Forgotten Relics: Letter from Teddy Roosevelt to admiring schoolboy

In observance of the 98th anniversary of the death of Teddy Roosevelt, Mercury Museum presents a letter from Roosevelt to a young schoolboy, evidently in response to the child's letter to the famed Republican president asking for life and career advice.

The letter, which was written in 1915 after Roosevelt had retired to Oyster Bay, New York at the conclusion of his presidency, is addressed to a Mr. Steve Kwiathkowski in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Roosevelt encourages Steve to "work hard as a schoolboy" and "learn to bear arms so that if the nation needs it you can be a soldier and fight for your country." Roosevelt reminds him, however, that in times of peace it's important that he learn "how to be a good citizen" as well. This warm correspondence must have made an impression on young Steve, as the letter has been carefully preserved for over a century.

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