The FDR Memorial Dedication

Remarks by Richard C. Sheridan

A little over 75 years ago, President-Elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt came to Sheffield and was greeted by a crowd of 50,000 here at this railroad crossing. Mr. Roosevelt was no doubt the most influential American of the 20^th Century. He is best known for leading this country out of the Great Depression and to victory in World War II.

Roosevelt was born into a wealthy family in Hyde Park, NY, in 1882. He graduated from Harvard University in 1904 and then obtained a law degree from Columbia University. In 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt, a distant cousin and a niece of President Teddy Roosevelt.

FDR soon became bored with the practice of law and turned to politics. He served as state senator of New York and then became Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the First World War. In 1920, he ran on the Democratic ticket for Vice President but the Republicans won that year. Later, FDR was elected Governor of New York.

In 1929, Governor Roosevelt called for public operation of Wilson Dam and other power projects as yardstick with which to determine fair power rates. And as FDR began his campaign for President in the late summer of 1932, he continued to support Muscle Shoals as a public power project.

FDR was immediately invited by the local Chambers of Commerce and others to include Muscle Shoals in his speaking itinerary. He replied to Alabama Governor Miller and also to Mr. Littell McClung, of Florence, that he didn’t know if it would be possible but he was giving the idea serious consideration.

The great controversy over Wilson Dam and the Nitrate Plants at Muscle Shoals, which had raged for over ten years, came to an end with Roosevelt’s smashing win in the presidential election of November 1932. The overwhelming victory by the Democratic Party assured victory for Senator George Norris’ plan for comprehensive and multi-purpose development of the Tennessee Valley. And referring to the Great Depression, FDR immediately proclaimed that “All we have to fear is fear itself!”

After weeks of anticipation, it was announced that President-Elect Roosevelt would inspect Wilson Dam and Nitrate Plant No. 2 on Jan. 21, 1933. He arrived at this crossing on a special train and was welcomed by the 36-piece band from Columbia Military Academy.

When FDR appeared, the crowd went wild with much whistling, shouting, and clapping. He delivered his brief speech from the platform of his railroad car and began by saying “I am here to fulfill a promise made in my campaign when I said that I wanted to see Muscle Shoals.” He concluded his remarks by promising to “put Muscle Shoals back on the map.” Then pandemonium broke out. The crowd whooped and hollered, shouted praises to the Almighty, danced and hugged each other, and even some bottles of moonshine were passed around. At least, this is how an eye-witness, Mrs. Mary Shaw Makima, recalls the scene in her memoirs.

The presidential party then loaded into automobiles for a tour of Nitrate Plant No. 2 and Wilson Dam. Traveling with FDR were Senator Norris and several other Senators and Governors. A group of Congressmen arrived the day before in a big army plane at the Florence airport. And, of course, many local officials, newspaper reporters, and photographers were present.

As it departed from Sheffield, the long motorcade was led by an open car carrying the President-Elect and driven by Judge Fred Johnson of Florence. Other passengers in the car were Senator Norris, FDR’s daughter Anna, and probably Governor Miller.

Harold L. Jones, who operated a service station at Second Street and Columbia Avenue in Sheffield, had prepared a 7-passenger Cadillac for the tour. But Jan. 21 turned out to be a mild day and FDR requested an open car. The reception committee got busy and found a Packard touring car. The Secret Service examined the car and replaced the air in the tires, the gas in the gasoline tank, and the water in the radiator. And they removed the back seat and replaced it with a large, comfortable chair for FDR. The procession moved eastward on Second Street to Jackson Highway and then on to Plant No. 2.  Roosevelt was shown some of the equipment and facilities in the chemical plant before continuing on to the visitor overlook at Wilson Dam where he and others in his car posed for photographs.

After crossing the dam, the procession drove to downtown Florence where it was met by another big crowd and FDR delivered a short speech at the intersection of Court and Tennessee Streets. Upon leaving Florence, the motorcade crossed the river on the old railroad bridge and returned to Sheffield, It was thought that he would then board his rail car, but he asked to be driven into Tuscumbia for a quick visit to that city. After seeing the President arrive and speak in Sheffield, 11-year old Sarah Jane Findley went back to her home in Tuscumbia. Later that day, she learned that he was coming to Tuscumbia and she ran several blocks to Main Street to see him again. She still has vivid memories of that day.

From Sheffield, the special train went to Decatur and then to Montgomery where FDR had supper with Governor Miller before continuing on to Warm Springs, GA.

