"We have built no temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution." — Rufus Choate

The early days of February 2021 began, to quote an old English hymn, with “snow on snow” – a record snowfall on Long Island. Brenda Cherry caught the quiet beauty of that “Bleak Mid-Winter” February snow at Sagamore Hill in two photos we include below. It seems a long time until Spring, but at some point in the near future, the weather will warm, more people will get their vaccinations, and some degree of normalcy will return. In the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt, we share an optimism about the future of our country and of Sagamore Hill. Superintendent Jonathan Parker, Scott Gurney, Tyler Kuliberda, Lindsay Davenport, Laurel Brierly, and Laura Cinturati are all working on new outreach projects and new ways to use volunteers as we welcome visitors back to the Site.

This month also marks a different kind of adventure for Charlotte Miska and me. This is the 12th issue of the all-digital version of the Rough Writer, and it marks a great year of collaboration and friendship. In addition to having to work remotely, with early morning calls to each other (Charlotte literally gets up with the birds!), and learning to use a new publication platform (Constant Contact), we have also enjoyed the opportunity to do historical research and connect to TR’s naturalist passions and to work with others who have generously contributed articles and suggestions. We are also indebted to Sue and Laura for fact-checking and proofreading when our own eyes blurred over from reading the same paragraphs too many times. We thank them all, and especially Milton Elis who handed his “baby” to us last January, trusting we would do his work justice. We wish him well as he recovers from his recent hospitalization and send our love and gratitude.

Scenes of Sagamore Hill (photos by Brenda Cherry)

A bust of former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt sits on a shelf with The Works of Theodore Roosevelt in the Oval Office as decorated for our newly-inaugurated President Joe Biden

Sagamore Hill has dozens of sets of The Works of Theodore Roosevelt in their collection. Some are displayed in various rooms in the TRH including the Front Hall, Drawing Room, and the Gun Room, all with different publication dates and editions. Some are limited editions put out by specific publishers. The set in the Front Hall says that it is set 300 out of 1,000 of the Elkhorn edition. Museum Technician Laura Cinturati said she has also seen a set called "The Federal Edition” and some of them have TR or EKR bookplate labels inside.

In December, Danny Karas traveled to Nebraska where he met up with Jeremy Hoyt and also did a bit of hunting: “Here’s a picture of Jeremy Hoyt and me in Ogallala, Nebraska. After driving for 30 miles on an unpaved road to get there, we met for lunch on December 16th. While in that part of the country, I had a successful bison hunt on Ted Turner’s Blue Water Creek Ranch in the Sandhills region."

Bill Reed stayed a bit closer to home, but had some news to report all the same. He said bon voyage to his daughter Liz, her husband, Chris, and new baby daughter, Violet, who headed to Poland where Chris does IT work for the American Embassy there. And while most of us are having to wait until March or even April for appointments to get vaccinations, Bill and Donna were among the lucky ones to score a COVID-19 vaccine in late January.

Janet Parga writes that along with her interests in TR, during the shutdown period she has been able to continue her passion for gardening and has been working with the horticulturalists at Planting Fields.

Mike Sassi writes, “Since the era of COVID-19, I have been volunteering with the Preservation Department at Old Westbury Gardens. The picture shows me in Mr. Phipp’s study in the mansion. Did you notice the very clean fireplace? How about those highly polished silver wall sconces? (I hate to brag.)

Vicky Cortese writes from her home in Mattituck that she misses coming to Sagamore Hill, especially working in the TRH in curatorial work and giving tours, but that she and her husband Mike have been staying close to home these days, are healthy and enjoying the beauty of the East End.

Brenda Cherry continues working part-time at the Syosset Public Library where she gets a chance to indulge her research interests and has contributed some of her archival finds from the early 1900’s to the Rough Writer. In her spare time, she likes to bake bread. Here is a picture of her oat loaf. Place your orders now!

Joe DeFranco also writes that he and his family “have been judiciously guarding against COVID, but spend two to three days a week babysitting our two little Tasmanian devil storms (aka, grandchildren!). Needless to say we need a glass of wine at the conclusion of each of those days, but certainly love our work which includes 5 AM wake-up calls. The loss of sleep is paid back in multiples with memories. Here is a picture of us enjoying a visit from our daughter who lives in San Diego. I flew her in first class to minimize any risk to all of traveling to visit us. Life is good but will hopefully get better soon."

