In her lengthy column, Roosevelt described how her husband had developed his life-long love of sailing at the island.

“The "beloved island" was what Mr. and Mrs. James Roosevelt called Campobello after they first discovered it in the summer of 1883, when they were looking for a good climate for their young son Franklin to spend his second summer,” she wrote. “From that time on, part of every summer was spent on the island itself and sailing the waters nearby. James Roosevelt loved to sail and bought a two-masted schooner called the ‘Half Moon’ in which he explored the coast and neighboring waters, and by the time little Franklin was seven he was presented with a small sailboat of his own.”

“One of the best sailors of the island, Captain Eddie Lank, taught the youngster the mysteries of the Bay of Fundy tides, how to ride the eddies along the shore when the wind gave out, and how to be a really good sailorman,” Mrs. Roosevelt continued. “In fact, Franklin Roosevelt was one day to be probably as good a navigator of the coast as could be found, with a very intimate knowledge of all the inlets and rivers and harbors, so that even in a fog he could usually get into port…”

“When we lived there the one telephone, which could hardly be called a good connection, was at the postmistress' office in the village. There was no electric light, and the water supply for use in the house was somewhat sketchy and always restricted. Lamps had a horrible way of smoking, and going to bed by candle-light was no great joy to those who wished to read at night in bed. But you never had hay fever or any of the other allergies which beset people in summer climates. The sun was warm and delightful in the daytime, and at night your pine logs took the chill off the evening air. So, it was always the "beloved island" and it remained so even in memory when my husband was no longer able, because of his attack of polio, to go there and live the life which he enjoyed.”