Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-10-27
Oyster Bay to
Observe Date
Roosevelt's Birth

! sixty-third anniversary OF Theodore
Roosevelt, statesman, President and
man of letters, Oyster Bay refnem-
bers the familiar. sympathetic, big
I hearted Teddy" whose grave on the
hill top Is an ever present reminder
! of their loss.
/ The little wooded cemetery has
become the object of pilgrimages
from all over the world and thous-
ands are looked for tomorrow.
| Among them are expected hundreds
of former friends and thousands of
| admirers. besides formal delegations
! of Spanish and world war veterans
and Boy Scouts of America. They
! will come. for the most part, to lay
| flowers or flags on the grave, while
/ diplomats from foreign countries will
| bring testimonials Of respect from
their governments and peoples
| abroad.
But old time neighbors and init
mates of the Colonel say that of all
/ tributes to his memory, he himself
would most have appreciated those
of the children whom he loved. and
| so theirs is to be the part of paying
/ homage in the name of Oyster Bay.
/ The Older children of Oyster Bay
! Cove School, which nestles in a grove
! of trees a few hundred yards from
| Rooseyelt's grave, RENE mber him best
as the Santa Claus Of their annual
Christmas celebrations. Some Of
! them now sit in the seats and use the
| desks once occupied by the elder
&, Roosevelt children, Kermit, Theo
| dore, Archie and Ethel. None OF
| these has forgotten the red pillow
| fattened figure. rosy cheeks, pow
dered mustache and grotesque false
beard of the principal actor in their
Xuletide pageant.
Three weeks before Christmas 1t
was Colonel Roosevelt's custom to
| summon the teachers to Sycamore
Hill. mile away and there instruct
them to have all the children write
letters to Santa" telling what they
wanted him to bring them. Then,
after all the scrubbed requests had
come in. the Colonel and Mrs. Roose-
welt would go in to New York and
! buy the gifts asked for. adding to
each a foot" of rock candy, a con-
| lection of which the Colonel recalled
he had been Unfortunately fond as
! boy.
On Christmas Eve he and Mrs
school, where, under great elm
tree, he would distribute the presents
to forty or more youngsters and then
! join in singing carols and romping
and laughing with the spirit of play
that never quite deserted him From
the time his own children were old
enough to 20 to school. he missed
playing Santa Claus but twice once
when he was in Africa. and again
during his illness at Roosevelt Hospi-
! tal
| Even on that last Christmas Eve
! the children were not forgotten.
Colonel Roosevelt delegated Archie
to attend to his annual duties. telling
his son what kind OF candy to buy
and how to play the part of Saint
! Nicholas. The night Archie played
| Santa Claus his father told friends
! who visited his bedside how much he
missed participating in the event
| SO tomorrow these children. many
Of them "grown-ups" now, with chill
! dren of their own. will carry Oyster
; Bays message of respect to the
! graveside The present school pupils
| will march to the cemetery in a body
| and lay a wreath on the grave. Then
| they will sing the Colonies favorite
| songs and their teacher will tell of
| his good deeds and eXhort them to
| follow his example.
| become recognized as the appropri-
ate time for paying formal tribute to
his memory, thousands of people have
visited his grave during the year.
| Flowers by the basketball were
strcwn upon it daily last summer by
motorists who gathered the blooms,
as they toured over Long Island. On
several Sundays their offerings COW
cred the little plot inside the mas
sive iron grating with a floral blanket
| several feet thick
The traveller falls under the spell
of RooseVelt's memory almost before
dismountinG from the train that
carries him from New York to the
former Presidents home town. AS
he turns his back on the railway sta
ton he is noisily solicited as a fare
by 'jitney" drivers offering to show
him the Roosevelt sights in ex-
change for none too modest hon
orarium. If the warfarer accedes he
is driven through the town over
smooth streets, paved many years
ago, he will be told, through the pub
lie spirited efforts of Colonel Roose-
Welt.
And il he sets out to walk the mile
or two to the cemetery. he must still
traverse the town and meet with con-
slant reminders of the man whose
life there has become rooted in the
traditions of the little community
The legend on the cornerstone of a
public building sets forth Colonel
Roosevelts connection with its rear
ing; signboards hand with rigid in
deX finger points the way to Saga
more Hill. once the Little White
! House." and now the residence of the
former Presidents widow: nearly
every store has its life size portrait,
its colored representation Of Roosc-
welt mounted and IN the uniform OF a
| Rough Rider. or its poster showing
him delivering a campaign address
from a flag draped stage.
The elm and oak shaded highway
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