That the Trumans enjoyed a close relationship was certainly obvious when a rather embarrassed Mrs. When the Trumans arrived after the death of FDR, the idea that the President and First Lady actually shared the same bedroom created quite a stir among the staff. Perhaps because I knew little of the Trumans, I was particularly intrigued by some of their stories. The key to continuity for the staff was loyalty to the White House rather than to a particular family. With each new First Lady, the White House staff adjusted to her and she adjusted to them. Lady Bird Johnson prioritized herself far behind her family, particularly her Texan husband who strode around the halls and shouted through the rooms as though he was still occupying the wide expanses of his home state. Kennedy carried the same weight as, “I want you to do this now” from Mrs. She was soft-spoken so you had to listen closely to her, but ultimately the staff learned that, “Do you think it would be possible…” from Mrs. Jackie Kennedy was highly organized but more informal, so instructions from her tended to come on the fly. Maisie Eisenhower, as the wife of a general, was accustomed to handling a large complex household, so she had a regular morning meeting with the staff, which she handled while sitting in her pink bed. Bess Truman was part of the closely knit trio of Harry, Bess, and their daughter, Margaret, and managed with the thriftiness of a Midwestern housewife. Eleanor Roosevelt traveled extensively, met with people and entertained a large group nightly and needed to manage all of those logistics. With so many biographies relishing revelations of scandal, I appreciated that West was able to emphasize the strengths and talents of each of the First Ladies and respect the differences among them without ever describing them negatively.Įach First Lady had a distinctive managerial style. West, who spent 28 years as an usher and then the chief usher of the White House, it is a charming collection of stories and observations of the First Ladies who occupied the President’s House during West’s tenure. ![]() The South Portico with the Truman BalconyĪmazon has apparently recognized that some of my reading tastes have slanted toward history and politics, so when Upstairs at the White House came up as a recommendation, I decided to give it a try.
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