Description:

Franklin Roosevelt
Albany, NY, January 8, 1930
Franklin D. Roosevelt Letter to Warm Springs Rehab Center Business Manager Re: Purchasing Aviation Field
TLS

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945). Typed letter from Roosevelt to his business manager Arthur Carpenter of his Warm Springs rehabilitation center in Georgia regarding purchasing an airfield for the center, signed "Franklin D Roosevelt". 1p on State of New York Executive Chamber stationery, 8" x 10.5", Albany, New York, January 8, 1930. Letter is matted in navy blue and gold inset presentation matting measuring 14.5" x 17.75". Light toning, loss to the upper right corner, hole-punches in the upper margin of the page, some running or smudging of the signature evident, otherwise boldly signed.

Franklin D. Roosevelt served as New York State Governor from 1929 to 1932 and then as the 32nd President of the United States, in office from 1933-1945 - notable as the longest-serving U.S. president running and being elected to an unprecedented third term during World War II. In this letter written from the Executive Chamber in Albany, FDR writes to the manager of his Warm Springs rehabilitation center about purchasing an airfield - presumably to make the rehab center more accessible. Roosevelt suffered from polio that paralyzed him from the waist down but kept the extent of his disability hidden from public eye. After initially developing his illness in 1921, he became fascinated with the promise of hydrotherapy for treating it and established a hydrotherapy rehabilitation center in Warm Springs, Georgia equipped with cutting edge physical therapists of the day, in 1926.

He writes to Arthur Carpenter, the business manager at Warm Springs:

"Dear Carp:-

In regard to the aviation field, why not ask the County Commissioners and some organizations in Greenville, Manchester and Woodbury to appoint a small committee of one each to cooperate with you in trying to raise enough money to buy a suitable field? Emmett Williams said we could have that field of his for the amount of the Federal Mortgage on it. That seems a fair offer and it seems also like the best field. I think the Meriwether Reserve could properly chip in something toward the cost.

You could discuss the question of who should have the title to the field. Possibly the best plan would be to have the County itself take title and call it the "Meriwether County Airport".

Always sincerely,

Franklin D Roosevelt"

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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