Back in the saddle this week - I ended up having to take last week off from blogging, as my Facebook followers know, because I was hit with a sudden and unpleasant stomach bug. I did manage to get the February newsletter out at least, though, so if you didn't get your copy of that you can find it here.
So let's get into what would have been last week's post if I'd felt well enough to pull it together! The gentleman being profiled today was a key member of Franklin Roosevelt's cabinet and a fierce defender of the great outdoors. He also has a fictional claim to fame that I think might be unique to him among all Pennsylvanians, although I could be wrong.
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| The marker stands on the grounds of Altoona Area High School at 1415 6th Ave. |
After serving in World War I, Harold was mostly involved in political activism in the Chicago area, where he took a deep interest in social affairs. He worked with social clubs and served on various councils and committees, including a stint as president of the People's Protective League of Illinois. When FDR was elected to the White House in 1932, he spoke with Senator Hiram Johnson about joining his cabinet; Johnson declined, but recommended his old friend Harold. FDR, who wanted a progressive Republican in his ranks, was impressed with Harold's track record and appointed him Secretary of the Interior. That was his official title, but in reality Harold wore a number of hats in the New Deal administration. He's probably best remembered for having directed the Public Works Administration, creating projects to provide employment during the Great Depression; his care with the PWA budget, and his utter inability to be bribed or otherwise corrupted, led to him being nicknamed "Honest Harold."
A lifelong advocate of nature and the outdoors, Harold used his position to promote environmental stewardship. He arranged the purchase of a large tract of land from the Yosemite Sugar Pine Company, which expanded the borders of Yosemite National Park and ended large-scale commercial logging on park grounds. He also led the charge to create Kings Canyon National Park in California. He commissioned the famous photographer Ansel Adams to help with a public relations project Harold devised to effectively advertise national parks to the public. He provided frequent radio addresses on subject, telling his listeners in one of them that "I love nature" and encouraging them to do likewise.
In his private life, Harold married Anna Wilmarth Thompson in 1911. She was an activist in her own right and a divorced mother of two; he adopted her two children, they had a biological son together, and they also adopted a son together. Anna served three terms in the Illinois House of Representatives and wrote a book about the Native Americans of New Mexico, but was killed in a car accident in 1935. Three years later Harold remarried, and his second wife was Jane Dahlman, the younger sister of one of his daughters-in-law; she was 25 and he was 64. They had a son and daughter together, and their son, Harold M. Ickes, later served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton.
Harold remained with FDR's administration until the President's death in 1945, but although he attempted to continue serving in President Truman's cabinet, he and Truman had an argument and "Honest Harold" elected to resign his post rather than go along with what he perceived as an untruthful plan. He and Jane had purchased Headwaters Farm in Maryland, where they had occasionally entertained weekend visits from FDR, and after leaving Truman's cabinet they retired there. Jane managed the farm; Harold raised flowers and continued to be politically active as a syndicated columnist. He also published several books, including his own personal recollections, which he titled The Autobiography of a Curmudgeon. He passed away on February 3, 1952, and is buried at the Sandy Springs Friends Meeting House Cemetery in Sandy Spring, Maryland. His personal diary was published posthumously.
Harold's other posthumous claim to fame, the one that might be unique among Pennsylvania natives, comes in the form of the musical play Annie, which first debuted in 1977. Set during FDR's administration, it includes a scene in which the President and several cabinet members appear; Annie and Daddy Warbucks visit the White House and Annie teaches them to sing her signature song "Tomorrow." FDR directs Harold to stand up and sing, and while he's initially quite the curmudgeon (to use his own word from his autobiography), he ends up performing rather dramatically. I was actually in this play back in high school, and I had hoped I could find footage on YouTube to show you, but no such luck. If you search for "annie cabinet scene," though, you can find plenty of schools doing their versions.
Harold Ickes is by no means the only Pennsylvanian ever to appear as a character in a Broadway musical, but I'm pretty sure he's the only one who had to be forced to sing.
Sources and Further Reading:
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
Very interesting. Good job.
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