Clermont State Historic Site

A guest post by Rex McVitty, Honoria Livingston’s husband and correspondent for the Sarasota Journal.

June 21, 1963

FDR Raged Because McVitty Wasn’t Shot!

I wrote in a previous article about seeing and talking with the Roosevelt boys at Hyde Park last Decoration Day and now I will tell you about an incident that happened to me one time that might easily not have turned out as well as it did.

            I knew the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt socially. I met him first when he was governor of New York State. My wife and I were having tea with his mother, Mrs. Sara Delano Roosevelt when he wheeled himself into the room. Mrs. R. Sr. introduced me as her Irish Friend and told Franklin that I had been a sailor. That is one thing that the late President and I had in common and that is lasting and enduring love for ships. We got on famously and talked about our favorite subject, Ships. They could hardly drag us apart and years after when Franklin, now President of the United States, came into the same room and his mother said “Franklin you remember my Irish Friend”, he said “McVitty, I have been thinking a lot about what you told me about such and such a ship” – and away we went again, ships and more ships., he even expressed interest in a magazine I had just subscribed to called “Sea Breezes” and as you may guess, it was all about the sea, ships and the men who sail them. I believe that I lent him the first copy, but I am not sure. Anyway, I might boast that I was on easy terms with the President, I never asked him for favors, I did not want anything and I think he knew that and he was relaxed.

            Every year during the last week in August, they hold the Dutchess County Fair and at the time of which I am writing, it included a very good horse show. President Roosevelt used to attend the horse show in an open car and there was a special marquee where he parked and watched the jumping surrounded by secret service men and local state police. Close by was a trailer with a loud speaker installed which announced the events. One of the President’s young cousins had just persuaded me to take a chance on a hamper of whisky which they were raffling off for some charity. I remember not even having the necessary change and having the transaction recorded on the cuff. You can imagine my surprise when the announcement came over the public address system that I had won the prize. I made my way to the trailer to collect and was told that they did not have it and that the drawing had taken place in the President’s car and I better see him about it.

            Instead of going back the way I came and then approaching the presidential car through the lines of Secret Service men and State Troopers, I thoughtlessly stepped over the picket fence and climbed up on the back of the President’s car and whispered in his ear “Where’s my whiskey, Sir?” When he jumped a country mile I realized how stupid I had been and F.D.R. in a rage! He really spoke very sharply to me, threatened to reprimand or even fire every secret service man and state trooper there for not shooting me off the back of his car. I said “Why should they shoot me, sir, most of them know me well.”

            “I don’t give a dame whether they know you or not, they should have shot you first and inquired who you were later.” I guess he was pretty nervous at that because it hadn’t been too long since he had been shot at in Miami and the Mayor of Chicago had been killed right by his side. Anyway I was a pretty flustered lad as I still clung to the President’s car and I noticed that the police and guards had moved in and were all around me. The President waved them back and then asked me what was so important that it couldn’t have waited and I told him about winning the hamper of whisky.

“Oh” he said “I think that you will have to speak to the Princess Martha about it. After all it was she who drew your number out of a hat.”

            Being so upset I hadn’t noticed the others who were in the car and when the President introduced me to the Princess Martha [Note: Most likely Princess Martha, Crown Princess of Sweden], I did not know exactly how to address her, so I said “Your Royal Highness has a fine delicate touch,” meaning it as a compliment, because she had picked out my number and of course she had no idea what I was talking about, so the President explained to her that I was an Irishman and Irishmen are often very hard to understand as to what exactly they mean. I was so happy that the President wasn’t mad with me anymore that I forgot all the clever things that I could have said-but didn’t as I thanked the Princess took my hamper and beat it back while I was still unshot but REALLY how thoughtless and stupid can I get? I have never told this story in print before so thing come first in the Journal.