Episode 101: Shining Example
An heiress receives *accolades (a special award) for all her efforts to help the less fortunate, but her good deeds aren’t as helpful for her marriage.
#MarjorieMerriweatherPost, #BarbaraHutton, #Maralago, #unemployment, #charity, #GreatDepression
December 1932, Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton is hailed for all her work to help the needy during the Great Depression. She works on multiple committees providing food and unemployment relief to the point of getting positive press and recognition. Her husband E.F. Hutton however is not so thrilled and is dabbling with various females on the side.
Other people and subjects include: Barbara Hutton, Prince Alexis Mdivani, royal Mdivani siblings, Franklyn Hutton, Edna Woolworth Hutton, Eleanor Post Hutton Sturges, Preston Sturges, Nedenia Hutton – Dina Merrill, Preston Sturges, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, President Franklin Roosevelt, Lindbergh baby kidnapping, General Foods, Birds Eye, frozen food, food drives, soup kitchens, breadlines, unemployment, needy, homeless, charity, committees, rising crime, watchdog, special award, bodyguards, Pinkerton agents, debutante ball, divorce, infidelity, Salvation Army, U.S. Flag Association, Marjorie Post Hutton Canteen, Edward F. Hutton Emergency Food Station, Hell’s Kitchen, Mar-a-Lago, Hussar V yacht, trouble with sources, rabbit hole of research, 1932 – 1934 darkest years of the Great Depression, 1929 Wall Street Crash, Dust Bowl Storms, 1932 & 2024 presidential elections, pandemic, lockdowns, World War II, global war, civil war, positive press, change inevitable
Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Extra Notes / Call to Action:
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Monday, January 22nd, 5:30pm EST / 2:30pm PST – Waldorf Astoria Hotel Part 1: A New Standard of Luxury (pre-1929), Come learn more about the Astor family dispute behind the famous hotel and its construction as well as the hotel’s influence on luxury travel and fine dining. Connections to the Titanic as well as other events and famous people will also be explored. But all good things come to an end.
Monday, January 29th, 5:30pm EST / 2:30pm PST – Waldorf Astoria Hotel New York Part 2: Manhattan’s Grandest Hotel (1931-present), The second version of this fine luxury hotel comes during the dawn of new era which will bring new challenges and excitement. A lingering Astor family connection adds to the saga until a new family the Hilton dynasty rises and takes over. More celebrities and events will add to allure of this hotel. Finally, updates reveal the recent renovations, an auction, and the future for the third incarnation.
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Publish Date: December 29th, 2023
Length: 22:58
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: Let’s All Go To Mary’s House by The Savoy Orpheans, Album Fascinating Rhythm – Great Hits of the 20s
Section 2 Music: Button Up Your Overcoat by Jack Hylton, Album Fascinating Rhythm – Great Hits of the 20s
Section 3 Music: Plain Mary Jane by Mrs. Jack Hylton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
End Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
AS THE MONEY BURNS
Podcast by Nicki Woodard
Episode 101 – Shining Example
Outline
Charity & public service
Marital troubles
00:00
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast by Nicki Woodard. Based on historical research, this is a deep exploration into what happened to a set of actual heirs and heiresses to some of America’s most famous fortunes when the Great Depression hits.
Each episode has three primary sections. Section 1 is a narrative story. Section 2 goes deeper into the historical facts. Section 3 focuses on contemporary, emotional, and personal connections.
00:30
Story Recap
After his divorce from Louise Van Alen, Prince Alexis Mdivani pursues Barbara Hutton to New York, but she refuses to see him.
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
00:45
Shining Example
[Music Fade Out]
Episode Tag
An heiress receives *accolades (a special award) for all her efforts to help the less fortunate, but her good deeds aren’t as helpful for her marriage.
01:02
[Music – Let’s All Go To Mary’s House by The Savoy Orpheans, Album Fascinating Rhythm – Great Hits of the 20s]
Section 1 – Story
[Music Fade Out]
01:17
December 1932, Manhattan, NY
Tough times can galvanize people into action. While many like to appear to be more helpful than they are, some plunge right in and are compelled to go above and beyond expectations.
