But Springwood is the Old Faithful of Hyde Park; nearly everyone who visits this area makes a stop at FDR's hardly humble home.
The Christmas tree dominating the expansive living room/library, usually a Douglas fir or a Norway spruce, is emblematic of those Roosevelt moved from one of the pine tree plantations on his 1,550-acre property into his house for the holiday.
Unknown to many is that he prided himself as a tree farmer and planned to further pursue that field after his presidency. One year Roosevelt had one of his trees cut from his property and shipped to England as a Christmas gift to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The Christmas tree we saw in Springwood was garnished with multicolored balls, paper snowflakes and candles. Roosevelt liked the touch of Victorian-era nostalgia the candles evoked a! nd continued to display and light them on the family Christmas tree long after the mansion was electrified. To avoid fire, the candles were lit only when the tree was fresh and usually no more than three hours at a time.
Roosevelt enjoyed reading Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol to his children even after they were no longer children, in this Victorian equivalent of a family room. Other rooms wearing their Christmas finest include the snuggery, which Franklin's mother Sara used as an office. The metal horseshoe there represents the one Franklin gave to Sara as a Christmas gift when he was a child. Meanwhile, Springwood's main entranceway is rife with greenery and poinsettias. In Franklin's bedroom, a Christmas stocking for Fala was often stuffed with doggie treats or toys.
Christmas 1943 and 1944 were the only ones during Roosevelt's presidency that he spent in Hyde Park. Both those years he delivered his customary Christmas Eve radio addresses to the nation from t! he office in his presidential library on the estate grounds. Every December that office is decorated to look as it did on Dec. 24, 1943, as described in a contemporary account of The New York Times: "There was a tiny tree, decorated in colored globes and tinsel on a small table to the right of the desk."
Meanwhile, a hallway display in the presidential library showcases World War II-themed posters referencing Christmas themes. When we visited, one poster featured a Christmas tree trimmed with war bonds; another depicted Santa Claus with the caption, "The finest Christmas gift in the world is a victory bond." A third read, "Peace and Security" above an illustration of the Magi.
After Franklin's death, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt moved permanently into Val-Kill, a few miles down Route 9 from Springwood.
Once a factory building and home to Val-Kill Industries, a furniture and pewter business Eleanor started in the 1920s, the cottage was converted into a living space where Eleanor could be on her own without the influence of he! r mother-in-law.
Eleanor often began her Christmas shopping on Jan. 2 for the following year, picking up potential gifts whenever she spotted them. She stored them in a closet in an upstairs hallway. When Eleanor died on Nov. 7, 1962, the closet was already stuffed with presents, wrapped and ready to be given to family and friends seven weeks later.
Eleanor continued the Roosevelt traditions of trimming the Christmas tree with real candles and reading A Christmas Carol to assembled guests, including her grandchildren.
If Eleanor had overnight guests on Dec. 24 she put stockings on their bedroom doors as they slept. As a personal touch for guests at her annual Christmas Day dinner, which was usually either turkey or ham or turkey and ham, she would at times write on each person's placecard a poem specially suited for that individual.
Another Roosevelt family connection can be discovered about 10 miles north of Hyde Park. Margaret Suckley, known familiarly as Dais! y, was one of FDR's favorite cousins, albeit a distant one, an! d she li ved in the home she called Wilderstein. It was Daisy Suckley who gave Fala to Roosevelt as a gift. Daisy died in 1991, just shy of her 100th birthday. Shortly before her death, Wilderstein was open to the public.
A Queen Anne-style mansion, er ... a country house, according to local vernacular, Wilderstein ("wild man's stone," referring to a nearby Native American petroglyph) is filled every holiday season with the best décor from local florists, artists and decorations. Each of the five rooms open to the public is decorated differently.
Wilderstein Executive Director Gregory J. Sokaris says, "Friendly competitions have developed among some of the florists (and other decorators). Each year the bar is raised a little higher. This year's theme is "Silver Christmas."
Special items from Wilderstein's collections usually kept in storage are brought out every December, such as a 19th century doll house placed in the parlor, along with a rocking horse, wooden boat a! nd other toys spread out by the fireplace. On our visit a Christmas tree was adorned with period silver, blue and green ornaments dangling from its branches.
"One good thing about visiting Wilderstein during the holiday season," says Sokaris, "is that people can come back every year and see something new."
Michael Schuman is a free-lance writer who lives in Keene, N.H. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Shiraz Khan is a marketing expert in the Home Business industry, with a strong reputation for having an easy-to-learn training approach. To learn more about his 7-Figure Home Business training, visit www.MeetShiraz.com ! for a free 10-day E-course.
! Sourc e: http://www.lowellsun.com/travel/ci_7555569
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