The Strenuous Life

Theodore Roosevelt, President of the US from 1901-1909, was a man of enormous and sometimes peculiar energy. His biographer Edmund Morris described his habit of forcing White House lunch guests to hike or play tennis with him after lunch and his periodic disappearances into the wilderness of the national park system created during his presidency. Therefore, it is perhaps fitting that the introductory post for Walking Brews should be our trip to Sagamore Hill, TR's family home near Oyster Bay, Long Island. Though the theme of the blog is sightseeing on foot and beer drinking, there are frequent occasions when the former best precedes the latter. We got to Sagamore Hill a bit early in the day anyway. The train ride from L.P. Muffin's home in Brooklyn clocks in at a bit under two hours, with a short taxi ride at the end.

As you can see, the house is set back from the road. TR used the place as a summer White House, often entertaining guests there (including the negotiators of the treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War). However, it was primarily a family home. TR had six kids by two wives, all of them apparently as outdoorsy and boisterous as he was. The National Park Service goes to great lengths to explain how fun and informal the atmosphere was, but the interior of the house is preserved with "authentic" - read, "dim" - lighting, and of course no photography is allowed, let alone a nostalgic slide down the banister. Nevertheless, there are recognizable signs of TR's personality in the decor, with animal skins and heads everywhere.

My favorite part of the house was probably the attic, where taxidermy and gun storage took place. I got the very strong impression that when it was occupied, Sagamore Hill was crammed with books and interesting objects, similar to the house I grew up in. Unfortunately, the National Park service can only do so much and still conform to fire codes. It was a worthwhile trip, but the atmosphere was probably a bit too museum-like to really give the full sense of TR's daily life. I should also mention that the grounds are very pretty, and that a nearby house formerly belonging to TR's son has been converted into a museum where you can see exciting stuff like Rough Rider uniforms and a photo of TR kicking ass and taking names on the Lower East Side with Jacob Riis.

Afterwards, I had a burrito and a Rogue Chipotle Ale and L.P. Muffin had a Fisherman's Ale, both of which were very good, though not related to TR. All in all, it was a bully day.