World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American

World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American

World War, 1939-1945--Georgia

Reynolds, Herbert Lindley, 1918-1984

Kennedy, George Wallace, 1921-2005

Sawyer, Annie

Mitchell, Margaret, 1900-1949

Leahy, Louise, 1928-2011

Marshall, Peter, 1902-1949

Truman, Margaret, 1924-2008

Marshall, Muffy

McRae, Fannie Forrest Collier, 1864-1942

Haverty, May, 1884-1967

Gunston Hall School (Washington, D.C.)

American Red Cross

St. Margaret's Church (Washington, D.C.)

https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do-th:geh_vhpohr_234

st of the time that Mr. Truman was the President, because you know that was when he did over the whole White House. MARGARET LACY: Yeah, they spent most of their time across the street, that's right. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: But she told us lots of fun little stories about growing up, or being there, not growing up because she was grown. MARGARET LACY: Yeah. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I can't think of any other exciting things that happened. MARGARET LACY: Well, you skipped a little bit, I think. She came to Atlanta to do a concert which apparently wasn't successful. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Wasn't too successful. I made my husband go. And Ann McCardy had also gone to Dunstan with her, and Ann and Molly [?] and the Hugh Quinns went, and we all went with great anticipation because we were invited to come backstage afterwards, and I thought the boys were going to get up and leave, it was a pretty poor concert. She had a very sweet, nice voice, but no concert voice. MARGARET LACY: Oh, dear, I bet she felt badly about that too, didn't she? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I don't think so. I think she thought she was splendid. MARGARET LACY: All right. That was interesting, though. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: She sang at the choir at school and the Glee Club and all that, and that was lovely. I mean, she had a lovely voice. MARGARET LACY: I think I heard her sing at one time, it was all right. I couldn't have done it. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: No, I couldn't either. MARGARET LACY: It was not an ordinary voice. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: No, but not an operatic voice. MARGARET LACY: She had training. Now, well, she's written a couple of books herself. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: She's a nice, nice girl. And she was not a pretty girl, but she made the most of herself. She had beautiful skin and hair, and she wore very good-looking, simple, elegant clothes. As I said she really made the most of herself. MARGARET LACY: Well, her parents were so nice. Well, as you said these were interesting times. Did you, I know you did a lot of volunteer work, if you want to cover some of that? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Well, from the war years, with rolling the bandages, and selling the war bonds, and dancing with the soldiers—that wasn't volunteer, but that certainly was fun. And I did a lot of work in the Junior League later, but that was with the Speech School and the normal things like that that everybody does. I didn't do anything outstanding. MARGARET LACY: You did a lot of volunteering. I don't guess you ever had any thought about employment considering all the other things you tended to. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I did a lot at my church during the time. Herbert and I taught Sunday school for about six years. And I was on the Altar Guild and things like that, was chairman of my church circle. MARGARET LACY: Your days were pretty well filled? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Sure, but those as I say were normal activities that everybody did. MARGARET LACY: Well, I don't want to leave out anything, so what would you tell your grandchildren if you . . . . JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I haven't told them anything. MARGARET LACY: I mean just general conclusions about where you were and how it went? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Well, I'll tell you the truth, I've got this grown granddaughter and I haven't told her anything about growing up in Atlanta, but I don't think she's ever asked me. And then as I said the younger ones had school projects and they interviewed us. MARGARET LACY: I'm so glad they did. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: But I still don't think the young people can quite grasp the horrors of the Second World War and the devastation and everything else that was in Europe. MARGARET LACY: Every neighborhood lost members. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I was in Dresden a few years ago, and a man was a tour guide, we were taking the city tour. And he was telling about the wonderful things that went on when the Communists were there. He said, “My daughter got to go to ballet school, and we had this and that, and we had the other thing. The Americans, Roosevelt and Churchill bombed our beautiful city.” And he kept going on and on and on, and I couldn't stand it, and finally I said, “But you're free aren't you?” And he said “Yes” and didn't say another word. So. But it just irritated me. MARGARET LACY: Well, he wasn't gracious. What was his nationality? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: He was German. MARGARET LACY: Talking about Communists. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Well, he was under—see, they lived in Dresden. And the Russians took over. MARGARET LACY: Yeah, that probably explains some of his reaction perhaps, I don't know. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: And that is a beautiful city and still is a beautiful city, and they had left some of the bombed out things. You could see the ruins of different churches. MARGARET LACY: What year were you there in Dresden, before the wall came down? