Lorena Hickok & Eleanor Roosevelt
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Were Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena "Hick" Hickok lovers, or were they just close friends?
During the 1932 Presidential Campaign, Lorena Hickok of the Associated Press was assigned to cover Mrs. Roosevelt. At first the business relationship was rocky. Hickok didn't believe it was worth the paper's time and money to report on Mrs. Roosevelt, and Mrs. Roosevelt wasn't happy about the intrusion on her privacy. Besides that, Mrs. Roosevelt came from a high class, artistocratic background, and Hickok came from a brash and rustic one. She was at home playing poker with the guys, smoking, and drinking. In time, their friendship became very close and intimate. Franklin D. Roosevelt didn't seem to mind, as he was busy with his own romantic affairs.
Due to the public nature of Mrs. Roosevelt's life, she and Hickok were often separated. Even so, they wrote daily letters to each other. In one, Hickok ends: "Good night, dear one, I want to put my arms around you, and kiss you at the corner of your mouth. And in a little more than a week - I shall!" (Out of the Past, P. 69) and Mrs. Roosevelt writes "Hick darling, All day I've thought about you & another birthday I will be with you & yet tonight you sounded so far away & formal. Oh! I want to put my arms around you. I ache to hold you close. Your ring is a great comfort. I look at it and think she does love me, or I wouldn't be wearing it." (Out of the Past, P. 70).
In 1941, Hickok moved into the Whitehouse with the Roosevelts when she took a post in Washington. Some of the passion between the two seems to have died by this point. Mrs. Roosevelt was not able to give Hickok as much from their relationship as she wanted, yet Hickok remained because at least they had something. They remained friends until Mrs. Roosevelt's death in 1962.
Hickok destroyed many of the letters Mrs. Roosevelt sent to her and edit personal references out of many others. Those that remain still hint at an intimate love between the two women.
Resources:
Outing Mrs. Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook
Out of the past : gay and lesbian history from 1869 to the present by Neil Miller, Vintage Books, 1995.
Were Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena "Hick" Hickok lovers, or were they just close friends?
During the 1932 Presidential Campaign, Lorena Hickok of the Associated Press was assigned to cover Mrs. Roosevelt. At first the business relationship was rocky. Hickok didn't believe it was worth the paper's time and money to report on Mrs. Roosevelt, and Mrs. Roosevelt wasn't happy about the intrusion on her privacy. Besides that, Mrs. Roosevelt came from a high class, artistocratic background, and Hickok came from a brash and rustic one. She was at home playing poker with the guys, smoking, and drinking. In time, their friendship became very close and intimate. Franklin D. Roosevelt didn't seem to mind, as he was busy with his own romantic affairs.
Due to the public nature of Mrs. Roosevelt's life, she and Hickok were often separated. Even so, they wrote daily letters to each other. In one, Hickok ends: "Good night, dear one, I want to put my arms around you, and kiss you at the corner of your mouth. And in a little more than a week - I shall!" (Out of the Past, P. 69) and Mrs. Roosevelt writes "Hick darling, All day I've thought about you & another birthday I will be with you & yet tonight you sounded so far away & formal. Oh! I want to put my arms around you. I ache to hold you close. Your ring is a great comfort. I look at it and think she does love me, or I wouldn't be wearing it." (Out of the Past, P. 70).
In 1941, Hickok moved into the Whitehouse with the Roosevelts when she took a post in Washington. Some of the passion between the two seems to have died by this point. Mrs. Roosevelt was not able to give Hickok as much from their relationship as she wanted, yet Hickok remained because at least they had something. They remained friends until Mrs. Roosevelt's death in 1962.
Hickok destroyed many of the letters Mrs. Roosevelt sent to her and edit personal references out of many others. Those that remain still hint at an intimate love between the two women.
Resources:
Outing Mrs. Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook
Out of the past : gay and lesbian history from 1869 to the present by Neil Miller, Vintage Books, 1995.
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