The summer of 2011 saw the start of Roosevelt Campobello International Park's "Tea With Eleanor" program. Visitors come to enjoy a cup or two of tea while an expert park guide shares about the life of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, in New York City. Orphaned at the age of nine, Eleanor and her brother Elliott became wards of their maternal grandmother. Strict and rather brusque, Mary Ludlow Hall was not inclined to show much affection towards her grandchildren, nor to indulge Eleanor's waning self-esteem. But in 1898, when she sent her granddaughter off to Allenswood Girls' Academy in London, Eleanor finally began to spread her wings and discover her own potential.
Eleanor married Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her fifth cousin once removed, in 1905. A constant support for her husband throughout his pivotal political career, Eleanor became a strong political activist in her own right, championing such social causes as racial equality, women's rights, and labor reform, to name just a few. During the Great Depression she personally inspected New Deal programs; during World War II she spent hours at the beds of wounded soldiers; in 1948 she drafted the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for which she also played an instrumental role in gaining US support.
Franklin and Eleanor had six children together: one daughter and five sons.
After a lifetime of service to her country and to the world, Eleanor Roosevelt passed away on November 7, 1962.
Roosevelt Campobello International Park
Campobello Island, located in New Brunswick, Canada, is separated from the mainland by the Bay of Fundy. Despite this isolation from Canada, there is, however, a bridge connecting the Canadian island to the United States. In 1962 the FDR Memorial Bridge was constructed between Campobello and Lubec, Maine, a testament to an enduring friendship between two nations.
Franklin Roosevelt referred to Campobello Island as "my beloved island." Eleanor grew to feel the same. As described by Joseph P. Lash in Eleanor Roosevelt on Campobello, a booklet distributed to "Tea With Eleanor" guests, the future First Lady was just nineteen years old when she first came to the island as a guest of her soon-to-be husband and his mother, Sara, who regularly vacationed on Campobello. "She loved the Island," writes Lash, "its fogs, scents, sunsets, and peacefulness." Later in life she would bring her closest friends to the Island, eager to share such an idyllic part of the world with those dearest to her.
Soon after Franklin and Eleanor married, they acquired a thirty-four-room so-called "cottage" next to Sara's vacation home. The Roosevelt Cottage is the focal point of what is now a 2800-acre memorial park administered equally by both the Canadian and the U.S. governments. The Roosevelt Campobello International Park was established in 1964. In addition to the Roosevelt Cottage, the Park is home to the Prince, Hubbard, Wells-Shober, and Johnston cottages, a Visitor Center, and extensive nature trails.
Though the grounds are open year-round, the buildings are only accessible during the tourist season, which begins on the Saturday before Memorial Day and ends on Columbus Day. Admission is completely free, but donations are always appreciated.
"Tea With Eleanor"
For the Roosevelts, tea was more than just a warm drink; it was an important social event. The Allenswood Academy girls, Eleanor included, had tea time every afternoon while at school. Then, as the wife of Franklin Roosevelt, one of Eleanor's duties was to host and attend teas. During the year 1913, when Franklin served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Eleanor attended about sixty teas every week, according to the Park guides.
Embracing this tradition, the Park created a new program to creatively highlight the life of one of America's most influential First Ladies. At 3pm Atlantic time, the standard Campobello tea time, groups of 20 gather in the Hubbard House to partake of "Tea With Eleanor": bottomless cups of tea, delicious cookies, and absorbing conversation about Eleanor Roosevelt. Though there is no actual Eleanor interpreter, there are amiable guides who share from their wealth of knowledge about the former First Lady in an informal presentation, taking questions throughout the tea hour from the guests.
"Tea With Eleanor" tickets, like everything else at the Park, are free. They are available beginning at 8am Atlantic time, and they go quickly. U.S. visitors should be sure to bring their passports for the border crossing.
A Fun and Informative Get-Away
A visit to Campobello Island, in all its isolated beauty, clearly attests to why Eleanor Roosevelt so loved this tiny, woodsy land of sea and fog. And now both history buffs as well as casual tourists can almost feel like a part of those old Roosevelt summer vacations as they wrap their fingers around a delicate china cup, nibble a ginger cookie, sit back, and enjoy "Tea With Eleanor."
Sources
- "Campobello Island." Campobello.com: 2000.
- "First Lady Biography: Eleanor Roosevelt." The National First Ladies' Library online: 2009.
- Lash, Joseph P. Eleanor Roosevelt on Campobello.
- "Roosevelt Campobello International Park." FDR.net: 2010.
- "Tea With Eleanor - Roosevelt Campobello International Park." Tourism New Brunswick online: 2011.
Sarah McCabe - Sarah scooted around from country to country as a Foreign Service kid, got her BA in linguistics at the College of William and Mary in ...
