A collection of photographs and oral historical accounts provide fresh insight into President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s relationship with his adopted state in a book out from the University of Georgia Press.
A President in Our Midst: Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Georgia was researched and written by Kaye Lanning Minchew, who retired in 2015 as the executive director of the Troup County Archives. A talk with Minchew will be held Sept. 13 at 4 p.m. in the auditorium of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries. Open free to the public, the talk will be followed by a reception.
A native New Yorker, Roosevelt visited Georgia 41 times between 1924 and 1945. This collection of photographs and remembrances documents the role of Georgia’s people and places in FDR’s rise from his position as a politician daunted by disease to his role as a leader who guided the country through its worst depression and a world war.
Seeking relief from the devastating effects of polio, Roosevelt was first drawn to Georgia by the reputed healing powers of the waters at Warm Springs. FDR immediately took to Georgia, and the attraction was mutual. Nearly 200 photos show him working and convalescing at the Little White House, addressing crowds, sparring with reporters, visiting fellow polio patients and touring the countryside. Quotes by Georgians from a variety of backgrounds hint at the countless lives he touched during his time in the state.
Minchew’s lecture is the first event in the Ready, Steady, Vote! series to be hosted by the Russell Library this fall. Spotlighting all things presidential during the remaining months of the 2016 election season, the series will include community forums, debate watch events, lectures and performances hosted with campus and community partners. All events in the series are open free to the public.
For more information, call 706-542-5788 or visit http://www.rbrl.blogspot.com.
