Washing, Waxing & Cleaning the President's House

Mary Kaltman works with chef on 1965 Christmas Cookies in White House Kitchen. Photo courtesy White House Historical Association.

Lady Bird Johnson had Mary Kaltman as food-coordinator-housekeeper and for a while she did the same for the Nixons in the White House. She wrote a book Keeping Up With Keeping House: A Practical Guide for the Harried Housewife for those female denizens against dust (known in the day as homemakers) who wanted the information on how to perform the domestic arts in grand style. In school, the subject used to be called Home Ec (for Home Economics), which made cooking and cleaning a subject for mostly girls. In prior years, Mrs. Mary E. Sharpe took upon herself as the housekeeper to make President Truman's waistline trim.

But Mrs. Kaltman was tough enough to send the domestic side of the Johnson white House into domestic hostility, sometimes famous in the East Wing. Seems she and the oo-la-la famed French chef, Verdon René, hired in April 1961 for his epicurean skills, ran into the budget minded housekeeper/Queen of Food at the White House who insisted on frozen foods, recipes from a common book and a president that wanted his fish slathered in sauce with the skin still on. Mon Dieu. They had a similar arrangement to what the Obama Family has now - on the second floor Sam Kass is in charge of the personal meals and he came with them from Chicago while the Executive Chef handles state functions. A hundred years earlier another battle ended as Mary Todd Lincoln had the housekeeping staff report directly to her. Now, that subject is split into two functions at the Executive Mansion, with cleaning it and cooking for it being two different, yet equal professional career paths. (Sasha clearly knows the ropes and speaks to one of the long tenured White House butlers about exactly what she wants while the First Granny looks on.)

Using the latest tools in 1955, the spic and span brigades wore ties while sanding, cleaning and waxing in the East Room during the Eisenhower era. Photo courtesy the White House Historical Association from a series on the Working White House and the national Archives and Records Administration.

The Cross Hall and Grand Foyer getting a thorough polishing in the Obama White House.

Wiping down, waxing a nations antiques, polishing heirloom silver and vacuuming the nap only one way on priceless rugs every day in the White House is akin to auto detailing a pristine parade of 100 Rolls Royces every 24 hours. Mrs. Kaltman believed in good old fashioned elbow grease and did not cotton to fancy tools or words. Her successor Shirley Bailey was of the same mind and used paste wax, one male person polished the brass fixtures and cleaned the little chandelier danglies day in and day out. She had her folks hand ironing all the linen napkins for events after they came out of the industrial strength washers and dryers. (From the Reagan era vacuuming the Blue Room)

There is a wonderful movie, Back stairs at the White House made on the life of an early twentieth century maid. Many of those at the White House worked for the first family while also working with an aunt, uncle, mother, father and brother. No matter the messes made, memoirs and anecdotes focus on the history and the occasions rather than any grist for the mill. Many serve for decades. An amusing anecdote shared by first lady Hillary Clinton came at the hands of an exuberant tween, Chelsea who had entertained friends with a movie. The popcorn did not exactly land in mouths and Hillary was horrified. The White House staff was in shock as Hillary had Chelsea clean up every kernel and they were not allowed to help. Kind of like Sasha & Malia have no bed service in the mornings - bed made with their own hands before leaving for school and they must help carry in the dishes in the morning for their breakfast.

From 1877, the staff/servants during Lucy Hayes' time as first lady. Almost sixty years later the staff was integrated by Eleanor Roosevelt. She felt the need to make White House domestic staff help African Americans only which kept wages lower and reduced any rancor. Photo courtesy Hayes Administration and Bob Cesca.

The Smithsonian has an exhibit, The Working White House, traveling the nation for the next two years about the Working White House and the staff that makes the Executive Residence run amidst thousands of daily events, an active family, and it being the home of the American head of state with an ambitious entertaining schedule. Christine Limerick, the Chief housekeeper during the Clinton years makes appearances to discuss what happens off camera and what the staff does in their daily and special circumstances. There are butlers, ushers, a presidential valet and a small staff of housekeepers who are mindful of the products they use on the nation's antiques. Laura Bush toted up almost 1500 formal events in eight years. That's a heap of cleaning done with dedication and attention to every fine detail. (Shirley Bailey on the second floor residence in the Nixon White house early 1970's.)

Shirley Bailey in 1970 learned her craft working for hoteliers before setting her keen eye about the executive mansion. The job always has perils such as the hate between the president and the person in charge of the food in the 1930s & !940s. Henrietta Nesbitt as the stern housekeeper overseeing cooking for FDR & Eleanor Roosevelt courted fame for the lousiness of the food served during her tenure. In 1926, single lady Miss Ellen Reilly was hired as the head of housekeeping for the White House and even traveled with President Calvin Coolidge being hired from managing a cafeteria at a retailing outfit in Boston. Blair House, the presidential guest house, has the same attention to excellence and the opportunities to transfer over to the White House when an opening becomes available allows them to serve the president directly.

Its not only the floors, walls, and dishes that get a good scrubbing in the White House. Liberty could usually be found in the Oval Office, but here is Susan Ford with Frankie Blair providing a vigorous doggy bath.

Gelato, Group Hugs & Earthquake Damage

The Obamas enter Quirinale Palace - home of the president of Italy.

Touring devastated areas remains a must do for people ravaged by the forces of nature. President Clinton filled sandbags and hugged during the 1990 floods that washed away farmlands with too many family dreams and memories in the drowned homes. President Bush received summons to Homestead, Florida in the debris path of category 5 Andrew's direct hit. One image I remember because it was quintessentially American as I remained in Rome during this, was a lone rooftop painted with a plea and profanity telling the president to get down there now. First ladies usually do more humanitarian things visiting dislocated people in evacuation centers in a Red Cross controlled environment. Laura Bush was seen and welcomed several times in the Gulf Coast after the Bush Administration's horrific non-response of Katrina.

