By Cathi Taylor, ALA National Headquarters Archivist 
 
On Dec. 29, our nation lost its longest living U.S. president, James Earl Carter Jr. He served his state and nation for most of his life. Some of the news reporters remarked that, perhaps, President Carter was more known for his public service after his presidency than during his term as U.S. president. Perhaps that’s true. On the other hand, though, his presidential term was nearly 50 years ago. 
 
The American Legion Auxiliary’s national presidents travel a similar path as politicians. They serve at the unit level, then district, department (state), and then national level. And, like those who have served in this country’s highest office, there are some who are well known and others who aren’t — perhaps to the point of being forgotten. 
 
But we can’t afford to forget them, as their efforts helped move and shape the ALA along the way — before, during, and after their presidency. We today have much to learn from them. So, let’s take a look at one who brought youth, energy, and new ideas that steered the organization in the right direction at the right time.
 
Doris Sweet was born Jan. 8, 1898, in the Hillsdale House at a time when her parents were its proprietors. Built circa 1797, the inn still stands today on New York Route 23, about six miles west of the Massachusetts border. 
 
Across from it on the town square, stood a Civil War monument of an infantryman and flag bearer, in honor “…of the soldiers and sailors who defended our country and flag 1861–1865.” Sweet later revealed in an interview that the monument inspired her devotion to veteran causes.
 
At the young age of 14, Sweet was beating out tunes on the piano to the featured silent films in the local Masonic Hall. At 15, Vassar College offered her a scholarship, but her parents felt their daughter was too young to be away from home. 
 
So, Sweet remained in Hillsdale, finished high school, and began her college career at State Teachers College in 1914. Sweet was a junior when America entered World War I, taking the young men she knew, including her brother Everett. To help with the war effort, Sweet led patriotic activities on campus. 
 
Shortly after graduation, Sweet began teaching history and English in Fayetteville, N.Y. Four years later, she moved to Long Island to teach English at the high school. It was there at a party for new teachers where she met war veteran Sgt. William Henry Corwith. They married in May 1922.

With her husband involved in the local American Legion post, the now-married Doris Corwith — along with her husband’s mother and sister — became a charter member of Rockville Centre Unit 303 in 1926. Corwith served her unit, district, and department — first in minor roles, then in higher offices. The members must have seen something in this seemingly quiet woman, for in 1935 they elected her to the office of department president. A national appointment came her way a few short months later — national chair of the Radio Committee. 
 
Although radio was not new to the ALA, the national Radio Committee was just beginning its sixth year when Corwith took the reins. Things hadn’t gone as well as the members had hoped.

Corwith agreed, and at the November Department Presidents and Secretaries Conference, declared the ALA, in its enthusiasm, had “…sponsored over the air, in the name of our organization, too many programs of an inferior quality.” The organization needed to make friends of the listeners by producing programs that held their interest.
 
In her four years as the national Radio Committee chair (1935-1939), Corwith attacked the issue of quality in three different ways:  

• First, a series of 15-minute programs recorded on double-faced records that were sold to departments for use with different radio stations throughout their state. The selected ALA programs were Americanism, Community Service, Rehabilitation, Child Welfare, Poppy, and National Defense. Although more than 70 stations presented them, many were afraid of potential lawsuits. While the idea was interesting, it wasn’t terribly successful, and the ALA decided not to use it again. On the other hand, membership increased by more than 19,000 in one year. 
• Next, in 1936, Corwith encouraged the department chairs to improve their relationship with radio stations so that national officers would be welcomed to speak about the ALA on air. At year’s end, Corwith reported that over 51,000 minutes on the air had been donated to the ALA by the broadcasting companies, a commercial value of $124,109. That would be more than $2 million today. It was also the first year that an award was given to a sponsor of a radio program that promoted patriotism and be of benefit to the nation’s children.
• In 1937, Corwith convinced the ALA to hire a professional scriptwriter who would prepare 12 15-minute programs based on the unit activities calendar. Music and announcements could be added, building a longer program. The scripts could be obtained from ALA National Headquarters. Two years later, instead of hiring a professional writer, the committee implemented a scriptwriting contest for Auxiliary members.