— Inaugural Address of Theodore Roosevelt, March 4, 1905

Photo by Joe Peragallo from TRLP Photo Walk, Fall 2021

As we move into Fall, 2021, we continue to witness changes at Sagamore Hill – changes that include the removal of the old Visitors Center and the pollinator garden but also the departure of our seasonal rangers, John Fetter and Bill Wallace and Shannon McLucas, Acting Chief of Interpretation. During Shannon’s brief tenure, she worked with staff to offer a variety of outdoor programs, and she helped develop plans for the eventual expanded house tour schedule, for re-orientation programs for returning volunteers, and for how the Old Orchard Museum might eventually be accessed by the public given continuing COVID restrictions on occupancy. We extend our thanks to Shannon and wish her all the best as she returns to her home park at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine and Hampton National Historic Site in Maryland. Erin Whittaker, the new permanent Chief of Interpretation, will be arriving in early December, and the Park staff will be scheduling meetings with volunteers in the early part of 2022, to provide more concrete information on planning for the new year as circumstances in the current environment evolve. (See the Superintendent’s remarks below.)

An update on the situation involving the removal of the statue of TR that stood at the entrance to the Museum of Natural History is detailed in an article in The New York Times on November 20, 2021: "Roosevelt Statue to Head to Presidential Library in North Dakota." Designed by American sculptor James Earle Fraser, the bronze statue of Roosevelt flanked by a Native American and an African man will be relocated to the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota. The statue is on loan from the Museum, its use subject to approval by New York City’s Public Design Commission. In recent years, public protests over its colonialist symbolism resulted in a decision to remove the statue. Once the statue is relocated, the Roosevelt family and the Presidential Library staff, “will also establish an advisory council composed of representatives of Indigenous and Black people, as well as historians, scholars, and artists to determine how to recontextualize the statue.” Theodore Roosevelt V, TR’s great-great-grandson, issued this statement supportive of the statue’s relocation: “It is fitting that the statue is being relocated to a place where its composition can be recontextualized to facilitate difficult, complex and inclusive discussions.”

Finally, thanks to Milton Elis, “Rough Writer editor emeritus” for alerting us to the Times article above, and to each of you, our gratitude for your continued commitment to sharing your time and talent in telling the stories of Sagamore Hill, we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Stay in touch,

We will experience a variety of operational changes in 2022 as the federal government and the country at-large continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 27, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior announced that the re-entry of Department employees (which includes the National Park Service) to federal workplaces is expected to begin in January and run through March 2022. While employees at Sagamore Hill have been working on-site throughout the pandemic, we expect additional changes to our operations, COVID safety requirements, building occupancy levels, public health measures, etc. beginning January - March 2022. 

A large component of “re-entry” to federal workplaces in 2022 will require re-orientation and new training for park volunteers. We are currently developing training for volunteers that previously provided visitor services at the Theodore Roosevelt Home and Old Orchard Museum. This training will be offered beginning in late January. We're also identifying and evaluating potential projects for existing cultural resource volunteers that may begin in late January as well. These upcoming trainings are an important preparatory step for resuming indoor volunteer services in 2022 – and stay tuned for additional updates in early January.

Shannon McLucas, our acting Chief of Interpretation, recently concluded her detail assignment at Sagamore Hill and returned to Fort McHenry NM&HS and Hampton NHS on November 20. Erin Whittaker, the new permanent Chief of Interpretation, is scheduled to arrive from Zion National Park on December 10. Shannon provided outstanding leadership and support to the park during her detail, and we’re looking forward to welcoming Erin next month. We also want to recognize and thank interpreters Bill Wallace and John Fetter, who are also wrapping up their 2021 season in late November.

It’s that time of year when turkeys and Presidents share the news. Staying with tradition, the NY Times reported that President Biden “pardoned” “Peanut Butter” and “Jelly”, two massive turkeys who, rather than being “basted” and served on large platters, will serve out their natural lives in Indiana. One of TR’s turkeys also got journalistic coverage in 1907. Brenda Cherry, curatorial volunteer and unofficial archival researcher, discovered this article from the November 27, 1907 issue of the Evening Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) about TR’s turkey, a 28 pounder who was not “pardoned” and as far as we know, did not have a name. Before the Roosevelt family dug into their Thanksgiving feast at the White House, TR and Mrs. Roosevelt visited the tomb of President James Madison in Montpelier, Virginia, the last of the presidential burial sites south of the Mason-Dixon Line visited by Roosevelt.

