The Eisenhowers certainly made an indelible imprint as one of the more memorable first families of the 20th century. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was a five-star general and the 34th U.S. president, and his wife, Mamie, made an impression with her style, wit, and unshakeable confidence.
That they notably wintered at El Dorado Country Club in Indian Wells forever tied them to the Coachella Valley, something the couple’s granddaughter, Susan Eisenhower, will forever cherish.
Eisenhower, who visited the Greater Palm Springs area during her youth with family so many decades ago, is one of the speakers at The Rancho Mirage Writers Festival (Jan. 28–29). In a conversation with Palm Springs Life, she recalls her time in the area and the imprint her grandmother left on her, which she chronicled so well in the memoir, “Mrs. Ike.”
Palm Springs was a significant part of your family’s life.
Susan Eisenhower: I can’t wait to come. It’s been a long time for me. It stands out as such a lovely time in our childhood. My grandfather and grandmother came out there in his last years during the winters, and we came along on two of those trips and actually made life-long friends.
Did you form many connections here?
SE: Yes. The area means a lot to me. And my grandparents were involved a lot in the Presbyterian Church and also the medical center, which we are extremely proud of; and I learned that I could play a game of golf, which I had absolutely no talent for. That was a good thing to learn at an early age. But it was a magical time, and it’s a nostalgic moment for me to be a part of the writers’ festival. The Annenbergs were close friends of my grandparents. It is wonderful to have that additional family connection as I come out there.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SUSAN EISENHOWER
Author Susan Eisenhower will speak at the Rancho Mirage riter’s Festival, Jan. 8-29.
Your book stands out, but really, so did you grandmother.
SE: She stands out very dramatically in the sense that she can only be adequately compared to Martha Washington and Julia Grant. She was an army officer’s wife. And her whole orientation was exercising what you might want to call a military philosophy on how to serve your country. In other words, she really had an interest in the outcome of politics, but not politics itself.
That’s a wonderful distinction.
SE: She thought it was quite inappropriate for her, as first lady, to meddle in parts of politics. She always used to say, “When people come to the White House, they come as our guests. I don’t want to know if they are Democrats or Republicans, so please don’t tell me.” Only an army wife would think that way.
From all we have seen and now know, your grandmother was deeply committed to the country.
SE: She had a kind of commitment to public service that was larger than the (other) wives whose husbands (held) whose previous postings were being highly partisan. The other thing is that my grandparents lived in Europe a couple of times and I think they understood more than anybody the contradiction within our system, which really required that our president devotes to being a head of state, a head of government, and a head of a political party — all at the same time. In Europe, that is regarded as an irreconcilable conflict. She felt her role was wife of head of state, but certainly not the Republican Party.
So what do you think your grandparents would think of what is unfolding today, politically?
SE: My grandfather held the great belief — and, by the way, both political parties are guilty of this today — for not personalizing things or being disrespectful of other individuals or calling people names. It’s amazing to me how we have no hesitation to call foreign leaders disrespectful and horrible names so it’s kind of hard to know how there can be any cooperation after they have been insulted publicly. I think my grandfather said several times during his presidency that everything he did was designed to foster cooperation — in the political realm as well as the foreign policy realm. It’s become politically profitable now to do the opposite of that.
Susan Eisenhower will speak at Short Talks at the 2017 Rancho Mirage Writers Festival at 10 a.m. Jan. 28 at the Rancho Mirage Library (Joan Didion Room), 71100 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage. 760-341-7323; www.rmwritersfest.org.
