Motion Picture MP2002-107
Administrative Information
Harry S. Truman discusses talking with children and young people at the Harry S. Truman Library. Mr. Truman says he wants to give the students a chance to ask him questions about how government works and what they have seen. Mr. Truman is asked about his association with his secretary and asked about past jobs. Sound only.
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Shot List
Reel 1
| 0:00 | Unidentified voice says” “Talent Associates, 61F4588, Truman Story, Take 7 from roll 37” Talent Associates were the first producers of the television series. This soundtrack consists of questions by Merle Miller answered by Harry S. Truman. The discussion is informal and with comments back and forth. It was filmed in Mr. Truman’s office at the Harry S. Truman Library. | |
| 0:26 | Mr. Truman discusses talking with children and young people at the Harry S. Truman Library. There was no formal arrangement as to when he would talk to students; the students didn’t know when they came that he would talk to them, the groups would find out after they got here. Dr. Philip Brooks and his staff would talk to the young people and tell them that it would courteous to stand and applaud when Mr. Truman entered, but “it doesn’t make any difference to me whether they do or don’t.” | |
| 1:40 | Mr. Truman says he wants to give the students a chance to ask him questions about how government works and what they have seen. | |
| 2:00 | Mr. Miller asks why Grandview, Missouri is called Grandview. It is because it was the high point and had a “grand view.” Mr. Truman discusses the history of Grandview, noting it was not on the map when his parents moved to the farm. The post office was Belton. He notes that Hickman’s Mill should not be pronounced “Hickman Mills.” | |
| 3:33 | Mr. Miller asks how long Mr. Truman has been associated with his secretary, Rose Conway. He replies “you’ll have to ask Miss Conway what the date was.” | |
| 3:49 | Mr. Truman describes the books in his office as being about the various presidents who left records. He says there was some difficulty in getting those records published. His goal is to get Congress to publish all these records from the Library of Congress so every student will have access to them. | |
| 4:58 | Mr. Miller asks about the globe in Mr. Truman’s office. Mr. Truman replies that he was presented with the globe in the White House. Another globe had been given him by Gen. Eisenhower when President Truman was at Potsdam. He returned it to him with a special plaque. | |
| 5:40 | When asked to talk about his job as paymaster again, Mr. Truman discusses his job as timekeeper for the railroad. He dealt with men he called hobos. He describes them as men who had deserted or been kicked out by their families and were working to get enough money to buy drinks and forget what had happened. | |
| 6:33 | When asked his age at the time, Mr. Truman says he was 18 and got along perfectly with the hobos. “They knew I was working for the contractor. If they didn’t show up, they didn’t get paid. I had no trouble with them at all.” | |
| 6:53 | Mr. Miller asks about his job at Clinton Drugstore. Did he have any early morning customers? Mr. Truman replies that sometimes friend of Mr. Clinton’s would come in the back door, go to the prescription counter, and ask for a drink of whiskey. They were prohibitionists and didn’t want to go to the saloons on the square. |