The Friends of Sagamore Hill is please to announce a virtual event is being planned that is certain to be worth putting February 2, 2022, on your calendar – Making History On Screen, featuring Ken Burns and Geoffrey Ward, two of the most respected documentarians in recent memory. Some of you may recall the fundraiser we had in 2014 when both men came to Sagamore Hill, showed a preview of their film The Roosevelts - An Intimate History, and remained afterwards to answer questions. They have graciously agreed to come back via Zoom and talk more broadly about their entire body of work. We will keep you posted as details are firmed up.

October 27 dawned gray and blustery, but it did not diminish the spirits of all those attending the wreath-laying ceremony on Theodore Roosevelt’s grave in Youngs Memorial Cemetery in Oyster Bay Cove to mark his 163rd birthday. Oyster Bay Town Historian John Hammond presided over this annual event. He introduced representatives from the Oyster Bay Schools, members of the American Legion from Bayville and Oyster Bay, two members of the US Navy, and Superintendent Jonathan Parker and Acting Chief of Interpretation Shannon McLucas representing Sagamore Hill. Hammond welcomed everyone including four busloads of second-grade students from the Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School. He told us that a wreath-laying ceremony has been going on since 1919 and local school children have long been part of the ceremony. A wreath was presented by Jonathan and Shannon on behalf of Sagamore Hill (thank you to FOSH for paying for the wreath). The Presidential wreath was presented by CDR Creighton Ho and LT Jerrad Denney who are both stationed on Long Island. Then the children sang America the Beautiful and two students from Oyster Bay High School played taps. The ceremony concluded with the children each placing a red, white, or blue carnation on TR’s grave.

In 1919, things were much different. On October 20, 1919, as part of opening day ceremonies of Roosevelt Week, to honor Theodore Roosevelt and raise funds for the restoration of Roosevelt House in New York City, military aviators flew from Hazelhurst Field in Mineola, NY, to Oyster Bay to drop wreaths on Roosevelt's grave site. The pilots were given two wreaths, one with a ribbon inscribed "American Legion" and the other "Spanish American War Veterans". The wreaths were dropped over the cemetery where a group of men retrieved them and carried them to the grave site. Even more remarkable, you can view a film of this event by clicking here.

Another impressive event took place in 1938, when 6,000 Boy Scouts along with Scout Commissioner Dan Beard attended the ceremony commemorating TR’s birthday. Click here to see it.

Almost three years after the Christmas Eve 2018 fire that damaged the former Visitor Center, the non-historic building finally came down in October. It took about a week for the contractor to complete the job.

The garden was established in June 2016, in partnership with Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society (HOBAS), Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center, and Audubon New York. The garden, designed with native plants, was used as an educational tool to help the public better understand the critical need for native and wildlife-friendly landscaping. Planting took place on June 17, 2016 and was led by graduates of Audubon New York’s For the Birds! environmental education program from Washington Rose School in Roosevelt, NY. More than 150 native plants were donated by HOBAS for inclusion in the planting. Project funding came from Sagamore Hill, HOBAS, and Audubon New York, which received a generous grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Long Island Futures Fund to establish this garden.

In the spring, Lois Lindberg and Brenda Cherry marked several specimen plants that would have been good candidates for re-planting. However because of delays due in part to COVID restrictions of working together, the garden became overgrown, weedy, and entangled with invasive plants making moving any of the plants a major challenge, requiring much more effort and assistance than was available. Although no plants were saved, Lois Lindberg and Rick Elinson were able to rescue some Monarch caterpillars and move them to milkweed plants already in the fields. While the demise of this important garden is disappointing, hopefully some of the wildflower seeds will find their way into the surrounding fields to become established naturally. 

Photos by Lois Lindberg

The Theodore Roosevelt Legacy Partnership Board is looking to compile a list of licensed landscape contractors who have the expertise to review the plans for the historic garden and submit bids as to budget, proposed materials, etc. We would like to develop a short list of companies based on recommendations from all of you (and your connections) and then reach out to them with the plans to have them walk through the property with Sagamore Hill staff and a member of the garden committee. We would hope to get a bid on the project, a proposed timeline, and materials list.

