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By Root 2038 0

by someone from the Hill, a visiting publisher or journalist or simply a person he wished to talk to, such as Henry Stimson or Ed Flynn when they were in town.5 Twice a week he met the press and on Thursday afternoon the cabinet. Unlike a parliamentary system or even earlier presidencies, FDR’s cabinet was not a decision-making body. “Our cabinet meetings are pleasant affairs,” Harold Ickes observed, “but we only skim the surface of routine affairs.”* Between two and three Roosevelt handled his correspondence, dictating replies to either Missy or Grace Tully. The White House received upward of five thousand letters a day, and his staff had become expert at sorting out those items that required his attention. At six or so FDR would break off for a swim in the new White House pool (donated by New York City schoolchildren) and have a massage and perhaps a session with the White House physician, Navy admiral Ross T. McIntire.6 He liked nothing better than to play hooky and go for an occasional afternoon drive through Rock Creek Park or the surrounding countryside.

At seven, Roosevelt adjourned to the family quarters for the “children’s hour,” where he would play host to Louis and Missy, his military aide, Colonel Edwin “Pa” Watson, Grace Tully, and whoever else was on hand. Eleanor did not approve of FDR’s penchant for cocktail conviviality, never attended, and, as best one can tell, was never invited. With ice and glasses laid out in front of him, FDR merrily stirred classic martinis (heavy on the vermouth) or mixed old-fashioneds for his guests. “He mixed the ingredients with the deliberation of an alchemist,” his speechwriter Robert Sherwood recalled, “but with what appeared to be a certain lack of precision since he carried on a steady conversation while doing it.”7*

For Mrs. Roosevelt, afternoon tea took the place of the “children’s hour.” Every day at five o’clock ER poured tea for friends and guests in her second-floor sitting room. She also hosted tea service for female reporters at her press conferences. Presiding over the tea table was for Eleanor, a teetotaler, the psychic equivalent of mixing martinis in the Oval Study at seven.

FDR took dinner at eight, often with his cocktail guests, in the Oval Study. Formal dinners were held in the State Dining Room on the first floor. Unless it was a formal occasion, FDR did not change for dinner. Eleanor had dinner in the Private Dining Room on the first floor with a separate guest list. The men wore black tie. The Hoovers had dressed formally every night and always ate in the State Dining Room, even when they dined alone. President Hoover and his wife enjoyed eating well, and during the Hoover administration the White House fare was excellent. Under the Roosevelts, it was dreadful. Ernest Hemingway, a confirmed trencherman, called the White House food “the worst I’ve ever eaten. We had rainwater soup followed by rubber squab, a nice wilted salad and a cake some admirer had sent in. An enthusiastic but unskilled admirer.” Tallulah Bankhead, equally at home in the world of tasty cuisine, confessed to always eating a full meal before attending a White House dinner.8 Members of FDR’s official family were equally caustic. “I am not very fussy about my food,” wrote Harold Ickes, “but it does seem a little out of proportion to use a solid-gold knife and fork on ordinary roast mutton.”9 Grace Tully, almost a regular at the dinner table in the Oval Study, complained that it was like a boardinghouse: One could tell the day of the week by what was set out for dinner—tongue with caper sauce on Mondays, boiled beef without any sauce on Tuesday, and so on.10

Running the White House was exclusively Eleanor’s domain, part of the balance of power she and FDR had achieved. And given her extensive public commitments, she was determined to have someone assist her who was loyal and trustworthy. Social awareness, an ability to cook, even a knowledge of food and wine were secondary. The assistant she chose was Henrietta Nesbitt, a fifty-nine-year-old Hyde Park matron active in the League of