Margo Karler writes, “We continue doing not much of anything these days. My husband is still working remotely. I spend my days accomplishing very little – just hanging out with our dogs and walking the neighborhood. When this pandemic is behind us I swear I’ll never use the phrase “I’m bored” again. A few weeks ago we added a third Samoyed to our family. Toby is pure joy – turning 14 weeks today. Our older dogs, 4-year old girl Mochi and 2-year old girl Elsie, are thrilled with their new baby brother. I was excited to be able to renew my driver’s license last month. This may seem trivial, but it gave me hope that we are returning to a tiny bit of normal.”

Charlotte Miska and Nancy Hall, along with Mary Ann Reardon, Toby Selda, and Madeline Nelson have been meeting, weather permitting, in Toby’s backyard for most of the past eleven months with roundtable discussions on books, politics, and movies, punctuated by chocolate candy breaks – all socially distanced! Charlotte and Nancy have also been working “socially distanced” on the Rough Writer. Smartphones and computers, as well as the indispensable fact-checking by Sue Sarna and Laura Cinturati, make it all possible.

While Nancy’s bees do not make as many demands on her time during the winter months, she continues to experiment with bread making and takes long walks on the nature trails near her home. Charlotte has been perfecting a recipe for chicken tortilla soup (yum), enjoys her bird walks in all weather, and sharing information about birds at Sagamore Hill in her columns for the Rough Writer.

“It was on the tops of the bookcases and mantel and on the walls [of the Library] that Theodore Roosevelt’s restless taste was most clearly evident.”

(David Wallace, Staff Curator, 1989)

Sources:

February 28, 1860 – TR's brother, Elliott Roosevelt, is born.

February 9, 1878 – Thee dies of stomach cancer.

February 12, 1884 – Alice gives birth to a healthy baby girl and names her Alice Lee.

February 14, 1884 – Mittie dies of typhoid fever; a few hours later, Alice Hathaway Lee dies of Bright’s disease.

February 16, 1884 – Alice and Mittie have a double funeral and are buried in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery.

February 17, 1884 – TR and Alice’s daughter is christened.

February 18, 1902 – TR orders the Justice Department to bring an anti-trust suit against Northern Securities; the court rules in 1904 that Northern Securities must dissolve.

February 1, 1905 – TR signs the act that facilitates the creation of the National Forest Service.

February 17, 1906 – TR’s daughter Alice marries Republican Congressman Nicholas Longworth in the East Room of the White House.

February 1912 – TR throws his hat in the ring, announcing that he's running for president as a Republican.

February 27, 1914 – The expedition starts down the River of Doubt.

The Christmas Bird Count is an annual Audubon event and the world’s biggest and longest-running citizen science project. Data collected during the count is used to track the general health of bird populations which informs management decisions and scientific studies. National Parks and other public lands play an important role in providing essential habitat for many bird species to winter, breed, and/or stop to rest while migrating. The count is now in its 121th year.

Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, Museum of Natural History ornithologist Frank Chapman, an early officer in the then budding Audubon Society and friend of TR, proposed a new holiday tradition – a "Christmas Bird Census" – that would count birds in the holidays rather than hunt them. So began the Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Thanks to the inspiration of Frank Chapman and the enthusiasm of 27 dedicated birders, 25 Christmas Bird Counts were held that day. The locations ranged from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California with most counts in or near the population centers of northeastern North America. Those original 27 Christmas Bird Counters tallied around 90 species on all the counts combined.

Today the Christmas Bird Count is conducted from the high arctic of Canada, throughout North America and Hawaii, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Last year 81,601 observers in 2,646 counts tallied 42,704,077 individual birds. Each count takes place in an established 15-mile diameter circle and is organized by a count compiler. Each circle is divided into areas. Sagamore Hill is within the territory covered by the Northern Nassau count circle which covers Manhasset Bay to the west, Lloyd Neck to the east, and south into Westbury. This year the Northern Nassau CBC was held on December 19.

Park Rangers Tyler and Scott went on separate walks on December 19 and tallied a combined 26 species, which is a few more species than recorded during last year’s count. Some highlights were an Eastern Screech Owl and Eastern Bluebirds, which have maintained a healthy presence on site for most of 2020. Later in the day, Tyler met with Marc and Sharon Brody, count area leaders from the Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society, to report their results.

