Oakland, California 2009 Spring Edition

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Floating White House”

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT’S “FIRSTS”By Edward I. Bloom

In his introduction to The Words That Reshaped America – FDR, author Stamford Parker writes, “On March 8, 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt held a press con-ference unlike any that had preceded it. He said to the reporters gathered around his desk: ‘I am told that what I am about to do will become impossible, but I am going to try it. We are not going to have anymore written questions.’ And discarding those pre-submitted by the press, he invited the reporters to ask him anything they wanted to. This candor, this willingness to tell the truth and tell it straight, was one of Roosevelt’s greatest strengths as a speaker and a writer.”

There are many other “firsts” in Franklin Roosevelt’s long career, not all of which occurred during his presidency. The following list is by no means comprehensive, but represents some of the better-known milestones in this remarkable man’s life:

First presidential nominee to give an acceptance speech in-person at a national political convention; Chicago, summer of 1932.

First president to hold informal twice-weekly press conferences throughout his presidency; 992 sessions, partially for off-the-record background, and partially for direct attribution.

First president to give radio talks to a nation-wide audience. This series of eve-ning broadcasts, 30 in all, were called “fireside chats.”

First president to travel out of the country while still in his term of office: •AtlanticConferenceinAugustof1941 •CasablancaConferenceinJanuaryof1943 •QuebecConferenceinAugustof1943 •CairoConferenceinNovemberof1943

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Firsts in the FDr PresiDency

The pioneering president breaks with tradition by Edward I. BloomPage 1

From the Archives

An overview on the Potomac Archives its treasures by Curator, Hank LaneyPage 4

it Works!A report on the “Heart of the Potomac”Page 2

FrienDs oF the PotomAc The most important page in this issuePage 7

mArti’s musings…A closer look at the Potomac’s many exciting cruises for the coming cruise season.Page 3

2009 cruise scheDule

Something for everyonePage 6

letters to the eDitor

Thoughts from Fifth Graderson their visits to the PotomacPage 5

For PotomAc links

Go to:www.usspotomac.org

Continued on page 2

Douglas VC-54C “Sacred Cow”

•TehranConferenceinNovemberof1943 •YaltaConferenceinJanuaryof1945

Note: Hawaii Conference with Adm Nimitz and Gen McAr-thur is not considered outside the U.S.

First president to travel by air while still in office; “The Sacred Cow” was the designation of his airplane.

First president to serve more than two terms; he served three full terms and two and a half months into a fourth term.

FirstpresidenttostarthistermofofficeonJanuary20th,dueto the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution.

First presidential nominee and serving president to be wheel-chair bound, except for brief periods of standing and walk-ing with the aid of leg braces and the supporting arm of a strong assistant.

First and only president to be commander-in-chief of a two-front world war.

First and only president to use The USS Potomac as a “de-coy” while secretly attending an international conference: AtlanticConference;inAugustof1941.

First president to visit the Soviet Union while in office;YaltaConference.

First and only president to close all the nation’s banks for a “bank holiday” by means of an executive order, without the authorization of Congress, in March of 1933. Note: this order was never challenged in the courts, but many believe it was probably unconstitutional.

First president to install a swimming pool in the White House.

If you know of any other “firsts” regarding FDR, please send them to me, Edward Bloom, C/O The Potomac Associa-tion. Next quarter, I will relate some of the “firsts” con-cerning Eleanor Roosevelt.

“Firsts” continued

Potomac Volunteers run the Association at every level. Our volunteer Board of Governors sets policy and direction for the organization, the Ship Maintenance Volunteers keep our Potomac in pristine and dependable working order, our Of-fice Volunteers handle everything from reservations to event planning, and our delightful History Docents embody our mission of education and commitment to the era of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The most amazing aspect of our organization is that it all works. There are no turf issues, divisive politics, or silly sub-agendas; it is all about the success of our Potomac As-sociation. It is working together to tell the Potomac story, engaging our young students in learning, insuring that our cruise guests have an enjoyable experience, and having fun doing it all together.

I am so lucky to be along for the ride. Thank you all.

