Teddy’s Birthday

There are a number of interesting things that have occurred in the past week or so that reminded me of my grandfather, Theodore R. Schlesinger (“Poppy Ted”). It all started with an innocent visit to Sagamore Hill, the Oyster Bay, NY summer home of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (he held office from September 14, 1901- March 3, 1909).

During my visit, I realized that President Roosevelt was born October 27, 1858 in New York City. Fifty years later--to the day--my grandfather was born in New York City. The funny thing is that only late in his life did my grandfather tell us that his middle initial “R” actually stood for Roosevelt—he was born in 1908, at the end of Roosevelt’s tenure in the White House. Poppy would have been 99 years old this past weekend and given all of these coincidences, it only seems appropriate to write about him.

Ted Schlesinger was intense and bright. Like his namesake, he attended college and law school, although not Harvard and Columbia, but City College and Fordham, where he put himself through law school while working full time as a department store stock boy. His success was not to be measured in money, but in stature. He worked for forty-six years in one company, Allied Stores, where he embodied the American Dream. He literally went from the stock room to the board room over the course of his career. The poor boy from 138th Street in Manhattan landed on the cover of Forbes Magazine in August 1966. He retired from Allied as CEO in 1973, but continued to serve on many boards, including Mutual of New York, American Broadcasting Company, Marine Midland Bank and Eli Lilly.

In thinking about Poppy’s namesake, I started to poke around the web for more information about President Roosevelt. Interestingly enough, I found some quotes by Roosevelt himself that sounded remarkably like they could have been said by or about my grandfather. My favorites include:

• “The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”
  
• “Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.”
  
• “Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.”
  
• “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
  
• “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
  
  For all of his accomplishments, my grandfather was a quiet, dignified man (OK, so I didn’t inherit the quiet part!), who is best remembered for his loyal and honest business conduct, and, most importantly, his unabashed love for my grandmother, Alma. (My mother fondly labeled them “The walking advertisement for marriage”). Poppy died on July 2, 2001 but left a wonderful legacy of hard work, education and class, which I try to incorporate in my life every day.