The New Deal & Mrs. Roosevelt in Action, a teacher workshop touching on Val-Kill Industries, Arthurdale, and the National Youth Administration's Woodstock Residential Work Center. Presented by Susanne Norris, National Park Service, at THV's 2012 summer institute.

1. Val-Kill Industries - 1926 Arthurdale Homestead -1934
Eleanor Roosevelt and Frank
Landolpha at the lathe.
Photo courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum
NPS Photo
National Youth Administration
Photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art
Woodstock Residential Work Center - 1939

2. Val-Kill Industries
Eleanor and her friends Nancy
Cook, Marion Dickerman, and
Caroline O'Day founded Val-Kill
Industries in 1926. Conceived as a
social experiment, Val-Kill Industries
was designed to provide local farmers
and their families with the necessary
crafting skills to supplement their
income. Eleanor's appreciation for the
handicraft tradition fueled her interest
in the American Colonial Revival
Movement.

3. NPS Photos

4. Photo courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum
Photo courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum
Val-Kill Industries continued in operation
until 1937 when Eleanor and her friends
dissolved their partnership. The equipment
from the furniture shop was given to Otto
Berge, and the forge was given to Arnold
Berge.
Photo courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum

5. Arthurdale Heritage, Inc.
Preserving Arthurdale, WV – Eleanor Roosevelt's New Deal
Community
http://www.arthurdaleheritage.org/

6. Arthurdale, the nation’s first New Deal Homestead Community.
Library of Congress, FSA-OWI Collection
A pet project of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband, President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, during the Great Depression, to the impoverished turmoil
spreading across the country and an effort to stem concerns from liberals and
conservatives of a communist uprising. Today, lifelong community members are
working alongside newcomers to preserve what eventually became, at least for about
a decade, a thriving and fully self-sufficient farm community.

7. Prior to FDR’s election in 1933, Eleanor became
Arthurdale, WV, was first known interested in the work of the American Friends
as “The Reedsville Project” by the Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization
government employees who were which had begun a child feeding program in
sent here to establish the first New Pennsylvania and West Virginia at President
Deal community under the first of Hoover’s request. Clarence Pickett, secretary of
three Franklin Delano Roosevelt the AFSC, was invited to Hyde Park, NY, FDR’s
home, to discuss the AFSC’s efforts at vocational
administrations.
reeducation and subsistence living projects.
FDR, after his 1933 inauguration, promoted a bevy
of bills to address the problems of the Depression.
One of these was a bill to establish a subsistence
homestead fund.
This bill interested First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt
and she, along with Clarence Pickett, who by then
had been appointed chief of the Stranded Mining
and Industrial Populations Section of the
Department of the Interior, became involved with
The Reedsville Project. later named Arthurdale
Photo courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum
after Richard Arthur, from whom the land was
purchased, was begun in 1934 as a homestead
community.

8. On October 22, 1935, the homesteaders in
Arthurdale chartered the Arthurdale
Association, a non-share corporation and
branch of the Mountaineer Craftmen’s
Cooperative Association operating in Scotts
Run. The association took out loans for several
cooperative ventures in Arthrdale including a
store, farm, inn, a barber shop, industrial
factory, service station, as well as a dairy and
poultry operation..
Furniture
factory, Arthurdale, West
Virginia, Ben
Shahn, 1937, Library of
Congress, FSA-OWI
Collection.
Photos courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum

9. The forge at Reedsville, West Virginia, Edwin Locke, December
1936, Library of Congress, FSA-OWI Collection.
Photo courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum
The Forge
The metalworking shop for the Arthurdale Association was located in the
Forge, located in the center complex. Blacksmiths furnished fixtures, locks, and
hardware for the homes built in Arthurdale as well as copper and pewter ware as
well as wrought-iron items that was sold through the Craft Shop and mail-order
catalog. Arthurdale blacksmiths soon received a national reputation for the
products they made.

10. Spinning and Weaving
In 1934, with five looms from
Scotts Run and nine additional
looms purchased by Eleanor
Roosevelt, the spinning and
weaving cooperative in Arthurdale
began. Mrs. Roosevelt also paid
for teachers from Berea College in
Kentucky to teach interested
women to weave. The cooperative
Photos courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum produced rag
rugs, coverlets, aprons, pillow
tops, tablecloths, draperies, bedsp
reads, and clothes out of
linen, cotton, and wool. Most of
these items sold commercially
through the Craft Shop, but the
cooperative also filled orders from
all over the United States and
other countries. The women also
quilted blankets and donated
them to the Health Center and
Nursery School.