Heiress and the richest woman in America Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton at age 27 inherited the Post Cereal fortune and business and manages to accomplish the rare task of increasing the business and fortune. She expands the company’s business ventures establishing General Foods and buying other companies like the early frozen foods pioneer Birds Eye. Her business in food meant she felt an acute desire with an astounding ability to aid the starving during the Great Depression, even establishing her own Marjorie Post Hutton Canteen on Tenth Avenue to feed the hungry and especially as a place for women and children.
02:14
Marjorie along with her current husband the highly successful financier E.F. Hutton contributes large amounts of food for Thanksgiving meals and other food drives. Marjorie quickly discards her extravagant lifestyle to one heavily focused on charity during the ongoing Great Depression. She isn’t merely a chairwoman of a fundraising committee but uses her business skills and contacts to help coordinate large amounts of donations and distribution.
She trades her former social calendar of parties and theater and replaces it with overtime working past dinner most nights in the office. Her hostess skills focus towards charity events and drives.
02:55
As a mother and grandmother, Marjorie is confident in her ability to understand what women and children need during these trying times. Her experience in the food industry makes her essential, practical, and effective.
She has tried several times to encourage her niece by marriage the chubby budding fashionista Barbara Hutton to be less flamboyant in her spending. The young heiress had an elaborate debutante ball a year into the Great Depression and became the target of ire and anger towards the wealthy. Now the poor little rich girl is getting way too enamored with those spendthrift Russian royals – the Mdivanis.
03:31
Meanwhile Marjorie remains dedicated to her new mission. She closes the blinds and doors to her Palm Beach estate Mar-a-Lago and Fifth Avenue townhome. To simplify her life, she moves into a hotel to cover her basic needs as she focuses more on her charity work. Though she keeps the recently built 1931 Hussar V yacht – the largest, state of the art vessel, and fastest of its kind. This winter she will join her husband on a few excursions.
E.F. too likes to be generous. For Christmas, the Edward F. Hutton Emergency Food Station gives out 2,500 turkeys to the needy. Still, E.F. hasn’t been too pleased with the lack of attention due to his wife’s constant working.
04:15
Her extensive activities include:
· Head of the special gifts campaign committee of the Salvation Army’s Women’s Emergency Aid Committee
· Chairman of the Commerce and Industry Branch of the Women’s Division of the Emergency Unemployment Relief
· Oversees 400 solicitors to aid in raising funds from lines of trade that cater to women – like beauty parlors, cosmeticians, furriers, milliners, florists, interior decorators, antique dealers, art galleries, and specialty shops
· Vice chair of the women’s division at Gibson Unemployment Relief Committee
· Marjorie Post Hutton Canteen – a soup kitchen catering to women, children, and families in a pleasant atmosphere, sometimes Marjorie serves on the line and also hosts annual parties
· On one particular day, she personally appears to solicit funds at the corner of Manhattan’s Park Avenue & 46th Street during a violent downpour, wearing a raincoat and rubber boots, all the while the debutantes present hid under a building awning trying to stay dry
05:17
Marjorie’s significant efforts receive a ton of press. Headlines call her brilliant and a “Shining Example.” And she is named as one of the “10 Women over 30 as Most Charming in the Nation” by the president of the National Association for American Speech in December 1932.
Thankfully Marjorie’s good deeds far outshines the press over her daughter Eleanor Post Sturges recent divorce from playwright and screenwriter Preston Sturges. Marjorie was not very fond of that relationship and even cut off Eleanor’s allowance.
05:50
But other threats are even more concerning. The Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder too profoundly impact Marjorie. She takes extra precautions to protect her youngest now 10 years old Nedenia Hutton (the future actress Dina Merrill), even equipping Mar-a-Lago with a Sleeping Beauty suite adding bars and guards. Later, two Pinkerton agents will escort Dina around as a teen.
Meanwhile the overall rise in crime also concerns Marjorie, who will participate in a patriotic and an anticrime campaign for the United States Flag Association. Marjorie herself heads a special women’s watchdog committee. The focus of the committee is to scrutinize the ethics of judges, lawyers, and public officials. Her extraordinary skill and dedication to the organization will lead to her being nominated for their special award next year in 1933.