SAHI Volunteers Al and Lois Lindberg and Charlotte Miska also participated in the Northern Nassau CBC. Al covered Muttontown Preserve, Lois did the Coffin Woods Preserve feeder count – where she had the only Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the Northern Nassau Count, and Charlotte slogged around the Oyster Bay waterfront. Al deserves special mention for his dedication to citizen science – this was his 48th count!

Song Sparrow (photo by Tyler Kuliberda)

Here is the Sagamore Hill list:

Canada Goose – 26

Mallard – 21

American Black Duck – 26

Mallard/Black Duck Hybrid – 2

Bufflehead – 23

Hooded Merganser – 1

Ring-Billed Gull – 5 

Herring Gull – 12

Great Black-backed Gull – 1

Great Blue Heron – 1

Belted Kingfisher – 1

Greater Yellowlegs – 1

Red-tailed Hawk – 2

Eastern Screech Owl – 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker – 1

Hairy Woodpecker – 1

Blue Jay – 4

American Crow – 6

Black-capped Chickadee – 7

Tufted Titmouse – 1

White-breasted Nuthatch – 1

Carolina Wren – 2

Eastern Bluebird – 4

Dark-eyed Junco – 14

White-Throated Sparrow – 1

Song Sparrow – 38

Northern Cardinal – 2

In the November issue of the Rough Writer, Charlotte Miska gave us a brief history of red bandanas, including TR’s 1912 version. Many of Sagamore Hill’s volunteers have earned the prestigious Red Bandana Award, but here is the story of a four-legged recipient. As anyone who has dogs knows, we tend sometimes to be a bit – eccentric. We involve them in our conversations, and maybe even weave fanciful adventures about their lives.

One such distinguished canine is Nova Dee, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (aka Toller for short), living on the coast of Cornwall, England – picture the scenery from PBS’s Doc Martin or Poldark. Having Tollers myself, I follow Nova Dee on Facebook – and what adventures he has! He’s won awards at Crufts, the larger British version of the Westminster Dog Show. His recipe for sardine biscuits sounds delicious. He runs, hikes, swims almost every day in the ocean or bay with his favorite toy named SquidDee, and tells bad jokes (what does it take to make an octopus laugh? Ten tickles!). He does battle with Mine Mine Mine, the gull that steals everything, and has run-ins with the evil Black Panther (a neighborhood cat). Fishbreath, the harbor seal, is often a swimming companion, and Nova liked my story of how Theodore Roosevelt’s lifelong interest in zoology began at age seven after seeing a dead seal at a local market. Nova and Daddy Dee have even helped rescue marine life in distress, such as a Puffin that wandered too far afield. And for relaxation, they’ll stop by the Red Lion Inn for some refreshments (or at least they used to before the lockdowns).

But the most notable aspect that drew my attention is Nova’s collection of over 40 bandanas from all over the world, sent by admirers. He wears one every day, and special ones for holidays. Well, of course he had to receive the famous TR Red Bandana, especially with his strenuous lifestyle! In July 2018, our old Toller Sachem sent one to Nova Dee – sans an accompanying bottle of wine, explaining the significance of the Sagamore Hill Red Bandana Award.

In his Thank You reply, Nova answered: “I will let Daddy do wine to excess. I'm strictly H₂O on the Rocks, shaken not stirred. Successful sea trials for my Theodore Roosevelt bandana. I found a fitting place to fly it from, a lot older than you, Mr. Roosevelt. This Huer's Hut dates back to the 14th Century.” I might add that Nova is also quite the historian, adding background lore to the local landmarks he visits.*

HISTORY: JUST FOR FUN – SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION TO TR

This theory was expanded in 1929 by Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy, who published a volume of short stories titled Everything is Different. In one story, Karinthy's characters believe that any two individuals could be connected through at most five acquaintances. The characters then create a game out of this hypothesis.

A few toyed with this concept over the following decades when studying network theory – most notably Stanley Milgram in his famous “Small-World Experiment“. The idea of a supposed maximum of six degrees of separation between everyone in the world didn’t really enter into popular culture until John Guare integrated it into his play, Six Degrees of Separation, in 1990. In 1993, this play was made into a film starring Will Smith, Stockard Channing, and Donald Sutherland.