IT WORKS ! AN ORGANIZATION RUN BY VOLUNTEERSBy Marti Burchell

Take a close look at the photo below. What you see is the heart and soul of the Association for the Preservation of the PresidentialYachtPotomac.

Our Association is blessed with over 120 active, bright, committed, and totally wonderful volunteers. Two thirds of these terrific folks attended our most recent Annual All Vol-unteer Meeting on March 7th.

This meeting is held to give all of our volunteers a chance to hear about the “State of the Potomac” and what our ac-complishments, challenges, and financial year looked like. It also is an opportunity to meet new volunteers, renew old friendships, plan for the year, and talk about what works and what needs work.

Pho

to b

y L

ee D

itle

fsen

-2-

July,followedinOctoberbythealwayssoldoutFleet Week Cruises. We wrap up the season with our Veterans’ Day Cruises as a wonderful tribute to America’s Veterans both past and present.

If you haven’t had enough, how about a trip and tour of An-gel Island? We offer six opportunities throughout the season toenjoya5-hourexcursiononthePotomactoAngelIsland.Youwilldebark(yes,thatreallyisaword)ontheislandandtakea45-minutetramtourfollowedbyagourmetboxlunch.AleisurelyreturntriptoJackLondonSquarecompletesthislovely day.

Stillhavenotpiquedyourinterest?Youcandesignyourownevent! The Potomac is available for private charter through-out theyear.Justgivemeacallat510-627-1667oremailme at Mburchell@usspotomac.org and I will be happy to be of service.

The Potomac History Cruises are tried and true, and they are back on the schedule in abun-dance for 2009. These 2-hour sojourns around the bay offer our guests an opportunity to see San Francisco Bay, learn a bit of its history, and enjoy the plea-sure of sailing on the Potomac. It’s an effective introduction to the many other exciting cruises offered each season.

For instance, this season we are going to Sausalito to visit the venerable Bay Model. The Army Corps of Engineers built a scale model of the topography and tidal flow of San Fran-ciscoBayin1957.TheCorpsonceusedthishigh-tech,1-1/2acre model of San Francisco’s bay and delta as a working lab to resolve problems and observe the impact to changes in water flow. Today the model is strictly for educational pur-posesandreproduces(inscale)theriseandfalloftidesandthe flow and currents of water. On this excursion we will cruise to Sausalito, visit the Bay Model, enjoy lunch, and cruisebacktoJLSviaSanFrancisco.

Another new adventure is Characters of the BayonNovem-ber5.Whoarethesepeopleandwhathavetheydone?SanFrancisco and Oakland have had more than their share of notable and yes, somewhat crazy characters in their history. We will focus on some of the better known of these folks, and tell their stories and how they became part of the history oftheBay.ComemeetEmperorNorton,LillieCoit,HoraceCarpentier and, of course, FDR.

Popular cruises back for a second season include the 3-hour Bridges of the Bay, Islands and Shipyards, Historic Ships, and the Alameda Estuary, and the Treasure Island Cruise. These all include lunch, and will feature guest narrators for each of the special destinations.

The Potomac Special Event Cruises are always fun. We kick off the cruise season with a 3½-hour cruise on Open-ing Day that includes the Blessing of the Fleet, the parade ofshipsand,ofcourse,ashipboardlunch.Nextupinquicksuccession are the KFOG-KABOOM Cruise with fabulous fireworks, the Mother’s Day Cruise featuring brunch with ChampagneMimosas, andinJuneyoucancelebrateyourfavorite Dad on our Father’s Day Cruise.Nextisourverypopular Dessert and Champagne Cruise on the Fourth of

Marti’s Musings…Exciting New Cruise Season!

The Potomac berthed at Angel Island

-3-

Opening Day on the Bay

From the Potomac Archives...By Hank Laney, Curator

In my first days as a new volunteer, CraigNewton,ourShipKeeper,gaveme a tour of the facilities. We ap-proached a locked room in the stor-age trailer to show me the Archives that hold a number of binders, files, drawers, and bookshelves filled with old photos, documents, andartifacts.Noonequiteknowswhereallthiscamefrom,but they provide a record of FDR’s use of the Potomac, the ship’s restoration, and present day operations. I was capti-vated by this wealth of valuable information. A day or so later, Marti Burchell and Craig asked if I would be interested in organizing it all so it could be shared with the Potomac community. Being a history buff, I said, “sure.” So begins the journey.