For more information or any names of contractors, please email Bill Reed at TRLegacyPartnerhip@gmail.com.

While, “Leaf Peeping” in New England in early October. Danny Karas and his wife Cheryl visited the home and studio of Augustus Saint-Gaudens NPS in Cornish, NH, where they found Park Ranger Marie Clifford who gave them a personalized VIP tour. Danny reported that it was a treat to see the Theodore Roosevelt 1905 Inaugural Medal and gold coinage TR and Saint-Gaudens collaborated on.

October 27, 1858 – TR is born this day at 28 East 20th Street, in New York City.

October 18, 1878 – TR meets Alice Lee.

October 27, 1880 – TR marries Alice Lee on his 22nd birthday (Alice was 19).

October 16, 1901 – Booker T. Washington dines at the White House with the Roosevelt family, the first time a Black person eats at the same table with a President of the U.S.

October 14, 1912 – TR is shot by John Schrank as he prepares to deliver a campaign speech in Milwaukee. Refusing medical treatment, TR goes on to deliver an hour-long speech before collapsing and receiving medical attention.

November 5, 1873 – TR, Elliott, and Corinne return to New York after living with a family in Dresden, Germany for 5 months.

November 8, 1881 – TR elected to the NY State Assembly for the first time, representing the 21st district. He is re-elected in November 1883.

November 1885 – TR begins a secret courtship of Edith Carow.

November 8, 1898 – TR elected Governor of New York.

November 1900 – William McKinley is re-elected President with TR as his Vice-President.

November 13, 1902 – TR goes on a bear hunt in Mississippi. His refusal to kill a bear that was tied to a tree gives comic fodder to journalists and cartoonists, but a toymaker in Brooklyn gains permission from TR to name a stuffed bear, “Teddy’s Bear” and the rest is history.

November 18, 1903 – The Panama Canal Treaty is signed.

November 8, 1904 – TR is re-elected President, winning 336 electoral votes to Alton Parker’s 140.

November 1906 – TR travels to Panama, becoming the first sitting President to travel outside the U.S.

November 5, 1912 – TR runs as a third-party candidate for President against Republican William Taft. TR’s Progressive Party splits the Republican vote giving the presidency to Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Though he loses the race, TR wins the largest number of votes of any third-party candidate in U.S. history.

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TRLP President Bill Reed explained the mission of the TRLP and outlined the day’s activities. Superintendent Jonathan Parker welcomed the participants and shared stories about his own photo experiences in the national parks. The participants were divided into four groups led by Tyler Kuliberda, Bill Wallace, Rick Elinson, Robin Wexler, and Brenda Cherry. Walking past the House and along the old carriage road to the tennis court and then along the nature trail to the beach, the participants asked questions about the architecture and history of the site, Roosevelt family life, and the natural setting. 

The weather was a little overcast, but the group was enthusiastic. Check the TRLP website and Facebook page to see some more photos.

Photo by Marsha Knopp

As interesting, even intriguing, as the story of Theodore Roosevelt’s life is, some events that took place at his home in Oyster Bay can get lost in sensational hyperbole – and result in unintentional inaccuracies in some of the narrative details heard on tours (TR himself was occasionally accused of using exaggeration to enliven a tale). A case in point is the story of Henry Weilbrenner’s visit to Sagamore Hill on the evening of September 1, 1903.

Nava Berger, former Park Guide and author of Theodore Roosevelt’s Assassination Incident of 1903 (1), recalls hearing the story of Weilbrenner’s late-night visit to Sagamore Hill – a visit that was purportedly prompted by his belief that Alice Roosevelt had agreed to marry him, and that in a desperate attempt to get to his sequestered bride-to-be, Weilbrenner pointed a pistol at Roosevelt as TR stood on the porch silhouetted against the light from the library.

The New York Times, one of those in the “least sensational” categories, simply reported that on September 1st, a local man, Henry Weilbrenner, tried three separate times to meet with Roosevelt, starting at 10 pm, his last attempt occurring at 11 pm. Saying he had a “personal engagement” with TR and wanted to see him, he was turned away at first by a “secret service operative” and finally taken into custody and put in the stables on the property. The fact that a “revolver was found in the buggy” was reported without elaboration.

