FIRST LADY MAMIE DOUD EISENHOWER - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 05/18/1967 - HFSID 295465

MAMIE DOUD EISENHOWER
Handwritten letter to a friend, discussing Ike's health, his art, and fundraising for the new Eisenhower College, accompanied by envelope addressed and signed in her hand
Autograph Letter signed: "Mamie Eisenhower", 2 pages (front and verso), 5x7½.No place, but postmarked Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1967 May 18. To "Dear Frances" [Strecker], in full: "Thanks for your nice note. Happy to say Ike is doing so well that the doctors feel he can come back to the farm tomorrow. Came home last night from N. Y. where I represented Ike at the exhibition of his paintings at Huntington Hartford Galleries. Do tell Roger to go see it. Proceeds go to Eisenhower College which is opening at Seneca Falls N.Y. next year. Spring is so slow this year. We are still cold. Appreciation to you and Muriel". Accompanied by original envelope addressed and signed in her hand.On July 1, 1916, 25-year-old Second Lieutenant Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) and 19-year-old Mamie Geneva Doud (1896-1979) were married in Denver, Colorado. They had two sons: Dwight Doud Eisenhower (1917-1920) and John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (born in 1923). As an Army wife for 37 years, Mamie grew accustomed to entertaining groups of influential people, a talent she drew upon during her eight years as the White House hostess (1953-1961). In their 53 years of married life, the Eisenhower's lived in 33 homes; their last in Gettysburg was the only home they owned together. During Ike's final illness, Mamie moved into Walter Reed Army Hospital to be with him during the final months of his life. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the fifth general to be elected President, served as the nations' 34th President from 1953 to 1961. Eisenhower College opened in 1968 but closed its doors in 1982. From the collection of George Strecker, an advertising executive at the Chicago Tribune who became close to the Eisenhower's through his wife, Frances, a long-time friend with Mamie Doud Eisenhower. Fold through center. Lightly toned. Fine condition.