--Submitted by Brian Roslund, Friends of Roosevelt's Little White House Chapter President
President Franklin Roosevelt spent his Christmas Eves in the White House reading holiday stories to his family. The "Little" White House in Warm Springs plans to replicate that tradition Saturday, December 15, 2012, with a reading of Chris Van Allsburg's popular Christmas story POLAR EXPRESS.
A certified railroad conductor will be reading the story to children in the cozy living room of Mustian Place.
Mustian Place, located on the grounds of the historic site, was the residence of Ms. Georgia Mustian Wilkins, heir to the old Meriwether Inn Resort, which she sold to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1928. Roosevelt in turn invested in the property to create the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation in his battle to find a cure for polio.
Friends has also rented a miniature train for children and parents to ride around the historic site. "Visitors can purchase a ticket to ride the Warm Springs Choo Choo. Refreshments will be served to the children and the conductor will punch their tickets before reading the story. In addition, the Bi-City Woodturners will be demonstrating their craft on site creating wooden bowls, pens and plates. This is a family friendly event and we hope the community will join us this weekend," says Brian Roslund, the chapter's president.
Admission prices, which are $8 - $12, include admission to FDR's home.
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt built the Little White House in 1932 while Governor of New York, prior to being inaugurated as president in 1933. During FDR's presidency, he developed many New Deal Programs based upon his experiences in rural Georgia.
While posing for a portrait on April 12, 1945, FDR suffered a stroke and died a short while later. Today, the "Unfinished Portrait" is featured in a museum that showcases many exhibits, including FDR's 1938 Ford with hand controls. Visitors can tour FDR's home, which has been carefully preserved very much as he left it, the Servants and Guest quarters, and the nearby Pools complex that FDR built and what first brought the future president to Warm Springs.
