Eleanor Roosevelt and The Poky Little Puppy
On our way home from Canada in August, Ray and I did what we enjoy so much — we stopped at historic sites on the way back home. One of our stops was the home of President Franklin Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York, and the nearby home of his wife Eleanor. When Roosevelt died, his wife Eleanor had to move, because she and Franklin, an only child, had made their home with his mother Sara. Sara and Franklin had decided to give the home to the U.S. government upon his death and had arranged everything in the home just the way they wanted it to be when it became a museum in honor of the 32nd president.
Eleanor resided in another home on the Roosevelt estate. How that came to be is a rather complicated story, which I’ll skip, at least for today, because what I really want to tell you about is a volunteer we met at Eleanor Roosevelt’s home.
When we arrived in the visitor center, I noticed an elderly woman, dressed in a National Park Service uniform and welcoming visitors. After our tour, I learned that she was a volunteer and that she was 94 years old. By then, she was visiting with friends on a bench outside. That’s when we had the privilege of meeting her.
Today Doris Mack volunteers at Eleanor Roosevelt’s home, but during Eleanor’s lifetime, Doris was a guest there. Doris’ husband worked at a nearby school for troubled boys. Franklin and Eleanor hosted parties for those boys and thus Doris and Eleanor became acquainted. Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote about Doris’ husband in her long-running newspaper column, “My Day.”
Doris continues to volunteer at Eleanor Roosevelt’s home because of her devotion to her friend. She also said that she continues to come there, because then “I don’t feel sorry for myself.”
Doris had a career as a proofreader with Western Publishing Company. She proofread Little Golden Books! As a lover of Little Golden Books, I was excited to learn that she proofread The Poky Little Puppy. Western Publishing Company began the Little Golden Books series in 1942 with twelve titles; one of those titles was The Poky Little Puppy.
After our short visit, I saw Mrs. Mack, sitting on the same park bench with her minister who had stopped by. They sat side by side, visiting and looking at his cell phone. Doris Mack was born during the Roaring Twenties. She proofread The Poky Little Puppy. Her husband worked with troubled boys. She became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt. On a mild August day, she volunteered at her friend’s historic home and shared moments with her minister, finding something of interest on his cell phone, and I had the opportunity to sit down beside her — what a privilege.
A friend loves at all times . . . .
Proverbs 17:17
Aren’t you glad you took the time to strike up a conversation??!! Talk about living history!