FDR PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY EXPEDITION!

 A while back, I attended a week-long Road Scholar (www.roadscholar.org) program, on the life of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  The classroom parts of the program were held at the FDR Library, in Hyde Park, New York.  In the photo below, I am the one in pink, sitting between Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt.  

The statue of the Roosevelt couple sits near the entrance to the FDR Library, and probably has a steady stream of visitors using it as a photo opportunity to remember the occasion.  

This banner with a photograph of FDR is on the exterior of the building, and is very unpretentious, compared to the signage at some of the other presidential libraries I have visited.  The other presidential libraries I have visited include those of Clinton, Ford, Reagan, Truman, and the older George Bush.  I hope to visit the new presidential library for President Theodore Roosevelt, scheduled to open in the summer of 2026, in North Dakota.

Likewise, the exterior of the building is not impressive in terms of modernistic, futuristic architecture.  Instead, the stone and roof design are reminiscent of the early settlements of upstate New York, which is where the original Roosevelt family immigrants lived.

 The Roosevelts had a Protestant Christian background, and when FDR was sworn in as President of the United States of America, the Bible that was used was turned to I Corinthians 13, that has the passages on faith, hope, and charity.    Although we were not allowed to photograph it, the actual Bible used, is part of the permanent collection at the Franklin D Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park (www.fdrlibrary.org ).  It is a 1686 Dutch family Bible, printed in Amsterdam.  It is the oldest Bible used in a presidential inauguration and the only one in a foreign language.  The Bible was passed down through the Roosevelt family, and contained records from the early 185h century.  It was also used when FDR was sworn in as Governor of New York in 1928 and 1930.  

God's Word was always important to the president, and the USA President wrote a personal message (dated January 25, 1941), that was placed on the first page of the Servicemen's Bible, given to soldiers involved in World War II.  

The photo below shows Springwood House, which was the lifelong home and birthplace of Franklin D. Roosevelt, in Hyde Park, New York.  It is part of a National Historic Site, located on the same grounds as the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.  Our group was able to take a complete tour inside the . , but we were not allowed to take photos.  The thing I remember most about the interior was seeing the stairs to the second floor.  Our guide told us that after FDR contracted polio, an elevator was installed because he had lost the use of his legs.  However, according to the guide, FDR usually refused to use the lift, and instead, used his upper body strength to crawl up the stairs, saying it helped him stay strong.  The other thing I remember about the house is seeing where he worked on his stamp collection.  Although the hobby has lost popularity now, it was the perfect activity for a person with limited mobility and a keen interest in travel and history.  Although my collection of stamps is not organized as was FDR's, I am still fascinated by the designs of postage stamps and have hundreds of them !  Some people collect stickers, and postage stamps are just a type of sticker!  The 300 acre Springwood Estate includes the Rose Garden, where both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt are buried.   

The Roosevelt dime is pictured below:

It is that fighting spirit that FDR had in overcoming polio, that led to his support of the March of Dimes program, and the reason for the FDR likeness on the US ten cent piece.    I told more details about that situation in a blog I published about visiting the FDR Little White House, in Warm Springs, Georgia.  It is available in the archives of this blog, dated April 12, 2018.  

The photo below shows what the folder looked like that I used in elementary school, to collect dimes for the March of Dimes program to fight polio.  

Our group also visited Val-Kil Historic Site, the cottage built for Eleanor Roosevelt.  Its native stone exterior is an example of the vernacular architecture of that area, and possibly the inspiration for the stone exterior used decades later for the FDR Presidential Library.  The same photography rules applied here as did at the Springwood House, so I do not have any photos of the interior of Val-Kil.  (By the way, many places I visited in upstate New York, had a suffix or prefix of "kil".  It was widely used in areas settled by the Dutch in New York.  It is derived from the Dutch word kille, meaning a riverbed, water channel, creek, or tidal inlet.)  The one image I can remember from the interior, however, was a photograph of President John F. Kennedy and Eleanor inside the cottage, when he came to visit the elderly widow, during his presidential era.  

There was a plaque on the exterior of the grounds, with a motto attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, that probably would be helpful for all of us to strive for!

 

In recent years, the US Mint Quarters program, came out with a quarter with a design honoring Eleanor Roosevelt, and it is pictured below:  (It is ironic that her likeness is on a coin worth 25 cents, while her husband's likeness is on a coin worth ten cents!)

There is a hiking trail that goes from the Springwood House, along the Hudson River, up to the Vanderbuilt Historic Site, also above the Hudson River.  However, this warning by the Duchess County Health Department, about ticks made me rethink the possibility of investigating that trail.  Perhaps if I had done what the Eleanor motto recommended, I would have some more photos to show you of the trail!

However, I settled for a photo of the start of the trail, and that was enough to give me "MILES OF SMILES"!  Tricia

 

CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA EXPEDITION!

The Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, New York (www.ciachef.edu) welcomes visitors to tour its campus, and dine in its restaurants!  Visiting this place has been on my "TO DO" list for decades, since I first heard about it, back in the 1970's.   One reason is that in my career as a Registered Dietitian, the trade publications that I received, often wrote about the CIA, as well as the students and chefs that attended school there.  So naturally, I was absolutely DELIGHTED to get the opportunity to tour the campus, when I was taking a Road Scholar ( www.roadscholar.org ) program in the Hudson River Valley of New York State.    Since a trip to the CIA was not included in the Road Scholar itinerary, I wanted to make sure I knew how to get to the campus in my own vehicle.  Therefore, in advance of my pre-scheduled CIA tour, I had done a "trial run" from my Road Scholar program (headquartered in Newburgh, New York)  to the campus at Hyde Park, which is located up the Hudson River about an hour's drive north.  It was obvious as soon as I drove on the campus, that the students who attend college here, do not dress in the same manner as college students on most other campuses. In the photo above, notice the matching white chef's jackets, matching black checked pants, and black close-toed shoes.  Projecting a professional image at all times is one of the hallmarks of students and graduates at the CIA.

The beautiful Italianate building in this photo contains classrooms, sensory testing rooms, as well as an elegant Italian restaurant.  In addition

 to educating traditionally enrolled students, the CIA offers continuing education for Food Service Professionals, as well as non-professionals.  You can go to their website for more detailed information about the dozens of courses offered throughout the year, and on their various campuses in other parts of the world.

At the Apple Pie Bakery in Hyde Park, you can watch the various baked items being prepared, under the close supervision of the chef instructor.

The main building, called Roth Hall, also has culinary teaching theaters, equipped with overhead cameras, that can be used if the students need a close up look at what is being prepared on the stove top.

Most folks know that the name of Conrad Hilton is legendary in the hospitality industry, so it is not surprising that the college library building bears his name.  It has exhibits inside which related to the food service industry.  When I went inside the library,

I found it affirming that I was not the only person in the world who collected and framed menus!  The Conrad N. Hilton Library has a collection of menus as well!  The ones they had on display were from meals served on trains to USA Presidents!

Since my parents said I used to go around saying "I LIKE IKE!", when I was a toddler, I felt compelled to photograph the menu used by President Eisenhower when touring Missouri on the Union Pacific Railroad.  For those too young to remember, "I LIKE IKE" was the campaign slogan when Eisenhower was running for President of the United States.  Besides the menu shown in this photograph, there were numerous other menus related to presidents-dining-on-trains in their exhibit.

A feature I have never seen in a library before, was a special area where student chefs could practice their knife skills!

There is also an herb garden on the campus, so the chefs can have the freshest flavors available for the recipes they create.

Likewise, a vegetable garden on site grows an extensive variety of plants that thrive in the Hudson Valley Region.

I was very fortunate to have a recent graduate of the CIA as my tour guide! 

A representative of the communications department, along with my chef tour guide, are shown in this photo on our way to the newest addition to the CIA campus.  This

trail leads down to a newly-opened facility for students, called "The Egg":

When I asked why the name "The Egg" was chosen for the facility, they told me that, just as an egg is extremely versatile in all the ways it can be used, so "The Egg" building will be versatile in its use by the students and faculty.

It is appropriate that this stainless steel sculpture sits near the entrance to "The Egg", because so many surfaces in professional kitchens are covered with stainless steel.  Stopping to take a photo of our reflection in the egg, reminded me of the shiny "bean" sculpture, in Chicago, that is famous for its reflective images ( see my blog posts dated September 28, 2014 and April 12, 2013 for more info and photos on the Chicago "bean" sculpture). 

In addition to this sparkling egg sculpture, there is a shiny

fish sculpture, made of knives, forks, and spoons!  It is called Diamondsides, and is a reminder of the history of commercial  sturgeon fishing, that occurred in this part of the Hudson River.

The building in the photo above is called Roth Hall, and the structure was originally called St. Andrew of Hudson Jesuit novitiate.  That history explains the initials in the floor mosaic as you enter Roth Hall:

The

initials AMDG stand for the Latin motto of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), a religious order of the Catholic Church.  The Latin phrase Ad majorem Dei gloriam means "For the greater glory of God."  It is a summary of the idea that any work that is not evil, even one that would normally be considered inconsequential to the spiritual life, can be spiritually meritorious, if it is performed to give glory to God. 
The letters stand for the phrase "To God Be The Glory".  Likewise, that is my prayer for this blog---even though it is inconsequential to the world in general, it is written to give glory to God!   When I asked the CIA Communications Manager what one thing she would like for readers of my blog to know, she said it was this:  PLEASE COME VISIT THE CIA!!!  You can come for a tour, dine in the restaurants, enroll as a traditional student, come for professional continuing education, or come as a non-professional to explore your "inner chef"!  These options are available at three different locations in the USA:  I have had the opportunity to visit the CIA campus in St. Helena, California, and even take a cooking class there!  There is also a campus in San Antonio, Texas.  Although I have toured that building, it was BEFORE the CIA had converted the space from the Pearl beer brewery, to a culinary school.  There is also now a branch of the CIA in Singapore!  To start planning your visit, click on www.ciachef.edu or phone 1-800-CULINARY.   A visit to the Culinary Institute of America will give you "MILES OF SMILES"!  Tricia