While searching through the archives this past Spring, I was shocked and fascinated to learn that the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, spoke at the 1919 Gilman Commencement, which was noted in the ceremony’s program.

Roosevelt, a Hyde Park native and Assistant Secretary of the Navy at the time, spoke to the graduating class on Monday, June 9, 1919. May Holmes, Gilman’s first archivist, mentions this speech in her memoir, an unofficial history of Gilman. She states, “The Commencement address the next day was delivered by none other than the Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, the theme of which was, ‘Pull Your Own Weight in the Boat.’” Also in this memoir, Holmes cites the school’s tribulations against both the plague and the flu between 1916 and 1919, including the death of active headmaster, Mr. Frank W. Pine, during the 1918-1919 school year, for whom a memorial was held the day before graduation and Roosevelt’s speech.

Although there are no records of Roosevelt’s Commencement speech in either the Gilman archives or those of the FDR Library and Museum, the Gilman News was able to locate two other speeches that future-President Roosevelt gave in Baltimore in 1919. In the first, given on March 6, 1919, Roosevelt had returned from Europe and the Great War just two weeks prior. In the speech, he advocated for a perpetual peace and the formation of a League of Nations, stating, “The objective was much more than a military victory. Their [the peacemakers’] task was to make war as impossible as it could be made. They do not like fighting for fighting’s sake…They are thinking of the future of our country, their families, and the generations to come. They want a peace signed that would carry with it a pact that would help the civilization of the future” (FDR Museum and Library).

In the second speech, Roosevelt once again spoke of World War I. This time, on March 24, he honored Marylanders who had fought and died in the conflict. The Baltimore American wrote, “Secretary Roosevelt, representing the Navy, received an ovation when he arose. He at once launched into a generous strain of pride and appreciation for the bravery of the Maryland boys.” Included in this brave group of Marylanders are the eighty Gilman alumni that fought in the conflict, according to May Holmes (who conceded that she may have missed names), as well as the four Gilman men who passed while serving: George Buchanan Redwood ‘06, Lucian Platt ‘09, Robert Ober ‘09, and George Washington Ewing IV ‘11. In further commemorating the men, Roosevelt said, “It is very fitting that the city of Baltimore is honoring its citizens who have borne their share in the world conflict. In these days of demobilization and of the resumption of peaceful pursuits, it is well to look back in order that we may more sanely look forward to the future” (FDR Museum and Library).

While concluding the March 24th speech, Roosevelt reminded the soldiers that their task was not yet done. Each and every one would be important in rebuilding and reshaping the country and the world. He ended, “We need not fear, I am sure, that they will measure up to their work.” Just as he did at the commencement speech, Roosevelt challenged these men to “pull [their] own weight in the boat,” to do their part in contributing to a larger cause. Even over a century later, we can work to fulfill Roosevelt’s request. As we enter the new school year, how can we pull our own weight? By introducing yourself to a new student? Saying hey to someone you haven’t seen all summer? Welcoming unfamiliar faculty and staff? Upon our return, The News challenges you to make a small gesture that will contribute to the larger community. Pull your weight!