The Congress passed the TVA Act and the President signed it May 18, 1933. In his Florence speech, Roosevelt said that “I hope to come back here to Muscle Shoals and the Tennessee Valley to see how the great power possibilities are being used.” And late the following year, on Nov. 17, 1934, he returned to inspect Wheeler Dam, then under construction, and the work being carried out by TVA at Plant No. 2.

About 3 pm that day, his train arrived at Town Creek and the President, his wife Eleanor, and others in the group were driven over to the dam where TVA officials explained the project. Then motorcade proceeded to Nitrate Plant No. 2 and stopped for the President to be saluted by a CCC Company. The cars then drove across Wilson Dam. The caravan turned around, crossed back over the dam, and proceeded to the chemical plant. The President inspected the new experimental fertilizer works and Dr. H A Morgan explained the progress being made on developing cheaper fertilizers for farmers.

The Presidential party left the reservation and returned to the special train, which had been moved to Sheffield. On this trip, FDR did not visit Florence or Tuscumbia. The President and the First Lady boarded their train and made brief talks to the crowd that had gathered at the station. A short time later, the train left for Tupelo, the first city to contract for TVA power. FDR delivered a major speech there and another one in Birmingham as the train continued to Warm Springs.

President Roosevelt put Americans back to work by creating many government public works and social programs. One of these was the Tennessee Valley Authority which had a tremendous economic impact on this area and the hydroelectric power produced by Wilson and Wheeler Dams brought many new jobs to the area.

During World War II, FDR served as a very effective military leader and led the country to victory in 1945. Unfortunately, his health had been declining for months and he died at Warm Springs on April 12, 1945, shortly after Germany surrendered.

He was so popular with his leadership and New Deal programs that he was elected to four terms as president, being the only man ever to receive this honor. Many of his programs such as TVA and Social Security are still with us today.

In conclusion, I will say that his programs certainly affected me and my life. My dad found employment with the WPA in the late 1930s when nothing else was available. The GI Bill that FDR signed in 1944 permitted me to attended college when I returned from military service. And finally, I was employed by TVA as a research chemist for almost 30 years. Therefore, I appreciate what these programs have meant to me and my family.

I was not here to see President Roosevelt but I remember being excused from my one-room country school in the hills of Kentucky to go home and hear the historic third term inauguration of FDR in 1941 on our battery-powered radio.  We do have people in the audience who were here to see Mr. Roosevelt in 1933 and two of them have agreed to share their recollections with us. Mrs. Kathryn Boyd Rice, who now lives in Florence, grew up on North Montgomery Ave. On January 21, she was here watching from the top floor of the old Railroad Office building that stood directly behind this memorial. Mrs. Rice…………

Kathryn Rice's Remarks:

The visit of Franklin D. Roosevelt

To Sheffield, AL. January 21, 1933

For me, the day began at our house on Montgomery Avenue here in Sheffield, where three generations were living together during the Great Depression. And because we were accustomed to walking almost everywhere, we walked “downtown” that day, my grandfather, my brother, my sister and I, to my grandfather’s office here where Montgomery Avenue met the railroad tracks.

My grandfather, Owen Cameron, was Trainmaster for the Northern Alabama Division of the Southern Railroad when Franklin Roosevelt in 1933 began his first term as President of the United States by paying a visit to the Shoals area. Although my grandfather was one of the few Republicans in this area, he realized the importance of Roosevelt’s visit and invited my brother, sister and me to join him in his second floor office on Montgomery Avenue and First  St., to witness FDR’s arrival by special train. We are standing today on the spot where the railroad’s office building once stood. The railroad tracks immediately below this advantageous spot allowed us full view of Mr. Roosevelt, who stood on the platform of the private railroad car that had been furnished him. I will always remember the sea of hats… men wore hats in those days… that stretched out as far as one could see.

FDR’s famous words, promising that he would “put Muscle Shoals on the map” have remained clear in my memory all these years and he did indeed follow through on his promise. The TVA and the subsequent rural electrification changed this area forever. From kerosene lamps in tenant houses, electric lights appeared and these were followed by all the electrical appliances of modern life. Also, his CCC created parks with paths and bridges that one can still see 75 years later.

It is exciting for me to stand here today and say that I was witness to the historic event that brought light and hope to an impoverished area that Roosevelt called “a sleeping giant” in a destitute country.

My husband, Dr. John B. Rice, Jr. could not be here today but he was also here 75 years ago. At that time his father, a Methodist minister, was pastor of a church in Russellville. John B. was a Boy Scout and his troupe came over from Russellville to greet the President. John remembers standing on Montgomery Avenue and saluting FDR, an exciting event for him. Today he and I both feel very grateful for what the New Deal did for this area and we both say:

Thank you, Mr. President, and Happy Birthday, TVA!

                                 Kathryn Boyd Rice