Warm Day At Warm Springs

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Cats and pointers. Dogs and sticks. Me and informational signs. My main goal today was to visit the grave of a comedian friend of mine. On the way I saw an informational sign that said “Warm Springs,” and off I went! Most Americans who are versed in U.S. history know about Warm Springs, Georgia. It’s a small town that is home to what became known as the “Little White House” when Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933. In older times there were countless searches for cures, including natural cures. The warm water in a spring in the town (which gave the town its name) became a resort attraction, as well as a medicinal attraction. Among the people coming to Warm Springs for their health was a well-to-do New York businessman named Franklin Roosevelt. When Roosevelt was 39 he contracted polio, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. He sought out the warm water for the physical therapy benefits, telling one reporter (long before he became president) that exercising in the pool enabled him to move his right leg for the first time in three years. Of course, eventually Roosevelt became president, and in the worst possible time: the Great Depression. Despite his office he used his home in Warm Springs much the same way more modern presidents use Camp David. The state of Georgia has preserved Roosevelt’s legacy at the Little White House (which is a state, not federal, park). And oh, what a job they did! The grounds are broken down into two parts. First is a museum, which has many mementos of FDR’s career as a youth born into privilege as well as President of the United States, the only president to serve four terms. (His longevity is the reason the Constitution was amended to limit presidents to two terms. A 12-minute film, narrated by Walter Cronkite, focuses on FDR’s time in Warm Springs and how his connection with the “normal people” in the area, especially during the Depression, helped shaped his presidential policies. Another interesting thing on display is the wheelchair that FDR designed himself. The chair is quite small and narrow by today’s standards, but we have to remember that there was no Americans With Disabilities Act back then. In fact, most Americans did not know at the time that Roosevelt was disabled. The other section, of course, is the house itself. It’s remarkably small for a wealthy man or a president. There’s a tiny guest house with two bedrooms and a servants’ quarters with two equally small bedrooms. The Little White House has a large combination dining/sitting room, with a good-sized kitchen where the president’s meals were prepared. The house has three bedrooms: one for President Roosevelt’s secretary, which was on the opposite side of the house from the president’s, and two, separated by a bathroom, which were for the president and either his wife, Eleanor or some of their children. One of the most significant things in American, and maybe world, history happed at the Little White House on April 12, 1945. With the Allies making great gains in the European theater FDR went to Warm Springs for some rest. He was also going to have his portrait painted by an artist. While sitting for the portrait, Roosevelt said, “I have a terrific headache.” Shortly after that he collapsed out of his chair. He was moved to the bed in his bedroom, where he was pronounced dead from a cerebral hemorrhage at 3:35 that afternoon. It was a fascinating day at a place where many significant events in 20th century American history were planned. PHOTO COLLAGE: 1. The exterior of the Little White House. 2. One of FDRs wheelchairs and his leg braces. 3. The chair in the sitting room where FDR was posing for a portrait when he was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage. 4. FDR’s bed, where he passed away on April 12, 1945.