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Oh, no, this was after Herbert died. It was after '84 sometime. MARGARET LACY: Somewhere in '87 or '89 the wall came down, I'm not clear which. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I'm not sure. MARGARET LACY: So he was still in East Germany, maybe? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Maybe, but I think the Dresden Museum is the most beautiful place I have ever been, just magnificent. They had saved everything. I think I understood the people had taken things and put them in caves and all sorts of places. But it is simply glorious. MARGARET LACY: I have not heard of anybody mentioning that, could you tell us about that? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Well, it's just that, going in—my sister and I were traveling together—and I said, “Look at those gorgeous Cannelettos”. She said “Shhh! How do you know they're Cannelettos?” I said, “Well, you know I took history of art at school.” And they were, of course, magnificent paintings, and then they have the crown jewels, and it just was a gloriously beautiful museum. Lots of fine, fine paintings, I loved it. MARGARET LACY: Yeah, you spend a long time there, half a day, all day? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Oh, yes, you have to, to see it. Everywhere we went seems to me, I adore every place I've ever been in Europe and I'd like to go back. And every time someone says, “where would you like to go?”—I'd like to go anywhere, I loved it all. MARGARET LACY: On that tour, where else were you? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: That time we went on a little trip down the Elbe River. We started in Berlin. It was right after, just about a week after the Berlin Wall came down. And we were only the second ship to go down, the boat I guess they call it, because they were river boats down the Elbe River. And that's when we went to Dresden. And Berlin was a magnificent city, too. It was pretty well bombed out when we saw it, it had not been restored. We did see Checkpoint Charlie, all those things. But one thing we saw in Berlin that was a thrill to me. We had gone to the Pergamon Museum and the Pergamon Altars, and there was a poster in the museum of Nefertiti. I said, “Oh, is Nefertiti here?” And the lady at the desk said, “No, she's in a little museum.” So we got in a taxi and went to that little museum, it was in a little house. And we went up the steps and it was pitch black dark. And across the way, you could see this one light. And in this black room with this one light on, the head, statue of Nefertiti was the most dramatic thing you've ever seen, and gloriously beautiful. MARGARET LACY: You were so fortunate to have all those good trips, but Pergamon was a word I didn't recognize. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Pergamon Altars, they must, they come from Egypt I think. [coughs] I talked myself dry. MARGARET LACY: Well, I'm sorry, because it's so interesting. We don't want you to talk yourself dry. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I can't think of anything exciting. MARGARET LACY: Okay. Well, I think it's been exciting, and I thank you kindly. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Thank you very much. It was a real treat for me to be here. MARGARET LACY: Glad to have all this history you've given us. Did you want to mention any of the other cities you visited, European tours? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: No. MARGARET LACY: All over, you saw a lot of museums. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I loved it all. MARGARET LACY: I'm surprised at the attendant who said what he said, though. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Uh-huh, made me mad. MARGARET LACY: Yes, I can understand that. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Oh, one thing that was exciting. When I was at Dunstan Hall, it was Roosevelt's Third Inaugural. The school had seats right across from the White House. MARGARET LACY: Really? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: And that was very exciting. I was embarrassed because all the state cars went by, each governor had a car, and they'd just go by with great dignity past the president, except Georgia. Georgia's [car] came along, the back door opened, and Herman Talmadge poked his foot out and waved. With his red suspenders. And, of course, I was seventeen or eighteen years old, and I was embarrassed for the whole state of Georgia. MARGARET LACY: Well, he had his own style. Did he exit from the back? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Oh, no, didn't have to exit at all, just put his foot out. There were running boards, you know, then. MARGARET LACY: I had forgotten running boards. They say they're bringing them back. Some of the Suburbans, but I'm not sure. So Talmadge did come to the parade, though? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Every state in the Union was recognized, everybody was there. But that was very exciting because that will never happen again, I don't think. MARGARET LACY: Probably not. You'd have to have too many guards nowadays, anyway. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I don't think there's been a president that we would want for three years, I mean for three terms. MARGARET LACY: Well, they put that in the law, didn't they? Two, and that's it. For governor of Georgia, also, isn't it? JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I think so. MARGARET LACY: Well, I want to say thank you again. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: Thank you. MARGARET LACY: I hope you come back. I know you've got a lot more to tell us that we didn't think of this morning. JACQUELINE KENNEDY: I don't know. MARGARET LACY: Okay.

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Lacy, Margaret

Kennedy, Jacqueline Thiesen, 1923-2014

none

Digital Library of Georgia

full:001:https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do-th:geh_vhpohr_234