A Writer’s Passing

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Abraham Lincoln

A writer I knew recently passed away. This has become all too common because of my association with the Lincoln Group of DC. As with many such interest groups, the membership tends to skew older, usually making me among the youngest in the room. With age comes experience, and many of the longer-term members offered up their guidance and their mentorship. In the last few years there have been several members who have passed away. Elizabeth Smith Brownstein was the latest.

While most of the membership consists of people with a general interest in Abraham Lincoln but without a specific academic training in his life and time, there are many who are true scholars. Some have doctorates in various non-Lincoln fields but have spent considerable time learning about Lincoln. Some are former professors. Many are writers, either about Lincoln or about their career field of study. John Elliff had written books on government. Paul Pascal had written legal briefs and books. Buzz Carnahan had two highly regarded books on Lincoln and the rule of law. Elizabeth was best known for two books. If This House Could Talk, looked at the history of the United States through the architecture of twenty-seven homes. Her second book, Lincoln’s Other White House, dug into the newly renovated summer retreat at the Old Soldiers’ Home, now restored as President Lincoln’s Cottage. The previously unknown stories helped bring insight into Lincoln’s decision making. Each book showed her skill as a writer and a presenter.

I met Elizabeth early on in my tenure with the Lincoln Group of DC, and from the start she was extremely supportive. She saw me as a future leader of the group when most barely noticed me. We signed each other’s books and had many discussions about Lincoln and life.

And what a life she had. Elizabeth spent much of her career as a writer and producer in the nascent television industry. She worked at CBS with such luminaries as Edward R. Murrow, Lawrence Spivak, Eric Sevareid, Martin Agronsky, and others. Later, she was Director of Research for the Smithsonian World television series hosted by David McCullough, a program that won forty awards in its first three years alone.

But my fondest personal memory with Elizabeth was her recounting of when she met Katharine Hepburn. I had been a huge fan of Hepburn much of my life, even once getting a response to a letter I wrote her. I collected and watched all her movies, with the Desk Set, in which she starred with Spencer Tracy, being one of my favorites. The movie pitted a television research department against EMERAC, a huge mainframe computer that threatened to put the department out of business. The main character played by Hepburn is based on the head librarian at CBS, who retired about a year before the film was released in 1957. It was Elizabeth Brownstein with whom Hepburn consulted as she prepared for her role as Bunny Watson. It was a fascinating connection.

Elizabeth and I had other commonalities as well. She was born in Massachusetts and spent summers on Cape Cod. She loved classical music, as did I, and was an accomplished pianist, which I wasn’t but do appreciate immensely. Elizabeth often presented a program where on the piano she played the music Lincoln had loved. She also loved to travel, having visited most of the United States as well as Europe and Africa. I had the privilege of sharing the stage with her on C-SPAN as we discussed our books.

A few years ago, Elizabeth moved from Washington, DC to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to be nearer her family, who would assist her as age started catching up to her active lifestyle. It was there that she passed away earlier this month, peacefully, with her family close by.

She will be missed by me, by the Lincoln Group of DC, and by everyone who knew her.