06:41
All this activity keeps her awfully busy, and not as alert as should be in regard to her marriage. Despite E.F. and Marjorie on all accounts being madly in love, E.F. has more than a wandering eye and dabbles here and there with other female companions. Marjorie hears hints of rumors but dismisses them without further proof. It should be noted E.F.’s younger brother and Barbara’s father Franklyn Hutton is a well-known philanderer, whose one of his more prominent flings supposedly led to his first wife Edna Woolworth’s suicide. The next few years will get even tougher for Marjorie and E.F. The couple will drift further apart as newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt takes over and starts implementing reforms during his first term.
At times, it’s often much easier to help and protect others than oneself. Not even money seems to change that.
07:26
[Music – Button Up Your Overcoat by Jack Hylton, Album Fascinating Rhythm – Great Hits of the 20s]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music Fade Out]
07:49
Alright, alright, I know I have said this multiple times my frustrations when reviewing sources in trying to suss out history. I have a timeline marking large events and turning points then during the actual writing flesh out more with sidesteps and digressions as I fill in the stories.
I love it when I run into a small anecdotal story that so pinpoints a moment in time but somehow connects to the larger story. But how frustrating it becomes when I go to find more facts and learn that some of the story elements are way off.
08:24
This episode is a prime example. Two years ago I stumbled over Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton’s charity endeavors during the Great Depression especially relating to her soup kitchen when I discovered and marked this episode’s theme. Here is the rabbit hole trail behind this story.
Back now 2 years ago when I was working on Barbara Hutton’s debutante ball, the thing that stuck out is that Barbara had the most expensive ball at the time December 1930, and it immediately made her a target of both press and public criticism. It took about a year after the Wall Street Crash on October 29th, 1929, for people to shift mindsets from continuing life as normal to the ongoing reality that the economy had not recovered and was still going quite bad.
09:12
Soup kitchens had begun but are not quite so prevalent as within the next 2 years, however there is mention that around the corner from the Ritz-Carlton hotel where her ball was held there are those waiting in a soup and bread line. The contrast pointed out in the press as another criticism towards the opulence and callousness of the wealthy.
In looking into various attendees of the ball including Barbara’s Aunt Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton plus information on the soup kitchens, I discover that Marjorie and her husband E.F. Hutton had already began sponsoring their own soup kitchens by January 1931. Upon which, a previously featured Episode 49: Ladies Section the story covers when E.F. goes to visit his soup kitchen in Hell’s Kitchen and is mistaken as a rich guy trying to scam a free meal – the incident had been reported in a 1931 news article.
10:07
As I have stated, I try to back up a lot of these stories with heavy newspaper research, if only to clarify certain details. And yes, rumor, gossip, scandal, and other stuff might be misreported, but at least I can verify a concrete date as an origin of the story and compare other presented facts. I.e. if someone is likely in the wrong place therefore impossible to attend said rumored event.
10:32
Well, anyway, I see also that Marjorie becomes a major advocate and activist in feeding the poor and helping the unemployed and homeless. Out of Barbara’s extravagant aunts and out of the many wealthy families I am tracking, Marjorie is the one who really adjusts her lifestyle to empathize with and aid those less fortunate. In truly magnanimous ways as featured in this episode’s story section.
10:57
She isn’t just hosting fancy charity balls or asking for donations – which she does as well and superbly. She uses her amazing business experience and acumen to coordinate and distribute mass supplies and food, making all organizations involved more efficient and expanding their reach. It of course helps she runs the large corporation General Foods, which under her guidance shortly before the Crash had bought out a company Birds Eye experimenting with new refrigeration technology and frozen food. A process that becomes essential in securing food supplies during the prevailing agricultural crisis from the Midwest suffering with the coinciding Dust Bowl Storms.
11:36
So as I am reading and learning all this, I see Marjorie receives lots of accolades and various distinctions for her service and efforts, including one special award on December 12th, 1932.