The game of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” was invented in 1994 by three students at Albright College in Pennsylvania who came up with the concept while watching Bacon’s hit movie Footloose. The goal was to link any actor to Kevin Bacon through no more than six connections, wherein two actors are connected if they have appeared in a movie or commercial together.

Archduchess Mathilde died at the age of 18 on June 6, 1867, of accidental self-immolation. The archduchess had put on a gauze-like dress to go to the theater. Before leaving for the theater, she wanted to smoke a cigarette. But then, in came her father, who had forbidden smoking, and Mathilde hid the lit cigarette behind her back, immediately setting light to the very flammable dress material. Her death from second and third-degree burns was witnessed by her whole family.

Before her death, Mathilde was betrothed to Umberto of Savoy (1844-1900). It had been hoped that as his wife, she would be Queen of Italy and could ease already tense relations between Austria-Hungary and Italy. But after her death, Umberto married his first cousin, Princess Margherita Teresa Giovanna of Savoy on April 21, 1868. Gaetano Bresci, a silk-weaver became involved in the local trade union movement and developed anarchistic views. Bresci helped establish the radical journal, La Questione Sociale. In 1900, he also asked for the return of the $150 he had loaned the newspaper. With that money, he traveled to Italy and assassinated King Umberto. When interviewed by police he claimed he had killed the king in revenge for the massacre of workers in Milan in 1898. Leon Czolgosz collected newspaper cuttings recounting Bresci’s crime, and Czolgosz later claimed that Bresci’s actions inspired his decision to assassinate President William McKinley. As the Vice President under William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt became president upon McKinley’s death.

Tony Curtis played in the classic comedy movie, Some Like it Hot with Marilyn Monroe, who was married to Arthur Miller, who wrote Death of a Salesman. Lee J. Cobb played the role of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Cobb also played Judge Garth in the TV show, The Virginian, which was based on the novel by the same name written by Owen Wister. Owen Wister was also a member of the Porcellian Club, through which he became lifelong friends with Theodore Roosevelt, the future 26th President of the United States.

https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Learn-About-TR/TR-Encyclopedia/Family%20and%20Friends/Owen%20Wister

https://www.vintag.es/2020/09/execution-of-leon-czolgosz.html|

During this time of shutdown, I like to take walks at Sagamore Hill. It helps keep me grounded and connected to a place we all cherish. Recently I walked the nature trail. As I approached the boardwalk that crosses Eel Creek, I was greeted by the familiar rattle of the Belted Kingfisher. Kingfishers like to perch high on a branch or snag, so it did not take me long to locate this flashy bird with the punk hairstyle and long bill. I watched as he flew over the marsh, hovered, then plunged headfirst into the water. He came up with a small silver fish in his bill and flew back to his original perch to eat his lunch. Belted Kingfishers are fairly common along the streams and bays of Long Island. They are one of the few species where the female is the more colorful of the two. The female has a rusty belly band while the male has a clear white belly. Next time you walk down to Eel Creek be sure to listen for the distinctive rattle of this very handsome bird.

The Friends of Sagamore Hill have a virtual event scheduled for Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 7 PM with acclaimed scholar and author Harold Holzer discussing his latest book The Presidents Vs. the Press: The Endless Battle Between the White House and the Media – from the Founding Fathers to Fake News. In this remarkable new account, Mr. Holzer will guide attendees through the clashes between chief executives and journalists (special emphasis on Theodore Roosevelt), showing how these battles were waged and won, while girding us for a new fight to protect our nation’s greatest institution: a free and functioning press. Renowned historian, Geoffrey Ward, will act as moderator for this event. To register, please email FOSHevents21@gmail.com.

If you missed FOSH's previous virtual events, you can access them on the FOSH website (friendsofsagamorehill.org).

Seasonal Park Ranger John Fetter recently gave a talk via Zoom for the Oyster Bay Library. His program was entitled Presidential Assassinations. John’s enthusiasm and passion for history shines through in his lively presentation. You can check it out on the Oyster Bay Library YouTube channel https://youtu.be/0zlkpN2_fbY.

You can find the Rough Writer on the Friends of Sagamore Hill website (friendsofsagamorehill.org). Simply select the More about TR menu and click Rough Writer Newsletter. You will go to a page that lists the Rough Writer issues going back to January 2020. Back issues are now readily available for your reading pleasure. Thank you Patrick Teubner for making this happen.

For more information please check out our website at www.nps.gov/sahi or call