11. Photos courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum

12. Photos courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum

13. Arthurdale Heritage, Inc. is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization
dedicated to the preservation of
historic Arthurdale, WV.
Created in 1985, AH has restored
five community buildings that
currently comprise the New Deal
Homestead Museum. We are
currently working on restoring
three of the original Arthurdale Photo courtesy of Arthurdale Heritage Museum
School buildings. Craft Classes are offered at the
Heritage
Quilt Guild Meetings
Preregistration required for most classes.
Homestead Quilt Guild –
Meets every Monday at 6:30pm –
All skill levels welcome!

14. National Youth Administration: Woodstock Resident Work Center
1939 Dedication
Photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

15. Document courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

16. Photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art
NYA Woodstock Resident Work Center is a national historic district located
at Woodstock in Ulster County, New York. The NYA - Woodstock Resident
Youth Work Center 1939 Dedication. The district includes seven contributing
buildings and three contributing structures. It includes three shop
buildings, four shed buildings, a ca. 1900 barn, and a decorative flagpole base. It
was built in 1939 by the National Youth Administration and operated until 1942
as a facility devoted to training youths in the industrial arts. The camp is
currently used by the Woodstock School of Art. It was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1992.

17. Beginning: NYA 1939-1942

18. The Woodstock School of Art was constructed in 1939 as
an initiative of the National Youth Administration…part
of FDR’s New Deal Works Progress Administration.
Photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art
Championed by Eleanor Roosevelt, the Resident Work
Experience Center was designed to help a “lost
generation” of youth learn to use their hands and minds
for sustainable living.

19. Document courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

20. The buildings were
constructed using local
materials by the students
themselves under the tutelage
of local, unemployed
craftsmen, and supervised by
stone sculptor Tomas Penning.
The idea, and ideal, of the
project was that area
youth, aged 16-24, would be
taught skills which they could
use throughout their
lifetime, which could
supplement income and help
Photos courtesy of Woodstock School of Art sustain a rural, agrarian
lifestyle.

21. Students learned weaving, metalworking, blacksmithing, and stone carving
, pen & ink drawing, woodworking, subsistence farming and other skills, like
managing a household , or how to start a business and how to promote it.
Photos courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

22. The Woodstock Work
Experience Center was designed
after First Lady Eleanor
Roosevelt’s experiment in
cottage industry, “Val-Kill
Industries” which was located
near her residence in Hyde
Park. Mrs. Roosevelt was
an enthusiastic supporter of the
Woodstock project.
She was present to dedicate the
buildings in 1939 and was a
visitor to the campus where she
befriended many of the
students. It is said that she
brought some of the boys to
Hyde Park in summer to swim
in the family pool.
Photos courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

23. Documents and photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

24. Wood Design Shop
Document & Photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

25. Photos courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

26. Document and photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

27. Documents courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

28. Photos courtesy of Woodstock School of Art

29. Photos courtesy of Woodstock School of Art
Eugene Caille with a spindle he designed for
the Textile Unit while
at the NYA Work-Training Center in
Woodstock, c. 1940
Eugene Caille, Jr. holding a weaving sample
made at the NYA Work-Training Center in
Woodstock. Various samples of this kind
were made and displayed in the Textile Unit.
Eugene Caille’s books of samples of knitting
and weaving patterns taught at the NYA
Work-Training Center in Woodstoc

30. Photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art
“The NYA Boys” posing in front of what is likely their Lake Hill residence.

31. Photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art
Eleanor Roosevelt, fourth from left, at Val-kill.

32. Student Essay by -Kealey Viglielmo
Eleanor Roosevelt
A woman before her time
As you step off the bus to observe your surroundings, you find yourself amidst a lusciously wooded area
unseen by the common wanderer. The path that crests the hill in front of you adds an almost mysterious
feel to your new surroundings and all the while you have yet to realize that faint sound of a babbling brook
off in the distance. There are no signs nor markers, but only a field not fully visible and a walkway leading
to, the unknown? You set out in the direction of the path and soon enough as you rise higher atop the hill
a building becomes visible and then a bridge that crosses over the water you had just heard. As you foot
plants down upon the now dirt road beyond the wooden bridge you have a understanding and you
become almost one with what is around you. You feel so at ease with the serene backdrop, as you walk
closer towards the undetermined building, it is as though you don't belong here. At first you feel this way
because it is so peaceful, exactly the opposite of what a school day is like, but you shortly realize that no,
it is because this was where our forefathers resided, where our nation's, may I say worlds's, most
influential people took refuge, where our president and his highly regarded guests found comfort so as to
make you feel that you were undeserving of such an experience. Finally for the first time it actually hits
you, and you remember what you have come here to do, you have come to the Val-Kill estate to learn
about one of the most revered women in history, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.
We were asked upon arrival about what, if anything, did we as a group know about Mrs. Roosevelt.
Personally I can say that I knew little to nothing regarding her except that she was married to President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and that she was the first lady of the United States. But of course that had all
changed by the end of the four hours we had spent there, and as we were asked a question on the way
in, we were asked a question on the way out, the question was simply, "What did you learn today in
regards to Eleanor Roosevelt." Various people raised their hand in response and all had their own
answers, some simple, some complex, but for myself, I choose to examine this from a possibly less used
vantage point. That is why my topic for what I learned at the Hyde Park refuge was "how, Mrs. Eleanor
Roosevelt was far before her time."

33. Being the wife of anyone of high nobility almost always ensures you a status of high regards, let alone to be the president of the United States wife, but
for Mrs. Roosevelt she was unsatisfied with just a title. The un-satisfaction she felt was not in any way due to who she was bound to by marriage, but
only because she was an independent woman who set her own standards, virtues and morals. This for the most part sounds completely grand, being
able to set her own goals and sights, but she saw it differently. She saw not how she could be free, but how the others, not just women in general, but
a majority of the world wasn't able to say the same. She wanted equal opportunity, rights and capabilities for everyone and found it hard to believe that
no one else spoke out against it. She is quoted for saying something along the lines of " I have a high position already, it would be a waste for me not
to use it to my advantage." and she was exactly right. Her advantage: being married to the President, her goal: to help the world in more ways than
one, and that is exactly what she set out to do and succeeded in doing. Due to her firm beliefs and mindset, she emerged almost immediately with new
ideas involving rights for the underprivileged , not just in the United States, but to vastly different areas and also for the woman back home, who
still, despite the day and age, experienced oppression. Not believing that nothing could be done, just as the common person "woman" did in those
days, she stood up unaccompanied and made an image for herself of great wisdom, courage and understanding, along with being a beacon of
hope, peace and unity to those who were experiencing the burden that life brings. This and a whole slew of other attributes only proves the beginning
of why and how she was a woman before her time.
Just being able to stand up for what she believed in was quite a statement to all in those days, showing that a woman was actually capable of living for
herself, but she did more than just that. Having feelings towards the fact that she wanted to actually be an active help to the presidency, rather than be
a simple counter part, mantle piece or figure head was another story. Rarely anyone as a woman felt as though they possessed a voice and now with
Eleanor speaking freely and openly about what needed to be fixed, a new courage and ability swept the entire nation, not just the women. All people
gained more of a voice and the confidence of women in the work world increased slowly but surely and as the world's eyes began to turn to our
president for help through our wars and depressions, his wife became more and more prevalent, prominent and important to our society as a whole.
She not only was able to stand up for human rights, but for how all forms of life are affected by the environment it is placed into. Not too many people
at the time understood how a nations actions directly affected the people of fellow nations and therefore tensions grew and connection faltered due to
either non-communication or world power unwariness. Eleanor, just like she did before, stood up, while no one else either had the courage or
knowledge to do and spoke for everyone when she preached her message of consciousness. We all know now that to be conscious of our actions and
learn to communicate with others is to stay free from conflict and in content with life, but back then to be capable of comprehending such a complex
idea was amazing, let alone be constantly aware of it. This in other words just proves again how influential and ahead of her time she actually was.
Lastly, from what I learned at Val-Kill, Mrs. Roosevelt was a fantastic wife in general, if you couldn't gather that already from what she already did.
None-the-less she promoted her husband in every way, was a beautiful companion who was passionate about life and compassionate towards her
family, a person you obviously felt comfortable around due to her light heartedness and humor and finally because of her active involvement within her
husbands campaign. Eleanor Roosevelt was completely successful in not only aiding the president, but persuading and changing his mental state with
new and alternative ideas, comforting news, different ways of thinking and most of all, love.
Mrs. Roosevelt set the stage for the younger generation by changing the worlds views drastically in multiple different ways therefore causing, during
her life time, completely new and alternative ways of understanding, thinking and education. Both before and after her death her message and calling
reverberated around the world and still does to this day. Just as any major figure had come before and any that has come after, their body may be
now nonexistent, but their legacy, due to the preservation of great ideals, ideas and love for humanity, will still live on. She along with billions of
countless members of world change, all in their own unique way, will go down as a mark upon history in the scheme of things, but as a grand
beginning to unification in the eyes of the ones who experienced her knowledge first hand. Undoubtedly, she as a woman will always be seen as an
activist belonging to the future instead of the past and a shocking symbol for all those who lived through her eyes.
-Kealey Viglielmo

