person who seemed confident and cheerful. Relief loads are mounting. They can't see any improvement...Nobody seems to think any more that the thing [the New Deal] is going to WORK". From the Imperial Valley in California, she reported that the wealthy landowners were "simply hysterical" about the prospect of the Communists organizing the masses of the unemployed to lead a revolution. She wrote to Hopkins, "It looks as through we're in this relief business for a long, long time...The majority of those over 45 probably will NEVER get their jobs back". As Roosevelt became more active as first lady, however, she had less time for Hickok. Hickok grew angry and jealous at perceived slights, and demanded more time alone, which Roosevelt was unable to give; at other times, she attempted unsuccessfully to separate herself from Roosevelt. Though the pair remained friends throughout their lives, they continued to grow apart in the years that followed. In 1937, Roosevelt wrote to Hickok that "I never meant to hurt you in any way, but that is no excuse having done it…I am pulling back from all my contacts now…Such cruelty & stupidity is unpardonable when you reach my age." After an incident with her diabetes while traveling, Hickok resigned her FERA post for health reasons in late 1936. World's Fair On the advice of Roosevelt's secretary, Malvina Thompson, Hickok then sought work in New York with public relations man and politician Grover Whalen. Shortly after Franklin Roosevelt's 1936 re-election, Hickok was hired by Whalen to do publicity for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Opportunities for female employees of the Fair were limited, and she found the work unrewarding compared to her reporting days. Hickok primarily worked on promoting the fair to young people, including arranging class trips. Because Hickok rented both a country home and an apartment, she often faced financial problems despite her good salary during these years, and Roosevelt occasionally sent her small gifts of money. Democratic National Committee With help from Roosevelt, Hickok became the executive secretary of the Women's Division of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in February 1940, doing groundwork for the 1940 election. Taking to the road again, she wrote Roosevelt, "This job is such fun, dear ... It's the nearest thing to newspaper work I've found since I left the A.P." From early January 1941 until shortly after FDR's fourth inauguration in 1945, she lived