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Prosperity and Thrift: The Coolidge Era and the Consumer Economy, 1921-1929

Boone Papers. Chapter on President Coolidge from the Memoirs of His Physician, Joel T. Boone.

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(Taped
18NOV64)

As I suspected, Coupal accompanied Colonel Cheney to Plattsburg on a what seemed to be {begin inserted text}a{end inserted text} secret mission, as nothing was talked about it and I had reasons to believe that it pertained to John, who was taking training at Plattsburg at that period. Whether he would remain at the camp for the rest of the summer or return to Plattsburg, as far as I knew, had not been decided when he joined his father and mother at White Pine Camp Sunday, August 15. I hoped that he would remain with them and not have {begin inserted text}a{end inserted text} a long periodod separation from them. ? certainly need the guidance and direction and loving care and sympathetic understanding of his mother. The day after he returned, he and I played tennis at White Pine Camp and I looked forward to a very delightful period with him. I knew we could get a lot of swimming and tennis in together, maybe I could take him on some motor trips if his father were willing. He was tanned and looked quite well from his training period at Plattsburg. I sensed an apprehensiveness on his part.

It was about this time that I learned that a Doctor Adams had been temporarily assigned to the MAYFLOWER during my extended absence, because the MAYFLOWER was to cruise in New England waters. Of course, she needed a medical officer aboard her at all times. Subsequently we learned that Doctor Adams had {begin inserted text}did{end inserted text} a very good job and was well liked by the officers and men on the MAYFLOWER. It pleased me very much.

It was always a happy circumstance when Mrs. Coolidge joined

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John and me for a swim in Osgood Lake. She was jolly and full of conversations on these occasions. John had a disposition of losing his temper when playing tennis and did not accept instructions to improve his game, as I wished he would. I felt it was due to a nervous tension that he couldn't release.

Another delightful evening out when I was invited to be guest of a Doctor and Mrs. Walter B. James of New York. Mrs. James was a member of the Rockefeller family and, I found, was very wealthy and having a beautiful place on Upper St. Regis Lake. I was surprised as a young man with such a distinguished number of guests for dinner, I found myself seated on the right of the hostess, which made me the guest of honor. Doctor James met me with his very goodlooking speedboat at the Paul Smith's landing. H {begin inserted text}W{end inserted text} e had one of those delightful late summer boat rides across the lake, looking at the lovely mountains as we cruised to St. Regis Island. Then on our return to Paul Smith's we had a very lovely moonlight, the mists rising from the lake, which added to its charm. The James camp was one of the really showplaces. They had a most attractive group of people as guests Poker for dinner. One of the guests was a Doctor {begin inserted text}Poker{end inserted text} from New York who was a friend of Dick Derby's and, happily, admired Dick greatly. I never knew a person who didn't. Docto

Doctor and Mrs. James had another home, very beautiful, I am told, at Cold Spring Harbor, which was near Oyster Bay. They were intimate friends of the Theodore Roosevelts.

I had met Doctor and Mrs. James at the Mrs. Marvin's dinner

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when the Browns were visiting there. Again it meant dressing up in a tuxedo for dinner.

Once more, I was amused to set out from our Marine camp, dressed in evening clothes.

I found that the Upper St. Regis camps observed daylight saving time. Always the residents a there and their guests dressed for dinner. I much preferred really the Fishers' estate. There we dressed very informally in sport clothes, which seemed more fitting in camp.

I always felt the view from the Fishers' front porch was my favorite while I was in the Adirondacks. One could not but sit there and thoroughly relax and feast on the scenery that lay before him. No place in the Adirondacks did I find as much relaxation and refreshment for body and spirit and soul as I did at Forestmere.

On 20 August I wrote to Captain Brown, who by that time or sometime before had taken up his duties as Commanding Officer of the MAYFLOWER in the New London area, making some reports to him pertaining to my duty at the Marine Corps camp. I did make the finding, observation as to camp. I said that I was"sitting here in front of my tent in beautiful s sunlight. The sky is a perfect blue. There is just enough breeze to make music by the swaying of the tree branches and the ripple of water in the lake. Knowing the weather up here as well as you do, you are conscious that a clear day is a real subject for conversation, but really Sunday, Thursday, and today have been ideal, except that the nights have had a snap and we have already had a frost. Maybe this information will make you shiver a

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little if you are dressed in whites, as I presume you are. The mosquitoes and bugs seem to have made almost complete retreat, so you know we are deprived of another subject of conversation and something to kick about."