34. The New Deal for Youth Program
&
Onteora High School Students
NPS Photo’s by Susanne Norris

35. Student art work summary on human
rights, after visit to Val-Kill

36. New Deal for Youth Program
Day 2 at the Woodstock School of Art
NPS Photo’s by Susanne Norris

37. New Deal for Youth
Teachers Workshop Oct.
2011
NPS Photo’s by Susanne Norris

38. The Woodstock School of Art
Photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art
NPS Photo’s by Susanne Norris
Executive Director Nancy Campbell
& Paula Nelson, Secretary
Kate McGloughlin, Photo courtesy of Woodstock School of Art
President & Teacher

39. The Art Students League of NY: 1947-1979

40. The Art Students League of New York opened in Woodstock in 1906 where it
established its Summer School of Landscape Painting. The school flourished
in that incarnation until 1922.
After WWII, in 1947, the League wished to renew its presence in
Woodstock, purchased the NYA buildings and leased the 38 acre land parcel
from the City of Kingston Water Department where art classes were held until
1979.
With expenses outpacing student enrollment, a lack of affordable student
housing, and an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the land from the City of
Kingston, the ASL abandoned their summer school at the end of the 1979
summer session.
The local artist community, on hearing rumors that the historic buildings and
wooded grounds would become an industrial site, formed an Ad Hoc
committee, led by Robert Angeloch, who had been both student and
instructor at the ASL, and with broad community support, the school
reopened as The Woodstock School of Art, Inc. in 1980.

41. The Woodstock School of Art: 1980 -
present
Robert Angeloch class at Big Deep, Woodstock, circa 1984
John Kleinhans photo

42. The Woodstock School of
Art was incorporated in
1980 as a not-for-profit
corporation. The WSA
took possession of the
NYA site in Oct. of
1980, and by May of 1981 a
fully functioning
instructional center
opened.
Led by instructors Robert
Angeloch, who taught
landscape painting, and
Frank Alexander, who
taught an evening class in
life drawing, and four
more artists who started
teaching by Robert Angeloch and student, circa 1984, at Magic
June, registration reached Meadow in Woodstock.
60 students that August
and doubled for the first John Kleinhans photo

43. Today The WSA offers a wide variety
of instruction in fine arts disciplines
in classes and workshops . Drawing;
painting in oils, pastel, acrylic and
watercolor; printmaking, such as
linoleum block cutting, lithography
and monotype; sculpture of the
figure in clay; collage
Students are taught
individually, according to their own
levels of experience. Beginners are
welcome –no experience required!
WSA students range in age from 15
to 90!
Student Gale Brownlee & Instructor
Eric Angeloch

44. Photo album: 1980s to present
Jean
Wrolsen’s, “young
people’s class”
John Kleinhans photos

45. Painting a portrait -Woolley
class
The art of still-life-Angeloch class

46. An afternoon idyll…
Painting under the
pines
with Zhang/Woolley
class

47. An exhibit opening in the
gallery

48. A sampling of
instructor’s works
Staats Fasoldt, Watercolor
Painting
Karen O’Neil
Seeing Color & Light
Eric Angeloch, Painting & Composition

49. Paul Abrams,
The Poetic Still Life
Christie Scheele
Interpreting the
Landscape
Tricia Cline,
Figurative Cla y
Sculpture

50. Winter Beauty
The WSA site comprises 38
acres of woodland, with a
bluestone sculpture park.
Work has been created by
artists from Japan, Ireland and
the Netherlands as well as
regional artists.

51. The Woodstock School of Art, Inc. is a not-for-
profit, 501 (c) 3 Educational Institution chartered under
the laws of the State of New York. There are no
admission requirements, and all are welcome.
Scholarships and work exchange scholarships are
available.

52. The End
We hope you’ve
enjoyed your
visit!
PowerPoint developed
by Susanne Norris, NPS
Education Specialist &
Nancy Campbell, WSA
Executive Director