FDR TLS Mentioning "trying to get rid of my crutches" Prior to Buying Warm Springs

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Hyde Park, NY, December 2, 1925
FDR TLS Mentioning "trying to get rid of my crutches" Prior to Buying Warm Springs
TLS

A typed letter signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hyde Park, New York, dated December 2, 1925, concerning an endowment gift for Goucher College. Signed "Franklin D. Roosevelt" and addressed to Miss Dorinda R. Bakenhus. The letter has been mounted to a thicker board. With flattened mail folds and wear to the edges. Toned throughout, darker toning at the edges. Some small separations appear to have started at the folds. 1p, measuring 8.25" x 10.75", Boldly signed. Letters in which Roosevelt mentions his disability are few and far between, and have sold for over $8,000 in the past.

This letter is one of the very few found in which Roosevelt mentions his disability, writing that he regrets that he cannot contribute to the endowment fund because "I have been under very heavy expenses of late in trying to get rid of my crutches…" He goes on to state that he will endeavor to mention the college fund to several friends in the hopes of their donations.

In full:
"I am very glad you wrote me and I know of course of Goucher College and the splendid work which is being carried on there. I hear of it often as I am a Trustee of Vassar College and we have the highest regard for our sister institution. I wish very much that I, personally, could help in some way, in the campaign for the endowment, but I fear it is impossible as (the "s" is corrected in FDR's own hand) I have been under very heavy expenses of late in trying to get rid of my crutches. I shall, however, be very glad to speak of the needs of Goucher to several of my friends when I get back to New York in about 2 weeks. Please give my very warm regards to your father when you next see him."

During the summer of 1921, FDR was diagnosed with polio, which at the time had no known cure and often led to either partial or full paralysis in patients. In January 1922, FDR was fitted with braces that allowed him to stand with assistance and was always seeking various rehabilitation methods that might heal him. He made numerous visits to Georgia's Warm Springs resort in the hopes that it might treat his paralysis. However, by 1926, Warm Springs was having financial issues and FDR bought the facility for $200,000 to transformed it into a rehabilitation center for polio patients like himself. It is possible that this extremely large expense is what Roosevelt was referring to in his letter.

Dorinda Rogers Bakenhus (1903-1987) was the daughter of Reuben Edwin Bakenhus, a Navy Admiral with whom Roosevelt served while serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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8.25" x 10.75"