Fantastic, though 2 years away in our unfolding story, I make note as that will likely make a great Christmas end of year episode. Also knowing that is going to happen, I can pepper prior storylines with teasers that will come to fruition later. Thus how I continually interweave several plotlines and repeating facts and themes throughout the series.
12:11
Now the time has come. I backtrack to the source, reread the passages, and get really excited. Oh, it is so good, and wow there are some factors I didn’t see the first time that will make this an even more special tie-in. I mean there are references to the 1932 presidential election and a tie back to Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart – all storylines covered this year. Oh my gosh, this is getting to be so perfect. Plus the award, oh if you know what that was – so perfectly matches and dead on relatable with our contemporary 2023 political environment. Then I found a modern story line of her descendant with a tragedy somewhat loosely related thematically.
I mean really this story is flying and coming together fast. Now the reference to the award date doesn’t have all the details I want. I need a little more, so now with all these great names and a date attached,… It should take a quick newspaper search to confirm and flesh out the details. The room, other attendees, as women are involved maybe some fashion,… I don’t know what will come to light, but that’s what makes the process of discovery fun.
13:36
So let’s dive in. Okay, maybe, not exactly, uh-uh, wait,… what? No, this can’t be… There is nothing. Yes, there are articles acknowledging Marjorie’s efforts, and there is reference to the award, but it goes to someone else. Seriously, the facts are all wrong. How? I dig further. Nope, nothing…
I look back at the details and the names. Then it hits me. Hmmm, this would likely be 1933 not 1932. I open the calendar range and bullseye in the newspapers. The event takes place in December 1933. What the f—?
14:31
Argggghhh, this has been a tough year for me. Lots of bumps in my personal life, lots of struggles with technical elements in the podcast, and both cause delays. Still I’m trying to keep pushing forward and through it all. I need this episode to be a simpler tale, so I can catch my breath as I reorient to other changes in my life. The overall story has finally gotten to the good parts, and I don’t want to lose momentum. I’m afraid any other delays or interruptions could lose the rhythm or worse derail. And I need to get this story out. Seriously, it has been an obsession for 10 years that I can’t stop thinking about even now. And yes, I really do have over 100 episodes more to tell for the full concrete story to be complete.
15:22
And I am stickler – a lifelong decades in the making purist. Only I didn’t have time to get far enough ahead. I try to start a little research so I can confirm the storyline when I tease the next episode. But these last few months have been unendingly difficult – largely solved one major technical issue only to have life throw a whole bunch of other stuff at me AGAIN.
And well, I mean the 1932 date came from Marjorie’s biography American Empress. The paragraph is written with clarity and the surrounding information that seems true and relevant. But, oh no, it is now very clear that the timeline is wrong. Maybe it doesn’t seem critical decades later, one year off, she still gets the award, and other things are correct. Should it matter? Oh, how I wish it was 1932 as it would synch so nicely within our story.
AND I have already teased and committed to this episode. And the other stuff is so good I can’t throw it away, but I need for the historical record to keep this stuff accurate.
16:30
So I am afraid I will have to return and tell the actual award story later. Though in this process, I did also get another piece to add prior to the featured event. Something that will add more color to our background and recreation of the era. I can give the relevant dated facts a little now, and I really hope soon I can get all these delays under control for future episodes. And I’m pretty certain, by this time in 2024, the special elements will be even more relevant to our current lives.
17:00
Now there are several reasons I have opted not to publish my bibliography. Most importantly, I am protecting my research as I do have larger plans for the series. I began the podcast as I way to copyright my research. There is no other resource that ties all this together the way that I am doing it. I don’t need credit for any particular anecdote for which I do due diligence to verify and illustrate further, but the connections and re-weaving are predominantly mine. Secondly, I am an insane researcher and generally average easily 15 – 30 sources mostly newspaper articles per episode, and I move so fast I hate formatting everything. This isn’t a graded research paper or published book yet… I am not under academic scrutiny and will gladly point out any particular source in regard to a moment or information when appropriate. You must understand to date I now have 5,592 articles plus books, websites, and other random sources so far. So you can see why I might feel daunted by the notation task. I dream of hiring someone to one day properly type them up. And of course, I add new sources each and every episode.