Then it was a pleasure to narrate to Captain Brown the day that I wrote him 26 enlisted men of the Marine camp, accompanied by their Commanding Officer, Captain Stack, and one of the lieutenants, for Lieutenant Hall, left in a fine big bus on {begin inserted text}for{end inserted text} a day's outing. I narrated that they would go to Ausable Chasm where they would be provided dinner. Then they would proceed to Lake Placid, which is one of my favorite spots in the Adirondacks, and have supper at the Stevens House. {begin inserted text}Para.{end inserted text} I narrated to Captain Brown that John Coolidge had returned on the previous Saturday night from Lake, from Plattsburg. I did not know how much freedom he would have or how he would be restricted to the immediate area of White Pine Camp. Then I narrated: "I tried to take him to the Fishers' one day, but learned that he could not go anywhere. The Stearns will be here all this month and there have been numerous guests who left, so I surmise the period of seclusion is past, although Mrs. Coolidge did not receive people other than those invited for meals....

"We all miss you very much and I assure you it meant a great deal to everyone here to have you at least part of the time with us and particularly during our early stay while we were getting settled and adjusted to our new environment. I anticipate with extreme pleasure my cruise aboard the MAYFLOWER with you."

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A few days after writing Captain Brown I had the pleasure of taking John Coolidge shopping in Saranac in the Lake Placid area and then to see the Saranac Inn. In telling his mother of his trip and referring to Saranac Inn, he s ia {begin inserted text}ai{end inserted text} d: "It was the berries." John had not had an outing, having been turned down in taking him to Fishers', I was delighted I could get him out the camp for a little while and take him on an automobile trip to see some of the other places in the Adirondacks.

Captain Stack of the Marine Corps and I teamed up in golf as the Navy team to compete with Colonel Cheney and Major Coupal. The Army seemed to be much superior to us and would defeat us. We had a lot of fun in our wholesome rivalry.

Of the many movies we had, I felt "Beau Geste {begin inserted text}e{end inserted text} " was one of the best we had while we were in camp. We continued to enjoy our radio immensely and were able to get programs from as far away as Atlantic City. It is worthy of note, the contrast in communication between 1926 and 1964 as I am writing.

August 24th, John Coolidge told me that his grandmother, Mrs. Goodhue, didn't care much for him, which I was very sorry to hear indeed; also that she and his father never got along well together, because his father never wanted to visit the Goodhues for more than a couple of days; also, the President said Mrs. Goodhue's popularity was due to his own success. The feeling between the President and Mrs. Goodhue, his mother-in-law, seemed to be a subject on which there had been much discussion unfortunate situation that was

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quite well known.

The next day Mr. Stearns expressed displeasure that the President the day before went fishing when Congressman Madden from Chicago had come up to Paul Smith's to call upon the President, and it would seem obvious, mission of considerable importance. Mr. Stearns said: "He (referring to the President) is a great one going off fishing with Madden here."

On Sunday, August 29th, which was my 37th birthday in 1926, I, as customary, attended the church of St. John's-in-the-W oods {begin inserted text}ilderness,{end inserted text} the sermon being preached by the minister for the American church in Rome. In 1956 my wife while in Rome attended the American church on several occasions, never realizing that when we were in Paul Smith's in 1926 that we would ever get to Europe.

After church I was a guest for lunch and to play tennis there and was dinner guests of Mrs. Whitelaw Reid's. It was really a wonderful afternoon of tennis, playing 8 sets. Kermit Roosevelt, son of Theodore Roosevelt, and I defeated Miss Goss, noted tennis star, and her sister. Then the younger Miss Goss and I defeated Kermit and Miss Glynn, an English girl. After dinner, the Roosevelts being guests also, I accompanied them in the speedboat to Paul Smith's.

August 30 we sadly learned that Major Arthur Brooks, the valet to Presidents for many years, was very ill in Washington. Of course, I felt comforted that I sent him back to Washington from White Pine Camp when I did, and he had been receiving excellent medical care after he got to Washington/. from Doctor K. C. Melhorn of the Naval Medical Corps.

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As the end of August approached, a gala event was being planned for and was to occur on September the 2nd.

The 28th the Fishers had a house party which began that day at Forestmere and continued until the day of their oldest daughter's wedding, who was Josephine D. Fisher. She became the bride of Charles Mackey Hughes. I was included in many of the events preceding the wedding: tennis party, swimming party, boating parties, luncheons and dinner parties, picnics. In the house party were approximately 20 guests. I was invited to come and go and enter into any of the events that for which I had time to participate, as I wished. One more example of the Fishers' wonderful hospitality shown to me throughout the summer.

One of the wedding party was a young fellow named Frank Kohler. He was a very attractive youngster. Years later his father became Governor of Wisconsin. Very successful manufacturer, held out on a strike for a long period of time, which attracted a great deal of public attention.

