President Gets Telegraph Key (Jul, 1939)
I was not aware that F.D.R gave many speeches via telegraph. I must say his fireside chats would have lost something if they were entirely composed of dots and dashes.
President Gets Telegraph Key
A new official telegraph key for the White House, for use when Presidents officiate by proxy at distant ceremonies, has been presented to President Roosevelt by Western Union.
The key was used for ceremonial openings… two particular events were the Grand Coulee and Fort Peck Dams. He didn’t actually send messages, but used it to send a signal signifying the opening.
Comment by John Barrows — September 1, 2008 @ 9:59 am