The first step was to get some sense of how to organize it. There was so much to sort through including: Hundreds of photos, letters, and documents; stamp collections; FDR guest logs; recordings, newspapers, and magazines; period glassware and silverware; Elvis memorabilia; and the resto-ration documentation. As I was sorting though all this mate-rial, it became clear to me that a logical organization would be around the different eras of the Potomac’s history:

•TheconversionoftheElectra •FDR’sextensiveuseoftheshipandthehistoric occasions aboard •1945tothe80’s,andthePotomac’sdismal decline •PortofOaklandacquisitionleadingtothe restoration •And,ofcourse,thesuccessfuloperationofthe PotomacasaNationalHistoricTrusttothisday.

In previous years, there had been several attempts to orga-nize the archives, only to be later abandoned. However, in some areas like the photo collection and restoration records, remarkable progress had been made. But there are still doz-ens of file folders and objects that had been loosely lumped together and all but forgotten. So I have to go through it all, try to remember what I had seen so far, and then properly assign all that had not been catalogued to where it belonged. Here are a few of the rare finds I have uncovered in my work so far:

•Originalcrewmemberaccountsofwhatlife was like aboard with FDR •Pressandmilitaryprotocolsforthearrivalof KingGeorgeVIin1939(thefirstvisitofa BritishSovereigntotheU.S.) •TelegramsfromthePotomactothepress hiding the intentions of FDR and Churchill tomeetfortheAtlanticConferencein1941 •First-daycoversandstampsofimportant FDR era events •Documentationofthepotbust(!)involvingthe Potomac in 1980 •Contemporarythankyouletters,somewith drawings, from children who have cruised onthePotomacsince1995.

When I have completed the catalogue process, I hope that the archives will serve as a historical resource to be enjoyed by all. Providing access to these treasures is in the early stages, but include the creation of a rotating exhibit for the Visitor’s Center and holding open hours for visiting the ar-chives by appointment. I would appreciate any input on this from you as well.

Finally, in future editions of Potomac Currents, I will use this column to focus on particular areas of this collection so you can better appreciate what we have and how it fits into thewonderful75-yearhistoryofthePotomac.Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.

-4-

When I was on the Potomac, I felt special. Thank you for letting us go on the Potomac. It was fasinating (sic) to sit, see, and even stand where Roosevelt once did. Madison S.

I think this says it all about the im-portance of our Student Program and the unique experience it offers to children who visit the Potomac. As a docent and as editor of Po-tomac Currents, this comes with my thanks to all of you who help make thisprogrampossible.AsKellyC.wrote, “I enjoyed the ride.”

Last,butnotleast,oursincerethankstothestudents,teach-ers, and parent chaperones who sailed with us on October 9, andarefromthefollowingschools:EcoleBilingue,JamesMonroe Elementary, Haight Elementary, Roosevelt Elemen-tary,andtheMotherLodeJr.Academy.Itwasgreattohaveyou aboard!

In the next issue of Potomac Currents, I will be writing to youfromacolumncalledMooringLines.Inthemeantime,I look forward to more letters to the editor, and look forward to hearing from you.

Letters to the EditorVirginia Rapp

While working a docent shift one rainy Friday in February, Myrna McGraw, Education Coordinator for the USS Po-tomac, handed me a binder filled with thank you letters from fifth graders who had been on our Student Cruises. After reading a few, I realized that I had met many of these stu-dents on my first cruise as a Docent for the Student Program last October. It was just before Fleet Week, so the excitement for these children ran even higher when, during their cruise, the Blue Angels flew over the Bay, and often directly above the Potomac, for a practice run.