The father and mother of the groom, "Chuck" Hughes, were a very attractive couple. Many years later when Mr. Hughes was a widower and the noted Thomas Edison had died, Mr. Hughes married Mrs. Edison. It seems strange as I write this incident that I met Chuck Hughes at the time of his wedding. Then during President Hoover's Administration I met {begin inserted text}the{end inserted text} Thomas Edisons, got to know Chuck's mother, President and Mrs. Hoover and a large party were guests of Henry Ford Greenfield, Michigan, when he entertained fabulously for Thomas Edison and his wife.

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While Mr. Hughes was visiting the Fishers, he was under my professional care,for which he expressed deep appreciation. He had what seemed to be gall stone colic.

I shall always be inexpressibly grateful to Alice Walsh and Dave Chapman, as now in 1964 and it has been for many years that through them I met the delightful Art Fisher family, of course, as well, Art Fisher's lovely mother.

Also in the wedding party, Betty and Bill Mitchell, of whom I have spoken, whom I later saw much of in my various sojourns in Honolulu. They, in turn, extended wonderful hospitality to me for long periods of time when I was on ships based in Honolulu or when I passed through there in going out to the Orient and returning. They became staunch friends and always were most kind and generous in their attentiveness to me.

Aunt and uncle of the bride, Josephine Fisher, were a Mr. and Mrs. John Porter of Pittsburgh. They were very wealthy. I believe it was they who founded a large art gallery for the city of Pittsburgh.

The night of September 1st they gave a beautiful dinner party at Paul Smith's, wedding party. The party did not break up until 3 o'clock in the morning, and I recorded in my notes, "A good time was had by all!" and I certainly can confirm that even at this late date. It was a most memorable event.

I had entertained all the Fisher guests who were in the house party at the Marine Corps camp this same afternoon to see movies, much to their delight, because they didn't have movies anyplace else, at Paul Smith's or Forestmere area.

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Josephine Fisher and Charles or "Chuck" Hughes married at 12:30 noon in St. John's-in-the-Wilderness church. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I had ever attended. It was a particularly beautiful wedding party. The bride's sister, Marlin Fisher, was Maid of Honor. She attended Smith College but never finished there but stopped so as to travel to India with her family. She returned to Smith College to see her graduate and her parents thought she experienced a heavy heart when she was aware she was not a member of the graduating class.

I took many movies of the wedding

The reception to follow was great fun. Liquid and solid refreshments for the wedding were beyond description. The Fishers had contracted with Sherry's Restaurant in New York to do the catering for the wedding reception. Sherry's sent two large trucks to convey the food and necessary dishes, linen, silver, etc., and 17 employees for the reception. I had not seen such rich supply theretofore.

My Marine Corps officers at our camp joined in presenting a beautiful roasting platter to the bride. The Marine officers from White Pine Camp {begin inserted text}and I{end inserted text} dressed up in spic and span white uniforms for the wedding, quite striking looking apparel up in the Adirondacks camp, but they fitted in well with the beautiful clothes worn by the bride and all the other female guests, host, hostess, grandmother of the bride, add the fine-looking daytime apparel of the gentlemen in attendance.

The reception lasted all afternoon and well into the night. Just before midnight bacon and eggs were served. Everything was so lovely out of doors, with the lakes in the distance and the mountains

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surrounding, everyone in dress clothes having a gay and happy time on the lawns of Forestmere.

The next day after playing tennis in the morning with John Coolidge at White Pine Camp, I took him over to the Marine camp so that he could meet a number of the house party from the Fisher camp. Would have loved to have attended the wedding, and the bridge and groom and Mr and Mrs Fisher would have been delighted to have had him, but he was not allowed to leave the White Pine Camp of his father's. He came over to the Marine camp in a motorboat. Everyone was pleased to meet and see him, and he seemed to enjoy the little while he was in the company of this very delightful group of young people. We yearned for him to have such opportunities more frequently. I know it would have done him lots of good.

Early in September we found the air was so cold and the water was getting cold that not many would indulge in swimming, but I continued to do so for some days. Warm shower right afterward was very welcome to restore the superficial circulation. One became almost numb in that cold water in the Adirondacks in early September.

(INSERT below:) One became almost numb in the cold water of the {ILLEGIBLE} . I relished the cold swimming and I felt it benefited me, for I was in excellent health while in the Adirondacks and my vitality and energy amazed others. I apparently bespoke in appearance and activity one who thrived on a lot of athletic indulgences. I gave evidence of being one who had inexhaustible energy. Throughout the summer I was in perfect health.

I was sorry to see Betty and Bill Mitchell off when they took the train at Gabriel's, not realizing that I would see them a number of times thereafter in Honolulu, passing of years.

