Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies
J. B. West
Language: English
Pages: 398
ISBN: 1504038673
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
J. B. West, chief usher of the White House, directed the operations and maintenance of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue—and coordinated its daily life—at the request of the president and his family. He directed state functions; planned parties, weddings and funerals, gardens and playgrounds, and extensive renovations; and, with a large staff, supervised every activity in the presidential home. For twenty-eight years, first as assistant to the chief usher, then as chief usher, he witnessed national crises and triumphs, and interacted daily with six consecutive presidents and first ladies, as well as their parents, children and grandchildren, and houseguests—including friends, relatives, and heads of state.
J. B. West, whom Jackie Kennedy called “one of the most extraordinary men I have ever met,” provides an absorbing, one-of-a-kind history of life among the first ladies. Alive with anecdotes ranging from Eleanor Roosevelt’s fascinating political strategies to Jackie Kennedy’s tragic loss and the personal struggles of Pat Nixon, Upstairs at the White House is a rich account of a slice of American history that usually remains behind closed doors.
Boston airport. At eight a.m., I just barely boarded a jet for Washington, where I hurried home in time to change clothes for the wedding. I must say, as Zella and I left the White House after the reception, that I did feel a bit heady. It was a fabulous twenty-four hours. Zella and I were perplexed about one thing: What do you give a President’s daughter? Luci received gifts from all over the world. We had cleared two large storage rooms in the basement, lining the walls with shelves to
out of Mr. Truman’s bedroom. “What’s going on up here?” I asked. Fields looked puzzled. “The boss is taking a bath,” he said, “and he asked me to get him a book from the study.” Before the horror set in, I had to laugh. “Fields, you need to go on a diet!” He was the biggest man on the staff, six feet four and well over 200 pounds. He walked with a sturdy bounce, and when he stomped in and out of the pantry, dishes rattled. But we’d never known him or anyone else to make chandeliers tremble.
And from General Services, engineers, plumbers, builders, to assist the regular maintenance staff. The complexities of the modern Presidency thrust upon General Eisenhower and his wife a different style of living from past Presidents. But it was a style that they easily adjusted to, and even designed, themselves, because of their experience with the attendant personal power of a high military command. They enlarged the scope of the White House, taking, for the first time, personnel and equipment
Mrs. Kennedy whispered merrily. “Just find a wicker wastebasket for her banana peels and a little table for her false teeth at night.”) After a disastrous first-night dinner in the White House, when the Kennedys learned that the State Floor, even with its Family Dining Room, could not lend itself to the intimacy of their private entertaining, Mrs. Kennedy determined to install a dining room on the second floor. “I want my children to be brought up in more personal surroundings, not in the State
Suddenly a call came from the Secret Service. “Mrs. Kennedy is on her way back from the country,” the agent reported. “She wants you to meet her at the south entrance. And she says to wear a raincoat.” Armed with my old trenchcoat, I dutifully waited just outside the Diplomatic Reception Room door, until Sergeant Lee drove the Mercury station wagon up in front. Her Secret Service agent sat in the front seat and Mrs. Kennedy hopped out of the back. She was wearing Pucci pants, and her beat-up