18:12
Now we are heading into the murkier parts of our story. Things told mostly through memory and quite scandalous. Details changed, forgotten, misremembered, documented, and undocumented. And in all honesty, the most important part is the overall experience and if can be sorted out the residual feelings and emotions that will continue to impact those whose stories we are re-examining and could shed some enlightenment into the human experience we all face in our own ways.
So even if things are a little off, this is still one hell of a set of tales. I hope you stay tuned.
18:56
[Music – Plain Mary Jane by Mrs. Jack Hylton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music Fade Out]
19:10
Another year will pass soon enough. We’re on the verge of 2023 becoming 2024. We see lots of slogans stating that 2024 will be an even better year.
I wish it would be the case, but my gut is not so sure.
Without a doubt, the last 4 years have been incredibly stressful for much of the world. It’s hard to say or imagine that anyone hasn’t suffered any side effects from the pandemic and lockdowns. Whether health and death consequences were directly experienced, the social, political, and economic factors have drastically altered everything. Will this new normal ever get back to anything similar before all this began?
19:54
Ugh,…
I’m afraid with this large presidential election year in the United States. We are going to see more polarization and animosity – and that isn’t going to change no matter which party wins.
In peering back to 1932 as it changes into 1933, there was a lot of darkness before the shift slowly moved towards a positive. 1932 was the darkest year of the Great Depression, and 1933 didn’t have such a glorious beginning but midway through things did begin to change. Historians debate whether that is due to reforms or possibly the basic cycling out of any given period. It will take several more years and a major global war until the American economy truly recovers. Though Europe and Asia will suffer a bit longer from the destruction and aftermath of World War II.
Could we be heading in the same direction? Will it take another war, global or civil, before things truly change?
We cannot know our immediate future, but we can look into the past. Hopefully, we learn the lessons to navigate to better ends.
21:06
Guess what? My webinars on the first two Waldorf-Astoria hotels are back. Yes, available in January 2024 via New York Adventure Club, I will give two virtual lectures covering the legendary hotels with many links back to our story. From Caroline Astor and her son John Jacob Astor IV to our legendary supreme hostess Cobina Wright to Lindbergh’s historic flight celebrations, along with presidents, royalty, celebrities, underworld figures, and plenty of anecdotes. If you haven’t caught them yet, come check out – Part 1 on Monday, January 22nd, 2024 and Part 2 on Monday, January 29th, 2024 at 5:30pm EST / 2:30pm PST. Weblinks are available at www.nyadventureclub.com and the News | Events section at asthemoneyburns.com. *The fee is $12 each,* live with one week access after.
Monday, January 22nd, 5:30pm EST / 2:30pm PST – Waldorf Astoria Hotel Part 1: A New Standard of Luxury (pre-1929), Come learn more about the Astor family dispute behind the famous hotel and its construction as well as the hotel’s influence on luxury travel and fine dining. Connections to the Titanic as well as other events and famous people will also be explored. But all good things come to an end.
Monday, January 29th, 5:30pm EST / 2:30pm PST – Waldorf Astoria Hotel New York Part 2: Manhattan’s Grandest Hotel (1931-present), The second version of this fine luxury hotel comes during the dawn of new era which will bring new challenges and excitement. A lingering Astor family connection adds to the saga until a new family the Hilton dynasty rises and takes over. More celebrities and events will add to allure of this hotel. Finally, updates reveal the recent renovations, an auction, and the future for the third incarnation.
If you enjoy As The Money Burns, then please share, like, & subscribe.
Hook
22:09
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
After previously closing their mansion, a struggling couple returns to host a wonderful buffet to start the new year, but have things really changed for the better?
Until then…
Credits
22:29
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast written, produced, and voiced by Nicki Woodard, based on historical research. Archival music has been provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, check out their website at www.pastperfect.com.
Please come visit us at As The Money Burns via Goodpods, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram. Transcripts, timeline, episode guide, and character bios are available at asthemoneyburns.com.
22:58
THE END.