Since then, I have added a second hat as a volunteer for the Association, and am now the editor of Potomac Currents. Moreover, as editor, I could not pass up the opportunity to share some of these thank you letters and their recurring themes. Most began with Dear Docent(hey,that’sme!)orDear Potomac Staff.

The couch was mentioned frequently. It was a hit with the students who found it relaxing and comfortable, and they clearly understood why this was FDR’s favorite way to enjoy the Potomac. Several letters mentioned the typewriter in the Commanding Officer’s cabin. As Mariela put it, I can’t be-lieve I saw a typewriter for the very first time! Others wrote that they loved giving a pat on the head to Fala, an adorable dog,accordingtoJocelynN.Anotherotherstudent,DavidM., told us, I learned many new words such as deck, star-board, wall, and ladder, while his classmate, Isaieh, really liked the Presidential kitchen. Sailing under the Bay Bridge wasthehighlightformanyincludingJuan,buthealsowrote,I was very glad that we didn’t sink.

In a group of letters that began Dear Tomasina, our young visitors said over and over that they liked wearing the hat – the Fedora in the FDR’s Stateroom. It was cool! (Ed’s.Note:HatsofftoDocentTomasinaWoida!Iwillbesuretoadd hat doffing to my itinerary the next time I lead a Student Tour.)

However, what struck me most was the letter addressed to Dear Potomac People, that went on to say:

-5-

JOIN US ABOARD THE POTOMAC

2009SPECIALEVENTCRUISES •AngelIslandCruiseandTour May27•June24•July22•August26 (Onceamonth,MaythroughOctober)September23•October28 •OpeningDayontheBay April26 •Mother’sDay May10 •Father’sDay June21 •IndependenceDay July4 •FleetWeek October10and11 •Veteran’sDay November11(2cruises)

Prices and times for Special Event Cruises will vary, please call for information.

2009THREEHOURSPECIALHISTORYCRUISESAll Special History Cruises Depart at 10:30 AM

June18andSeptember12 HistoricShipsoftheBay June13andSeptember17 Alameda,theEstuary&TreasureIsland July16andAugust8 IslandsandShipyards July11andAugust20 ThreeBridgesoftheBay November5–FamousCharactersoftheBay Adults -$65, Seniors - $60, Children 6-12 - $45, Groups of 20 or more - $50 (Includes lunch) October15–BayModelCruise(5-Hrs.)Adults $85- Seniors $80 -Children $65 -Groups $75

2009TWOHOURHISTORYCRUISESAll History Cruises Depart at 10:30 AM

HistoryCruisesrunMaythroughNovemberonalternateThursdaysandSaturdays.Afullscheduleisavailableon our website at www.usspotomac.org orcallforinformation510-627-1215.Adults -$45, Seniors - $40, Children 6-12 - $25, Groups of 20 or more - $35

DOCKSIDETOURSDocent-leadtoursofthePotomac,WednesdayandFriday10:30AMto2:30PM,andSundayNoonto3:30PM

Adult $10 – Seniors $8 – Children under 12 Free

-6-

The Potomac Association540WaterStreet

P.O.Box2064Oakland,CA94604Telephone:510-627-1215

www.usspotomac.org The Potomac Currents is published

by the Association for the PreservationofthePresidentialYacht,Potomac,Inc.

Editor: Virginia RappLayoutandDesign:DavidMcGraw

Editorial Board: Marti Burchell, Ed Bloom,RichKnowles,LesMarks,HankLaneyand

David McGraw. ElectronicGuru:KarenLyberger

Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced without the written permission

of the publisher.

Board of Governors and StaffMichael Roosevelt, Chairman

Carla Betts, PresidentTom Morehouse, 1st Vice President

Art Haskell, CFOJeanGaskill,Secretary

Rick Anderson, Mary Bergan,JoeBrennan,DavidConnolly,Curtis Davies,Virginia Furth,

JudyGoff,AlGroh,DougHiggins,HalMarsh,JamesMcCloud,DennyMcLeod,RonParedes,JeffSturm,

KirkRowlands,RichardZampa

Marti Burchell, Executive DirectorCraigNewton,ShipKeeper

This Sailboat is a reproduction of an original design by President Roosevelt used on his per-sonal matchbooks.

