The only decade that has been named, and yes, they were roaring. A time of prosperity for America. A time of jubilation. The war to end all wars was over, and now we were looking forward to a time of peace.
A time when cars were just coming into vogue, and we could go places we had never dreamed of before. We could cross the entire continent and come back if we wished. Henry Ford’s dreams of a car that everyone could afford, if you had 700 bucks. A great time to be alive.
In 1920 a president took office that was quite popular, Warren G Harding, and it seemed everyone liked him. He had a devoted wife, and a young daughter. His wife was his secretary, or you might say his business partner. She played a role in nearly everything he did. She had been the operations manager of the prosperous newspaper which he owned, and she also played a big part in helping him get elected. He was somewhat of a playboy and she was the serious one.
That year the 19th amendment went into effect, so it was the first year that women were allowed to vote for president. Florence campaigned heavily trying to convince women to vote for her husband. He was elected by a wide margin and things were going great until a problem started to surface. He was a ladie’s man, a womanizer. He could make Bill look like a Sunday school boy. (By the way where is Bill?) Flo was just beginning to realize that. He even picked some of her friends to have an affair with. His most famous affair was with Nan Britton. Flo became jealous and cautious.
Flo was 5 years older than Warren. She had had her problems in life. She was born into a rich family, but her parents didn’t approve of her boyfriend. They eloped and Henry DeWolfe turned out to be a bum and an alcoholic. Her parents disowned her, although she made every effort to reconcile with them. She became destitute and gave her son to them to raise.
She began hanging out at a roller skating rink, where she met Warren. He was 5 years her junior. Warren had a prosperous newspaper business, and was running for US senator. Flo stepped in and took over the job of running the newspaper, where she excelled. Flo was always by Warren’s side, and took an active interest in everything he did. Warren called her “The Boss,” and she called him, “Sonny.”
She was the first, first lady to take an active role in guiding the country. She campaigned heavily for women’s rights, and was an advocate for soldiers wounded in WWl. She hosted parties for veterans and was quite active socially. She was not an attractive lady but she was a stylish dresser, and made her presence known. She opened the White House grounds to the public and called it “The People’s House.” She suffered her entire life from a kidney disease and would be in bed for weeks at a time.
In 1923 Warren scheduled a long trip, to the West Coast, then down to Panama, and back to Washington. He died August 2, of that year in San Francisco. There was much talk that Flo might have poisoned him, but that rumor was never substantiated. She succumbed to the disease she had suffered with the next year. They are both buried in their hometown, Marion, Ohio.
Again I don’t remember studying the Roaring Twenties in School. That must have been an interesting time to have been alive. When I think of that era I think of dancing the Foxtrot, listening to the big band sound, and a time when our country was strong. Today the world is again at war, and good times seem to have passed us by.
—James Neuhouser