I learned on the 6th of September that the MAYFLOWER had returned to Washington after a period in the Norfolk Navy Yard and then cruising in New England waters and Long Island Sound particularly.

On September 7th, in receiving news that Arthur Brooks had died

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early that morning, I was very, very saddened. Not only had I had great admiration for Brooks, but I had real affection for him. He and I had had some very fine trying experiences together when there was reason for us to worry greatly. We had labored in the vineyard side by side in the Harding Administration after I had become a part of it in the spring of 1922, then through the Coolidge period until we had to send Brooks back to Washington because of ill health. I was very devoted to Brooks. I felt great tributes could be paid to Brooks of a glowing nature. The President stated to the newspapermen at his office that Brooks was as fine a gentleman as he had ever known or met since his meeting him in Washington and having him as his valet. Brooks as a National Guard officer with colored troops attaining the rank of "Major" was a model of deportment and set a high standard for those serving and living near him. His wife told me that Brooks sensed he was in his last illness and arranged for it which was characteristic of him as he was a perfectionist.

The President and Mrs. Coolidge, I know, felt his death and were not able to give {begin inserted text}(sensitive?){end inserted text} voice to their sorrow. One thing that the President said was well stated. Speaking of Brooks' faithfulness even unto death, he a had heard that Brooks had given the combination of the safe to all the silver in the White House during a transient period of consciousness to a trusted White House employee. In other words he passed on to that {begin inserted text}the baton{end inserted text} to a new runner, continue on the course, trus e {begin inserted text}t{end inserted text} and making for safety and security of valuable White House property, possessions.

No doubt, when Brooks was very, very ill and approaching death, he must have had almost uppermost in his mind his responsibility of that large safe in his office i on the basement floor of the White House, which was under his custody. He {begin inserted text}May{end inserted text} seemed to be a characteristic, deep-grained sense of responsibility that was Arthur Brooks.

Brooks was just as much beloved at the White House as any other person. Brooks was of the colored race, a gentleman who always conducted himself with proper deportment. I felt his passing as though he had been a close relative of mine.

The next day, as was becoming almost my daily practice, I went to the Fishers' home to swim and as special guest of Mrs. J.J. Fisher for luncheon in her lovely home at Forestmere. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with my good friend, Art Fisher, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes.

While with the President both at 8:00 a. m. and {ILLEGIBLE} 6:30 in the evening making my professional call upon him--Coupal was then in Albany--we had a very pleasant time together. He became irritable with Mrs. Coolidge when she inquired about the primaries in Massachusetts. He scolded John severely for turning on the radio, John snapping back at his father. Longed to have the nervous tensions released. It was a strain for all and embarrassment to me when I was pres s ent as they occurred.

I took marked issue with Captain Stack when I proposed to take movies to the Fishers and show them up at Forestmere. He behaved like a peevish child and I climbed his frame for his swearing and lack of appreciation for all the Fishers had done for us, him included.

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I had the pleasure on the 9th of September, which was my father's 69th birthday in 1926, to have {begin inserted text}one of{end inserted text} the most distinguished Naval medical officers as my guest s at lunch in the Marine camp. He was Norman J. Blackwin, graduate of the Naval Academy before he studied medicine. He was one of the most distinguished medical officers in the Naval Medical Corps during my early years in the Naval service.

On the 10th of September Arthur Brooks was buried in Washington and I felt very disappointed that I could not get to Washington to pay final tribute for such a faithful and loyal servant and a real gentleman of the old colored school. I knew he would be missed greatly at the White House and was a most difficult man to replace.

When playing tennis one day with John at White Pine Camp, Mrs. Coolidge scolded him for not retrieving the tennis balls himself, saying that he was much like his father, doesn't do anything for himself that he can get someone else to do for him.

Sunday, September 12, the very noted Bishop Brent preached a wonderful sermon {begin inserted text}(my){end inserted text} international fellowship at the church that I had been attending since being at White Pine Camp. Being the bishop to the Philippines and one of the most respected members of the cloth, very striking looking gentleman.

I again had the pleasure of having lunch that day at Mrs. Whitelaw Reid's camp and Bishop Brent was a guest there. I had a chance to have a visit with him, which was very stimulating and inspiring. After noon, the {ILLEGIBLE} {begin inserted text}famous{end inserted text} tennis player, senior Miss Goss, rubbed my nose into the court by defeating me severely in singles. One of the

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newspapermen, good friend of mine, Carter Field, had framed the match. I certainly showed up badly. I was well outclassed and should never have attempted to play with such a noted tennis star. Mrs. Reid invited me to remain for dinner, but I had to return to see the President at White Pine Camp.

(End of reel.)

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