eleanor roosevelt Visits Brown County
The Nashville House was also visited by Mrs. Roosevelt’ s group. Wearing a sports dress of black and white silk and her hair bound in a white scarf, Mrs. Roosevelt was not recognized at first.
Manager of the establishment, Carol Besteland, found her studying the displays of native handicrafts in the hotel’ s art shop, Brown County Folks( where Spears Gallery is located today).
Mrs. Roosevelt had just been through the mountains of Kentucky where she saw similar crafts being produced in communities there.
Long an advocate of regional industries, Mrs. Roosevelt had a lengthy conversation about the work of local artists, woodworkers, potters, and weavers with Mrs. William Kenton, director of the shop.
Purchases gathered by Mrs. Roosevelt included: a honey jar, two jam pots, three pitchers, and seven nested blue bowls, three Abigail dolls, and a Nancy Hanks doll. She also bought a box of walnut brittle, a specialty made right in the shop. She asked that the walnut brittle not be wrapped with the other items because she wanted to snack on it while traveling throughout the day.
After spending more than an hour in Nashville and shortly before noon, the famous entourage drove westward on Route 46 and then headed north on Route 43.
They stopped at the Midway, a“ refreshment stand” four miles south of Greencastle. It was familiar to residents and students of DePauw University.
Lunching on iced tea and sandwiches, the Roosevelt party just seemed like“ the average tourists who stop for a bite to eat,” reported the Midway’ s proprietor. As their meal was being prepared, Mrs. Roosevelt availed herself of the lunchroom’ s telephone and phoned a telegram to Chicago. The manager noted that the lunchroom was nearly empty when the Roosevelt group arrived. Word spread quickly and curious customers came throughout the day to see where the First Lady had eaten lunch. The Indiana leg of her trip must have felt carefree to the First Lady and her companions, because Mrs. Roosevelt’ s stay in Chicago consisted of a busy schedule of command functions.
She attended“ A Century of Progress International Exposition,” also known as the Chicago Worlds Fair, where two radio broadcasts were planned. This was followed by a meal with fair officials and a reception where she was the guest of honor. Though she asked to be“ let alone” to walk through the fair, Mrs. Roosevelt was quickly recognized and followed throughout.
Mrs. Roosevelt’ s visit to Brown County highlighted to a national audience the resilience and creative efforts of rural communities in the midst of the challenges of the Great Depression. It also focused on the New Deal programs of the Roosevelt administration that provided support and relief.
Eleanor Roosevelt served the nation as First Lady during her husband’ s administration as 32 nd president from March 4, 1933-April 12, 1945. She has a legacy of championing those who lived on the margins and is admired by many to this day. •
Jan./ Feb. 2025 • Our Brown County 41