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Dumbwaiters in Place of Servants
When Thomas Jefferson entertained informally, he ordered five small serving stands to be placed at strategic points around the room. These "dumbwaiters" were small tables, equipped with shelves placed at varying heights. Some might hold salads and wine; others would accommodate cutlery and serving utensils. Servants brought in hot food, but did not remain in the room during the meal.
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Housekeeper Elizabeth Jaffray Makes Some Changes
Historian William Seale identifies a "strange hierarchy" that had developed among the White House domestic staff by the first decade of the 20th century. At mealtime, the "top-ranking men," black and white, were seated together in a pantry, where they dined upon the President's leftover food. Maids ate in the servants' dining room with the footmen. This group was also
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The White House Chefs and the Nixon-Cox Wedding Cake
In March 1971, President Richard M. Nixon announced the engagement of his daughter Patricia to Edward Cox. The details of the wedding preparations soon appeared in newspapers. As the June date drew closer, media attention began to focus on the wedding cake. White House Chef Henry Haller and his colleagues, White House Pastry Chef Heinz Bender and New York pastry specialist
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Working Horses at the White House
The presidential horses earned their oats and were on call 24 hours a day. Years of pounding the asphalt streets of Washington would take a toll on the feet and legs of these horses and they required and were given the best of care. Messengers, secretaries, clerks and the housekeeper used the government horses for daily business and for hauling produce
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INTRODUCTION: Memoirs of the First White House Social Secretary Isabella Hagner
Isabella Hagner James, known to all as Belle, was the only daughter of Dr. Charles Evelyn Hagner and Isabella Wynn Davis. Her parents were “cave-dwellers,” as old Washingtonians styled themselves, and Belle’s reminiscences of her early life vividly resurrect the mores of late nineteenth-century Washington.1 They also recount vicissitudes of fortune that rival the plots of Edith Wharton or Henry
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Ushers and Stewards Since 1800
The White House Usher’s Office is one of the most singular working spaces in the world, with a tradition that parallels that of the presidents themselves. The actual quarters, adjacent to the Entrance Hall, serve as a platform from which to witness history. Remarkably few have had the distinct privilege of serving in this office, and the experience is li
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The White House Gets Electric Lighting, 1891
Electric lighting was installed in the White House in 1891. Few people at the time had enough faith in electric lighting to use it exclusively-its use was barely a decade old. The electrical work at the White House was planned as part of a well-funded project for wiring the State, War & Navy building next door. The Edison company installed a
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The Man Who Came to Dinner at the White House
To Alexander Woollcott, the White House was the “best theatrical boarding house in Washington.” To his hostess, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Woollcott was “a perfect guest,” one she welcomed “with open arms.” To White House Chief Usher, Howell G. Crim, however, the former drama critic, popular lecturer and radio personality, sometime actor, and Algonquin Round Table habitué was “impossible.” The White House house
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Presidential Inaugurations: Traditions & Transitions
The peaceful transfer of presidential power from one administration to the next is a hallmark of American democracy. This transition, both peaceful and symbolic of continuity and change, continues to amaze the world and represents the best of American democracy. The activities that surround a presidential transition are remarkable. The new president has just two months to plan a new
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Fashion and Frugality
Sarah Childress Polk (1803–1891) was first lady from 1845 to 1849, during the administration of her husband, James Knox Polk. A fashion trendsetter, she used her keen intelligence, abiding religious faith, pleasant manner, and superb organizational skills to artfully regulate the White House, serve as her husband’s main political partner, and orchestrate an exhausting social schedule of receptions and dinners that helped Polk
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The Press Was Not Impressed
The appearance of military uniforms on White House staff has seemed too threatening to please the public so except during wartime they are avoided in favor of less fanciful dress, usually either copied from a metropolitan police force or the even simpler uniforms of the Secret Service. From time to time the need has been seen at the White House
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Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day," 1/20/1945
WASHINGTON, Friday—I arrived back in Washington yesterday morning and plunged into a vortex of inauguration preparations. I went to meet some grandchildren I had not seen for a long time, but their train was late and so I went back to the White House to talk with Mrs. Nesbitt,1 the housekeeper, and to change my morning appointments in order to