FDR’s Visit as Reported in Local Newspapers — March 30, 1939

According to the local newspapers, it was a red-letter day when President Franklin Roosevelt drove through the Valley.

The following account appeared in the Chattahoochee Valley Times on March 29, 1939:

Preparations began the week of his visit – with meetings with the West Point police chief and the Secret Service. Superintendent Kirby had the idea to request that President Roosevelt drive by Lanett School. Congressman Joe Starnes served as intermediary and helped secure Mr. Kirby’s request.

 

Schools, businesses, and even the mills, closed during the Presidential visit – around 2 p.m. March 30, 1939. According to the West Point News 25,000 people gathered along Highway 29 on that Thursday afternoon to greet and cheer the President. “With the typical Roosevelt smile,” wrote the West Point News reporter, the President greeted their cheers.