to con- tinue her 1·lo rk. As a conse'luence, she r es i gned from the Assoc iated Press in l ate June 1933 . After a mo t or ing tri p with Mrs. Rooseve lt th roug h ups t a te New Yo r k , New Eng l and, Quebec and the Gaspe Pen i nsula, Mi ss Hi ckok began "lO r k, probabl y in Auyust 1933, as a Ch i ef Investi gator for the Federa l Emergency Re I ief Administ r at i on . He r major dut i es in this pos i ti on we r e to travel around the country a nd t o r eport on bot h the effect i ve- ness of l oca l r eI ief adm inistrat i ons and the physical and menta l con- dit ion of those rece i v ing reI i e f. She a l s o accepted f rom Presiden t Roosevelt in the spring of 1935 a spec ial i nvest i gat i ng a ss i gnment i n connecti o n with the adm inistrat ion of the Nat.iona l Eme r gency Counci l. During th i s period, Mi ss Hi ckok made t \·,o other extended trips wi th Mr s . Rooseve lt: the f irst , in ~Ia rch 1934 , to Pue rto Rico a nd the Virg in I s lands; th-= second , in July 1934, to San Francisco, Sacra- mento, Yosemite Na ti ona l Park, and Nevada . Mi ss Hi ckok r es i gned from the Fede r,'] Eme r gency Re I i ef Adm ini s- trat i on in l ate November 1936 . In January 1937 , she accepted a po- sition as director o f promo tion for the NevJ York Wo rl d ' s Fair. 111 he r first fe", mo nths "lith the Fair, 11iss Hickok establ i shed the pat- tern of li v i ng -- that i s, of commut i ng from her ~Ian h atta n apartment to he r ",ee• kend a nd ho I i day retrea t a t flo ri ches , Long Is l and , the '''Li ttle Ho use" on the estat e of Wi II i am S . Dana wh i c h i s muc h i n ev i dence i n her correspondence "lith /·Irs . Rooseve l t dur i ng t hese years, She l eft the ~levJ Yo r k \·/o rl d ' s Fair i n l ate J a nuary 1940, t o take a post as a ss i stant to the pub l icity d irec t or o f the Democrat i c Na- tiona l Co mm ittee . Some ti me short l y a f ter the 191,0 e l e ction, she t ,"ans- ferred to the Wom e n's Div i sion of the Democratic tliltiona l Comm i ttee to become its execut i ve d i rector. She 1 i ved , dur i ng these yea r s i n \-Iash ington -- as s he occas ionally ha d du ring her ~Iork ,·li th the Fed- e r a l Eme r gency Re I ief Adm ini st r at i on -- at the \,h ite House . In March 1945, she r e signed her post because of i ll-hea l th . From March 19LI5 until somet ime in mid-1947, Mis s Hickok li ved in pa rt i a l r eti r ement, dependent for i ncome pr i ma ril y o n t he p ro- ceeds from he r wr iting a nd on the generosity of her friends . Sh e he lped Eleanor Roosevelt and Congress~loman Ma r y Norton "lith seve ral, "rit i ng projects and '''as ent ered for a ti me on the l atter' s staff pay ro ll.