The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-01-16
First NRA
Lady Leads
Active Life
Mrs. Donald Richberg
Puts Husband, Daughter
and Home First.
ByNEA Srrice

BvNEA Serrics
NTAsHINGTON. Jan. 1s.-Ir
w her own words. Mrs. Donald
R. Richberg is the busiest woman
in Washington, without doing any,
thing" She explains, with an in
fictitious smile, that she IS so keen
about her husband. daughter, and
home that she is entirely satisfied
10 enjoy a vegetable life"
Besides playing chauffeur for the
whole family. selecting her own let
tuce and green peas and such at
the market. and occasionally pre-
pairing them herself, this charming,
vivacious. and most attractive wife
Of the national recovery administra-
tor who IS often called the assist
ant president" digs and plants her
own garden, is a regular attendant
at gym class. swIms, plays golf,
and sews most Of 8-year-old Eloise s
dresses. When there's nothing else
TO DO she "knits and knits"
Mrs. Richberg, then Florence
Weed, was born in Lansing. Mich,
and spent a happy childhood with
five brothers and sisters. Her ia
Their, Herbert Mores Weed, de-
sCended of English stock. Her
mothers family was Dutch.
That line of northern ancestors
may account for Florence Weed
Richberg's lovely gold-blond hair,
blue eyes. and shining even teeth,
but II couldn't account for her
delicious sense Of humor.
Trial Horse for Speeches
Mrs. Richberg went TO college
Florence to OliveD, but insists
there is nothing unusual about her.
I'm so normal" she says, that
my husband tries out all his
speeches on me He knows that if
I can understand them, almost any
one can"
She also keeps a clipping book
of newspaper stories about him.
AS they cont subscribe to a clip
ping service, she must depend for
out-of-toWn material on what her
friends send to her, and is much
amused when they fail to include
the antagonistic pieces. She thinks
they ought 70 know her better than
that.
Both the Richbergs share an &C
tive interest in sports. They met
on a Chicago golf course and have
been playing together ever since,
though Mrs. Richberg insists that
the only reason her husband plays
with her is because she's available.
Daughter Most Important
To her father and mother, cum
ming, blond Eloise. with the Alice-in-
Wonderland hair ribbon, is the
most important thing in the world"
On coming to Washington, the
three Richbergs first took over the
Bob La Toilette house for three
months, thinking their stay here
would be only temporary. Two six
month leases on another house
found them more firmly settled here
than ever.
with a saucy black Scottie pup
named Blackie, the cat, at the story
book corner of Shadow road and
Sunset lane. The driveway winds
up a little knoll to a lovely stone
colonial house with white shutters,
which, though rented furnished, has
already taken on many of the gra-
CiOus qualities of its mistress.
The garden worries Mrs. Rich
berg, though.
The garden of our house in Chi
cago was the thing I really hated to
leave" she explains. Il don't know
what I'm going to do with this one.
It's only rock garden, and all in
the shade"
Likes People But Not Crowds
A gracious. charming hostess with
a gift for making her guests COM
Portable and happy. she likes pc
PIE. but not crowds" and loves en-
tertaining friends. But she is very
thankful that her husbands office
is too new TO have gathered to itself
a long round of formal social re-
sponsibilitieS.
She thinks the informal Washing
ton habit, picked up from the Presi-
dent. of calling every one by his
first name, is grand.
Last year, when we knew almost
no one who called me anything but
Mrs. Richberg, was pretty deadly"
But now that several Chicago friends
have come to Washington, and they
have made many new ones to whom
she is Florence, mostly because they
call my husband DON" she wouldn't
mind settling down in Washington
for the rest of her life.