Library Collections: Document: Full Text

It was a great day when Franklin D. Roosevelt returned home to Warm Springs -- a day that will live long in the memory of all who turned out to welcome him.

His trip to Warm Springs was one of triumph, a sharp contrast indeed, to the occasion of his first arrival here nine years ago. Then a victim of infantile paralysis searching for a better way to gain back what he had lost; now a candidate for President of the United States.

Motoring from Atlanta, the Governor was met in Greenville by three cars from the Foundation, representing three phases of his public life. A Ford of 1914 vintage carried his double as "Assistant Secretary of the Navy." A 1928 model carried the "Governor of New York," and in a snappy 1932 model, was the "Next President."

It happened that the "Assistant Secretary of the Navy" Ford broke down under its years and failed to quite complete the trip with the rest of the procession. This unlooked for failure, by a slight anachronism, may symbolize the day infantile paralysis struck Roosevelt down. Like the old Ford, he seemed doomed to watch the procession of life pass him by. Time changed that. The "Next President" car led the parade from Greenville.

He was greeted by an audience of patients and residents from the surrounding territory. Thousands upon thousands had greeted the Governor all over the country during his campaign tours, but no welcome could have been as warm or as sincere as that accorded him by his friends and neighbors at Warm Springs.

"I am truly glad to be home," the Governor said, to those gathered to welcome him.

"After November 8, I am coming back down here and I can assure you that we'll have one of those old Thanksgiving parties for which you and I are famous."

This promise of an almost immediate return was certainly a bright spot in the hearts of the patients as they watched Warm Springs' most illustrious citizen make his departure to continue his tour after a visit of only a few hours.