Motion Picture MP2002-317
Administrative Information
Mary Jane Truman discusses how she learned of President Roosevelt’s death and Harry Truman’s becoming President. She states that the family shed tears, mindful of the awesome responsibility and Mr. Truman’s brief time as Vice-President. Sound only.
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Shot List
Reel 1
| 0:00 | Unidentified voice says "sum 99." Merle Miller begins to interview Mary Jane Truman. | |
| 1:00 | Mary Jane Truman (sister of Harry S. Truman) states that when Mr. Truman became Vice-President, she didn't think of his becoming President. They knew Franklin D. Roosevelt was not well, but didn’t expect him to die, and when news came that President Roosevelt had died "it was quite a shock." She had returned from an Eastern Star meeting in Nevada, Missouri when she heard the news; her mother later remembered she wouldn't want Harry to be President because President Roosevelt died, but if he were ever elected president she "would wave a flag." | |
| 3:32 | Mary Jane Truman states that she shed some tears when Harry became President. "All of us did." They knew of the awesome responsibility, the difficult times and that Mr. Truman had had little preparation in his brief time as vice-president. | |
| 4:09 | Interviewer asks how Mary Jane's life has changed because of Mr. Truman's becoming president. Except for people wanting to contact her mother, Mary Jane claims her own life has not changed, people don't even know where she is. "I go on like I always have." | |
| 4:50 | Ms. Truman discusses having the Secret Service at their home. The same three men were assigned for the whole seven years that Mr. Truman was President. A fence and locked gate were installed, partly because Mary Jane's mother was in her 90s, and wanted to invite everyone in. | |
| 8:05 | Ms. Truman states she was informed by the FBI of the assassination attempt on President Truman while she was involved with the Eastern Star in the Boot Heel area of Missouri. "I went to pieces," she said, assuming he had been hit. | |