Was Roosevelt the Grinch…?
TR was in Springfield, Massachusetts in May 1918 speaking on behalf of the war effort. During his visit he was asked to present awards to the top 10 Boy Scouts who had sold the most War Bonds in Springfield.
In 1918 anything German was unpopular. Even using the word sauerkraut could get you into trouble. Sauerkraut became “Liberty Cabbage.”
When given the opportunity to sell War Bonds Theodor Geisel, the grandson of German immigrants, jumped at the chance to prove his patriotism. His grandfather felt the same way and to show everyone he was 100% American through and through he bought a thousand dollars worth of bonds from young Theodor.
The thousand dollars put Geisel over the top. He became one of Springfield’s top 10 War Bond selling Boy Scouts. While he stood on stage with the other winners, TR had only been given 9 awards. They never told him they were one short.
As luck would have it, Theodor Geisel was last in line. When it was his turn TR, out of awards, looked down at Geisel and said, “what is this boy doing here?" What made things worse was in the beginning of the year TR underwent ear surgery to remove an infection that left him deaf in his left ear. It not only affected his hearing it frequently impacted how loud he spoke. To his utter embarrassment the 14-year-old was horrified.
Practically everyone in the auditorium heard what TR said to Geisel. His Scout Master, rather than explaining what happened, simply whisked Geisel off the stage as fast as he could. Too late, the damage had been done.
The embarrassment hung over Geisel for years. He said he developed a phobia of crowds and wouldn’t be caught dead on stage.
Geusel’s full name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, and he’d later go on to write children's books under the pen name Dr. Seuss.
All things considered, perhaps TR was Geisel’s model for the Grinch in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” or maybe he was thinking of Roosevelt and his famous appetite when he wrote, “I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham.
