Roosevelt Cottage Campobello Island Canada & USA

Roosevelt Campobello International Park pontoon at low tide, with BV anchored off

We had been recommended to visit the Roosevelt Campobello International Park on Campobello Island by our friends Murray and Cate Bassingthwaite (Coolchange).  They suggested that we arrive early and get tickets for ‘Tea with Eleanor’ but, happily, at the International Park, ‘early’ is not very early so at about 0930 on Wednesday 12 September we arrived ashore, very glad for the use of the pontoon, which meant that we didn’t have to drag the dinghy miles up the beach to keep it clear of the rising tide.  ‘Early’ isn’t too early here as the International Park is in New Brunswick in Canada and works on Atlantic Time, whereas a large proportion of the Park’s visitors are American tourists from across the bridge (The FDR Memorial Bridge) in Lubec, Maine, which works on Eastern Time, an hour behind Atlantic Time.

The Roosevelt Cottage

The Roosevelt Campobello International Parkpreserves the house and surrounding landscape of the summer retreat of President Franklin D Roosevelt, his wife, Eleanor, and their family.  FDR first came to Campobello as an infant.  At the time the island was being promoted as a holiday location for wealthy businessmen from Washington, New York and other cities further south; the cool, clean air, bracing water and beautiful scenery were a world apart from the heat, humidity and industrial atmospheres of the commercial centres. FDR’s parents stayed in one of the 3 large hotels that had been built on the island but so loved the place that they bought their own cottage and returned every summer.  So, FDR spent much of his formative childhood on Campobello, spending time swimming, sailing, canoeing and exploring.  The cottage which became his and Eleanor’s was previously owned by friends of his parents.  When the lady died, she left provision in her will that it could be sold cheaply to FDR’s mother, on the understanding that it was kept in trust for FDR.  Thus, he became the owner of the building now known as ‘The Roosevelt Cottage’ shortly after his marriage to Eleanor.  Here they spent some very happy summers with their children, perhaps with FDR reliving some of his childhood through his children’s exploits.

However, the happiness did not last unalloyed.  During a visit in 1921, FDR contracted polio and after that he only returned to the island a couple of times.  In addition, his political career, first as a senator, then as President was taking off which limited the time he could spend away from the corridors of power.  He died, relatively young, in 1945 but Eleanor, who loved the island’s cool summer weather continued to visit the island up until her death in 1962.  After her death the property was deeded to the governments of the U.S. and Canada and in 1964, they created the 2,800-acre International Park, to commemorate FDR’s memory and the special relationship between the USA and Canada.

Wells-Shober Cottage – ‘Tea with Eleanor’

After a brief wander around some of the park our first stop was the Wells-Shober Cottage for ‘Tea with Eleanor’.

‘Tea with Eleanor’.  Eleanor’s picture hangs over the fireplace

Inside, in a dining room with a low sloping ceiling (to remind the original owners of being on board a sailing vessel apparently) we drank Eleanor’s favourite blend of Orange Pekoe tea, ate delicious home cooked ginger cookies and listened to a couple of the park guides tell the story of Eleanor Roosevelt in their own words.  It was fascinating.  Neither Nicky nor I had previously known anything about Eleanor Roosevelt and suddenly we were being told of a lady who spent much of her time whilst FDR was President working on behalf of the unemployed, advocating expanded roles for women in the workplace, and fighting for the civil rights of African-Americans and Asian-Americans as well as the rights of World War II refugees.  She wrote a daily newspaper column, hosted a weekly radio show and wrote a monthly magazine article.  And she travelled.  Widely. She travelled all across the USA to fight civil injustice and, during the Second World War she travelled all across the Pacific theatre meeting injured servicemen and then writing to their families (whilst still keeping up her daily newspaper column). After her husband’s death, Eleanor remained active in politics even up to the end of her life, 17 years later.  She pressed the United States to join and support the UN and was made its first delegate.  She served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights and oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and later she chaired JFK’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.  By the time of her death in 1962, she was, and still is, regarded as one of the most esteemed women in the world.

Roosevelt Cottage

After that impressive biopic, probably a more impressive biopic than FDR’s (and that’s saying something) it was almost a retrograde step to leave and to go to visit the cottage that she and FDR had so enjoyed.

Roosevelt Cottage – (L) Sitting room. (R) Dining room.  Note the huge paper megaphone with which Eleanor called the children back for meals etc in the from left of the picture.  Legend has it that using this, Eleanor’s voice could be heard in Eastport, a mile or so across the water from Campobello

But it was an interesting step back in time with the early 20^thcentury furniture, the ice-house outside and marble ice-boxes inside and the solid fuel stoves in the kitchen.

Roosevelt Cottage – (L) Butler’s pantry. (R) Kitchen

View from the balcony of the Roosevelt Cottage

And the views from the windows and the balconies are beautiful too.  It is easy to see why FDR and Eleanor referred to Campobello as ‘The Beloved Island’.

Roosevelt Campobello International Park pontoon at high tide

But time and tide wait for no man and we needed to catch slack water to go alongside the dock at Eastport, Maine, where we wanted to check into the USA.  So, reluctantly, we left Campobello and headed back to BV for the short journey to America.

Friar’s Bay, Campobello Island, Canada