Edward J. Renehan: Changing his mind, he now says he favors keeping the TR Association

During February of 2007, I called for the disbanding of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, a venerable organization which has, since 1919, kindled the flame of memory for our nation's twenty-sixth President. Now I've changed my mind. Simply put, my doubts about the long-range importance of the TRA were unfounded. In line with its long and distinguished record of preserving and making available to the public the numerous historic places and the multitudinous historical records pertaining to the life and career of Theodore Roosevelt, and of publishing since 1975 a first-rate quarterly scholarly journal (now a refereed journal), the TRA, under the dynamic leadership of President James H. Bruns, has lately embarked upon the creation of a multi-million-dollar Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Museum and Research Center in Oyster Bay, NY. This ultra-modern new facility promises to contribute enormously to the promotion of scholarship and public awareness regarding Roosevelt and his era. And this project is thoroughly in keeping with the outstanding tradition of both TR and the TRA: a tradition of grand ambition brilliantly realized. I wish Jim Bruns, and the TRA, much success.