Mrs. Roosevelt Enthusiastically Leaps Fence In Demonstrating Greenbelt to Newswomen
-Washington Post June 1937.
Mrs. Roosevelt yesterday afternoon made her fourth trip in ten days to her new enthusiasm- the Greenbelt project of the Resettlement Administration. Her guests on this occasion were about 35 of the women reporters who attend her press conferences.
The First Lady, who knew the lay of the land pretty well, led the procession. As it wound through the green valley which surrounds the nearly completed synthetic town, the reporters were forced to choose between getting left behind or puffing up and down along the rocky paths at a dog-trot. The first stop made was at the cemetery, the first and only occupant so far is one George Crum, one of the transients employed to clear the land. As the group toured the schoolhouse, Mrs. Roosevelt was insistent none of the details of its construction be omitted.
In the town, one completed housing unit was open for inspection. Here
Mrs Roosevelt took complete charge of the proceedings. She did not want
her guests to miss any angle of the planning and decoration of the
dwellings..."
White House Letter
"While Mrs Roosevelt is
interested in a
Patriotic Town Rally at Greenbelt, she, unfortunately, cannot accept the
invitation for the 14th of February, 1942, due to prior engagements."
(Secretary to Mrs. Roosevelt)
. -Eleanor Roosevelt's interest in Greenbelt ultimately led to a monument dedicated to her. On Nov 2, 1968, a dedication of the Historic Eleanor Roosevelt Tree and unveiling of a plaque was presented. The Womens Club of Greenbelt was in part responsible for the ceremony. In addition Eleanor Roosevelt high school was christened in 1976. A letter from Edna L. Benefial, a former Womens Club member, to the Washington Post on June 4, 1976 was instrumental in swaying opinions:
- "If the present Board of Education won't review past history and honor one of the greatest helpers Greenbelt ever had, a woman who understood hard-working people, by naming the new high school for her, then I feel that ghosts will linger in that lovely building every night..."