A slightly more dramatic account of this event could be found in one of the “semi-sensational” newspapers, the Montgomery Advertiser, which echoed closely the Times account but added, without attribution, that Weilbrenner “struggled and was not arrested easily.” It described a scuffle between the officer and Weilbrenner loud enough to rouse Roosevelt who appeared in the doorway of Sagamore Hill. The would-be suitor of Alice Roosevelt was also described as having been seen practicing using his revolver, implying a possible plan to assassinate the current President (a sensationalized, though dubious, detail perhaps intended to stoke fears of yet another presidential assassination, most recently that of President William McKinley).

The “sensational” American Citizen takes the story a step further, providing an “illustration” of the “crazed” would-be assassin standing in his buggy pointing his revolver directly at Roosevelt, who had stepped onto the porch in harm’s way. The reporter describes Roosevelt’s close brush with death with dramatic flourishes, typical of tabloid reporting. He writes that “within a fraction of a second a bullet would have sped on its way had not the maniac’s revolver been knocked from his hands by a secret service agent.” The writer continues to “stretche[s] the truth” again by alleging that Weilbrenner had not acted alone but had two accomplices who had not been apprehended. The act of a single man thus expanded to become a new “conspiracy” of many.

Three days later on September 4, 1903, New York Tribune published a corrective to previous coverage of this incident. The article asserted that no assassination had been intended and that the revolver Weilbrenner carried was not for “offensive, but for defensive purposes.” Nevertheless, Henry Weilbrenner was arrested and deemed insane because he “did not know right from wrong.” He was committed to Kings Park State Hospital, just a few miles east of Sagamore Hill, where he lived until his death on November 6, 1951. He is presumed to have been buried in one of the cemetery areas on the hospital grounds.

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(1)The Long Island History Journal, October, 2021

Goldenrod

The Friends of Sagamore Hill (FOSH) held its November meeting via Zoom and extended the time due to having a jam-packed agenda. First let me announce that Charlotte Miska was nominated to be on the FOSH Board and was voted in. Welcome, Charlotte!

I will relate a few highlights and updates from the meeting, which included the presence of two guests, John Specce from the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum, and Dr. Jack Barnathan, long time TRA and FOSH member. Our meetings are open to the public, so if you would like to attend, please get in touch via friendsofsagamorehill.org. From the Home page, scroll down and click DROP US A LINE. Our next meeting is December 14th at 6 pm, via Zoom.

FOSH also hopes to involve itself more in partnering with the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce, the Farmer’s Market, and maybe even Cruise Night next year by having a table where we would offer information, sell logo and TR-related items, enroll new members, and accept donations. This is a big undertaking and we hope our members and Sagamore Hill volunteers will want to be a part of it.

Brian Tadler would like to hire a paid consultant to come up with ways to increase our presence on social media and by extension, our membership. The Board approved this – check us out on Instagram!

Superintendent Jonathan Parker gave us an extensive update on the overall status of the site. Plans are to increase public access to both the home and the Old Orchard Museum (OOM), but this must be done in accordance with NPS guidelines. As we proceed to open up, there will be more opportunities for volunteers to participate. There is no date set yet for re-opening OOM to visitors, nor is there a date for the re-opening the bookstore. Jonathan thanked us all for our patience.

Patrick Teubner reported on FOSH’s successful virtual event on TR’s birthday with Neil Lanctot and Susan Berfield in which they discussed Lanctot’s new book The Approaching Storm: Roosevelt, Wilson, Addams, and Their Clash Over America's Future. If you missed it, a recording of the event and past events is available on our website under Virtual Events. Patrick is also working with the TRA to erect an historic marker in Pittsfield, MA, commemorating TR’s near fatal accident and the death of William Craig, the first Secret Service agent to die in the line of duty. (Refer to the Rough Writer, September 2020.)

The Holiday Party will be held on Wednesday, December 8th at Café al Dente in Oyster Bay. Attendance will be capped at 40. Please send in your checks by December 3rd – any questions, call Ginny Perrell at 516-997-5346 or at vnp11590@aol.com.

You can find the Rough Writer on the Friends of Sagamore Hill website (friendsofsagamorehill.org). Simply select the More about TR menu and click Rough Writer Newsletter. You will go to a page that lists the Rough Writer issues going back to January 2020. Back issues are now readily available for your reading pleasure. Thank you Patrick Teubner for making this happen.

For more information please check out our website at www.nps.gov/sahi or call