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Scholarship
The First Fan
While both President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace Coolidge were well known baseball supporters, not everyone realized that of the two, Grace Coolidge was by far the more knowledgeable and enthusiastic fan. Bucky Harris, who managed the Senators during their great run of 1920s success, said she was “the most rabid baseball fan I ever knew in the White Ho
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President Kennedy's Rose Garden
The inspiration for renewing the rose garden at the White House came from President Kennedy in 1961. My involvement began at a picnic on a hazy summer day in August at our beach house on Cape Cod, surrounded by sand dunes, the sea, and sailboats. It was a picnic for a few friends and included President and Mrs. Kennedy. Hardly had
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Scholarship
Barbara Bush and the White House Artisans
First Lady Barbara Bush chose a theme of "family literacy" for the Blue Room tree of 1989. She had the Executive Residence staff create 80 soft-sculpture characters from literature. Tiny books completed the motif. In 1990, Mrs. Bush revisited "The Nutcracker" with little porcelain dancers. White House florists dressed the figurines, and a castle from the Land of Sweets was constructed by White
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Reflections After the Fire
This shaving mirror, one of a pair, has a remarkable history. It not only reflected the face of President James Monroe but may have been a witness to the flames that engulfed the White House in August 1814. According to Monroe family history, Elizabeth Monroe and Dolley Madison were walking the grounds of the White House in 1816 when they spotted large
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The White House Social Secretary
The White House Historical Association began an oral history project in 2010 under the guidance of Maria Downs, the Association’s public affairs director and the White House Social Secretary during the Gerald Ford administration. Ms. Downs recognized that important insights into White House history were slipping away with the passing of social secretaries. They rarely wrote or spoke of their ex
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Presidents on Horseback
Military heroes who risked their lives in devotion to the nation have long been attractive presidential candidates. The image of a uniformed officer on a warhorse was a powerful symbol of leadership and executive ability. Presidents depicted in equestrian art include military heroes such as George Washington, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford
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Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day": Christmas
The Roosevelts celebrated Christmas with a flurry of public and private activities. The non-stop action began the week before Christmas as children, grandchildren and other family members began arriving at the White House. "I think this old house likes the sound of children's voices," Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) wrote in one of her December columns. "It certainly is an ideal place
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Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day": Causes
Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) considered herself a resident of Washington, D.C. and took an active part in the city's life during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Her activism stemmed from her conviction that the nation's capital belonged "to every citizen of the United States" and should be a place where "people . . . [who] have an interest in certain social questions . . ." could "
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Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day": Ceremonies
Ceremony and ceremonial occasions played vital roles in the Roosevelt White House. Whether presiding over state receptions, entertaining heads of state or hosting diplomatic ceremonies, the Roosevelts used these events and their own personal magnetism to project an image of American democracy that was both substantive and personal.Many of the ceremonies in the Roosevelt White House followed elaborate rules
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Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day": Household
Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) believed that the White House "staff and the ushers and the housekeeper deserve all the credit that we can give them." The mansion staff, led by housekeeper Henrietta Nesbitt and a succession of chief ushers, numbered about thirty people during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.Nesbitt, a Hyde Park neighbor of the Roosevelts who had worked with
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Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day": Entertainment
The Roosevelts loved to entertain. During their thirteen-year stay in the White House, they used the mansion's grand setting to host receptions for congressmen, senators, governors, justices of the Supreme Court, foreign dignitaries, and even royalty. Less formal affairs included simple lunches or dinners with family and friends, intimate cocktail parties, teas, and game nights, as well as impromptu skits
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Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day": Family Life
Family life in the Roosevelt White House was lively and often hectic. In 1933, when FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) moved into the White House, the two youngest Roosevelt sons, Franklin, Jr. (1914-1988) and John (1916-1981) were still in college. The three eldest children Anna, (1906-1975) James (1907-1991) and Elliott (1910-1990) were married and had started families of their own. (A