In June 1934, the largest gathering of women for an indoor event in the history of Raleigh greeted Eleanor Roosevelt at Memorial Auditorium.
The city of Raleigh had quite a day planned for Mrs. Roosevelt, according to this account in the June 11 edition of The News & Observer:
Mrs. Roosevelt and her party will arrive from Washington on the Seaboard Air Line train and will be guests of Mrs. and Mrs. Josephus Daniels, Jr., for breakfast at Wakestone.
The party will be escorted from Wakestone to the City Auditorium by a police escort furnished by the city, and will be met at the door of the Auditorium by Mayor and Mrs. George Iseley, Senator and Mrs. J.W. Bailey, Vice-President W.H. Weatherspoon of the Chamber of commerce and Mrs. Weatherspoon.
A band will play "Dixie" as the official party enters the Auditorium. The party will proceed down the side aisle to the stage where leading citizens will be present to welcome Mrs. Roosevelt.
Bishop E.A. Penick will offer prayer to open the program and Mayor Iseley will present Mr. Weatherspoon who will extend the official welcome for the city. Mrs. Iseley then will present Mrs. Roosevelt with the key to the city and will present Mrs. Josephus Daniels, Sr., who will introduce Mrs. Roosevelt.
Whew. Following this program, Mrs. Roosevelt was to motor to Durham for similar ceremonies at Duke University. She would then motor to Greensboro to catch a train back to Washington.
To commemorate the day, a poem entitled First Lady of the Land, or Eleanor the Golden-Hearted was composed by Mrs. Martha Mills Newton of Thomasville.
Comments
Roosevelt Visit to Raleigh
Fri, 04/22/2011 - 13:07 — PaphandThat is a wonderful piece of the First Lady's visit to Raleigh. Enjoyed it.