Note:QuestionsorcommentsabouttheabovelistingmaybereferredtoGordonSeligson,email:gseligson@usspotomac.org orwritetoFriendsofthePotomac,P.O.Box2064,Oakland,CA94604.

Friends of the PotomacThe USS Potomac Association acknowledges the following individuals and organizations for their generous

donations between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2009

Port of Oakland

CORPORATE/PATRON

COMMANDERINCHIEF

RichardZampa–DistrictCouncil of Ironworkers

ELEANOR

CAPTAIN

FIRST MATE

FALA

KieretsuForum

APLTranspacificTrade

Rick AndersonCA Field Iron Workers Admin

TrustDrJacobDeegan

Willis DemingVirginia Furth

Jean&BarbaraGaskill

Dale HansenArthur HaskellFloydJames

KurtLauridsenJamesMcCloud

Denny&RuthMcLeodDan Strohl

Mary BerganDon&CathyDeCoss

William&MarshaDillon

James&RebeccaEisenKarenKeys

KirkRowlandsJohn&ClemUnderhill

JuddWilliamsfamilyDavidLeeWoods&PhyllisD

Chambers

JohnsonBogartJamesBolen

Ronald&LillianCapePat&BarbiCarson

Ronald Cassasa

Les&ElaineDropkinOlaf Elander

Norman&EdnaEltringhamVickie GreggAlbert Groth

NancyKickertzBill&MollieKinney

RichKnowles&MerlynUhlenberg

RichardLongorgan

David&MyrnaMcGrawAngeline Papestafan

Stuart&VallynProffittMichael RooseveltGordon SeligsonBeverly Voelker

Gail&BruceAdairRuth Adar

Carol AndersonRon&JudyArrantsBayShip&Yacht

Bruce BaurGene Bell

Miriam&LeonBloombergJohnBradley

Roland BrandelMarti Burchell

Windy&JerryButlerVern&AliceCarrier

Dave ConnallyFred Cunningham

Chalres&JacquelineDelMonte

Al DessayerLeeDitlefsen

Art&ArdethDreshfeldRobertEakin&AvisHendley

JosephEchelberryBill&MarineEwingDorothy&JulieFilice

Pete GeffenBonnie&EarlHamlinMavourneen Harshman

Heinhold’sFirst&LastChanceSaloon

BillHodges&KenHorton

CaptWalterJaffeeMarvinJensenCarolJohnston

CharlieKearns&FrankChingLawrenceKellogJr

Kenneth&MargoKingsburyJohnKlip

Neal&NancyLamblyDanielLamey

John&IrisLopezSandraLundgrenPatriciaMacLeanThomas MurrayJimO’Connor

Art&CarrellRankin

Joseph&BonnieReidMitch Salzman

Jon&FranSilerJerry&LoveneSilsdorf

Elaine StanleyMelinda Taplin

Rudy TilleyJohn&DarleenUpmeier

LeeVeldeWanda WivianoCynthia WeissPatrick Welch

John&MarilynWellandMary WhiteheadRuthAnnYager

Maxine AdamsRichard Black

Donald BonneyDavidBrossard&SallyBeck

Ted BrownRachel Buckley

Margot&ValentineChmelSteven Coleman

Angelique&YannCucaro-Renault

Gus DoroughGeorgia Edlund

Elizabeth HannonLeroy&MarleneHintzman

EstherJenningsColleenKelly-Prola

JackLapidosLucy&LawrenceJohn

RonaldLouisDawn Muller

Cathy O’BrienAnn Papastefan

JohnPapastefan&familyWilliam Peeters

Herbert PlochBrenda PriceVirginia Rapp

Maurice RobichaudMary Rudser

Bill&CarolSeawellKathySzumiloskiRobert Woodruff

-7-

STUDENT/TEACHER

SUSTAININGPATRON

Ken&CarlaBettsJoeBrennan&JanTiura

MatsonNavigation Waterfront Plaza Hotel

Tom&CarolMorehouse

ADMIRAL

Tom Bernitt