FIRST LADY MAMIE DOUD EISENHOWER - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 10/13/1962 - HFSID 295479

MAMIE DOUD EISENHOWER
Letter to a friend decrying the condition of a Denver museum exhibit about her family
Autograph Letter signed: "Mamie E", 2 pages (front and verso), 7¼x10½. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , 1962 October 13. Accompanied by mailing envelope addressed in her hand. On personal letterhead to "Dear Frances" [Strecker], in full: "Glad for your letter from Denver and the comments you made about the Museum. Mike was out there last June and he was quite upset about the Doud rooms too. I only wish I could go out and do something myself. Mike would do nothing for he said it was my project. Know how sadly you miss George for he was always a wonderful traveling companion for you. David is in Exeter and we miss him so much - rest of family are well. Saw General and Mrs. Wicker at dinner other night and he spoke of you. Am so far behind on my correspondence that this will have to be a short letter. Enjoyed our trip abroad and certain the children learned a lot. I was glad to get home and do not care to go abroad again soon if ever. Countryside so beautiful now with the fall colors. Off for Hot Springs Ga. next week - then N. Y. The August and after Xmas California. So you see we keep moving. Ike joins me in best wishes to you Muriel and Roger. Affectionately." 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. 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 Eisenhower. When Mrs. Eisenhower wrote this letter, her son John and family were living with the former Presidential couple at the Gettysburg farm. "The children" referenced in the letter are the Eisenhower grandchildren, including David, whose absence while attending Phillips Exeter Academy is noted here. Multiple mailing folds. Fine condition.