By Marjory J. Sente
Isabella Greenway arrived in Arizona in 1922 and became so well known that she would be called “Arizona’s Sweetheart.” In 1928 Isabella was named the Democrats’ National Committeewoman for Arizona and worked to elect Alfred E. Smith as president. However, all but three counties voted for Herbert Hoover. Four years later, she still held the position. It took on greater significance when FDR, husband of her good friend Eleanor, decided to seek the nomination for president. After a hard- fought battle, FDR received the party’s nod, and Isabella gave one of the seconding speeches at the Democrats’ Convention.
In September FDR’s national campaign made a swing to the West Coast with stops in Arizona. His train left Los Angeles on Sunday, September 25, headed for Phoenix, where 25,000 people (including Isabella) greeted him.
After a brief visit, the train proceeded to Prescott, where Isabella greeted him again along with 2,000 locals. According to Lorena A. Hickok, a member of the press accompanying FDR, “After the train pulled out, Mrs. Greenway climbed aboard the tri-motor plane she flies everywhere and beat the train into Prescott. She’s not a pilot, but has a big ship for her own personal use.” Isabella owned Gilpin Airlines and frequently used an airplane to traverse Arizona.
Because it was Sunday, FDR refrained from making a political speech in Prescott, but chatted about his experiences on the trip. He told of arriving in a small Colorado town at 3 a.m., where a large crowd asked to see him. FDR’s assistant said he was asleep. The crowd yelled, “‘Come out governor, or we will vote for Hoover.’ And of course, I couldn’t let them do that.”
Isabella remained on the train and accompanied the group to her Quarter Circle Double X Ranch near Williams, where they stayed overnight and the next day. Although the train arrived in Williams late in the evening, an estimated 1,000 people turned out to greet FDR.
Eleanor had flown from the East Coast to meet FDR in Williams and accompany him on the rest of the trip. In a September 6 letter to Isabella she stated, “I am looking forward to the 25th. I get to Winslow by air about 6 p.m. & imagine I can get a train or motor over to you.”
The day at the ranch was filled with meetings and events. FDR met Arizona’s leaders, including Governor George W. Hunt and U. S. Senator Carl Hayden, and more than 3,000 supporters. A rodeo that afternoon showed the West’s favorite sport. When a small contingent decided to go to the Grand Canyon, Isabella offered them her airplane for the 60-mile excursion; they, however, opted for a motor trip. FDR’s train left Williams at 10 p.m., enroute to Albuquerque.
Eleanor’s thank you letter on October 21 observed, “It fills me with pride to see you in your surroundings & realize how people love & respect you & how wonderful you are with your own children & with all the other young things (& older ones for the matter of that) who come under your influence.”
On November 8, 1932, 6,326 Yavapai County residents voted for Democrats Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and John Nance Garner for president and vice-president of the United States. This was 69.2 percent of the 9,141 votes cast in the “Mother of Counties.” Isabella Greenway helped set up the Roosevelt-Garner Clubs that were key to the Democrats’ landslide win in Yavapai County and throughout all of Arizona.
After FDR’s election, it was rumored Isabella would join his cabinet. She didn’t, but in 1933 she won 73 percent of the vote to become Arizona’s first U.S. Congresswoman.
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.