President & Mrs. Obama greet President & Mrs. Napolitano of Italy inside the palace looking particularly tall in this shot.

In Italy, there are several tangled problems. Italy's lusty Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi owns most of the media that is currently covering his marital affairs with excruciating attention to detail. His political appointments include a former topless model, now a minister charged with guiding presidential wives through the earthquake wreckage of historic stones and with frightened families in tent cities, because the Italian first lady is in the midst of divorcing the prime minister. Michelle Obama toured L'Aquila today with the other spouses or first ladies. As recent as Monday there are still sizeable aftershocks. As of yet, she has not had to visit a damage zone in the infancy of her husband's administration.

G8 wives with a dozen more heads of states spouses and the lovely table in preparation for their lunch at the museum.

A tour lets you walk around the edges of the Coloseum to look down into the underground parts of the edifice. The tour can take visitors underground or to the floor as well. First Granny is wearing the red top.

Malia made it to the gift shop clutching a book about Rome upon leaving.

Coming in the middle of the week, the kids have their own agenda in Rome. My guess was correct on the gelato trip - no way anyone worth their sweet tooth misses Italian ice - Malia and Sasha went to Gilotti and made their own blackberry and banana flavor gelato. This is not spontaneous, but well thought out due to security and Michelle's wishes for her daughters to have a memorable stay that lasts the rest of their lives as they tell their grandchildren. The Palazzo del Quirnale sits atop the highest of the hills in Rome with stunning vistas. I would love to see what they thought was interesting to take a picture of with their cameras. (Sasha already had one camera confiscated by the First Grandma at a church service just before the inauguration)

In the Kennedy administration, there was a nanny. In the Obama administration it is the Granny. The Obama daughters need supervision and there is a coterie of people involved in the logistics of the First kid's and Grandma Robinson's separate schedule. The East Wing has to speak with the State Department that in turn sends out scouts and garners suggestions and recommendations for the First Lady. Final arrangements must be cleared through the Secret Service that involve routes, transportation modes, background checks, advance security to clear out public areas and a clear communication of those activities. That all has to then be communicated with the Arma dei Carabeineri (elite Italian police) and their diplomatic counterparts. Since Michelle has a separate schedule her security coordinates with the head of the protective details for both Malia & Sasha. The kids are vaguely aware of it, but they mostly meet pre-screened strangers and heads of state. Sasha Obama retaining that wonderful sense of being a innocent, obviously had problems sleeping amidst all the glitz plus the time change. She decided that was an excellent time to recap the wonderful things she saw in the Kremlin and Winter Garden tea by waking her parents up at 4am to discuss her day.

Even on the steps of AF1 she's still talking as they leave Moscow.

Colosseum incandescent at twilight. To the right of it is the Arch of Constantine.

Rome is an ancient city with many treasures being thousands of years old. The Capitoline Museum is host to recovered treasures that had been curated at the Getty Museum here in Los Angeles. Michelle Obama ate a celebrity chef lunch with a picture perfect view of the Eternal City with the wives and the Italian first lady's stand-in among statues of Marcus Aurelius. The Coloseum beckoned all of the Obama ladies. Next to the ruins of the gladiators, is where chariot races were held in Nero's time. Not too far away are other architectural wonders and the fountains, oh the fountains. Crossing the Tiber River on bridges that are more than two thousand years old to Vatican City will be a highlight on Friday viewing the awesome symmetry of Bernini's columns, Dante's works on the doors of St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and a museum filled with the creative genius of Da Vinci and Michael Angelo amidst the wonders of what were the Borgias thinking. Of course meeting the guy in the pristine white papal robes and the red leather shoes will become an immediate historic image.

Funny thing that not one of the Obamas will get to see first hand on this trip is a staple of Rome. Horns blaring, motor scooters darting about and drivers screaming colorful things at each other as they creatively cut one another off in traffic.

Grazie, Ciáo & Arrivaderci!

Kremlin, Vatican & Ants Ahead for Obamas

The Kremlin from the air that the First Family will see when arriving in Moscow and if, the Obama family stays at the Ritz a great view of Moscow's Red Square.

Like their personal shadows, the White House and all its security gear, protocol and communication equipment travels with the first family wherever they go. Onsite secret service along with the one chosen as food taster and an advance team travel with the president and family members. Hotels are secured from above and below and embassies in the destination nations go on high alert. Historically, the president is most often alone on these missions. On momentous occasions and commemorative events, the First Lady and the First Family travels along. Former First Daughters Barbara & Jenna Bush expressed deep regret that they did not travel with the president often until his last year in office.

Arriving in Korea with former first lady Laura Bush, is president Bush and Jenna Bush on one of her rare official international trips.

Malia & Sasha Obama are not of an age where they are free to chart their own course or itinerary and the East Wing is putting final prep on their schedules. The littlest Obamas, minus puppy Bo, will be on for another international frenzy as they touchdown with their parents on Air Force One and alight first in the Russian capital of Moscow, on to Italy and the ravages of the earthquake zone in L'Aquila and to Africa for a final stop in Ghana. A week that will be historic for the adults as well as the children, for the next week, as youngsters have not traveled with a president on official business in the 21st century for an extended period. It will be viscerally different after viewing their first fireworks display at the White House on Malia's and the nation's birthday. Even the First Grandma is along for the ride on this official trip.

On September 5, 1995, Hillary Clinton traveled alone to China to deliver a speech at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing on women's rights and abuses that thrilled the world and the and horrified the Chinese communist hosts. Chelsea Clinton did not attend this event but did travel with her parents. Laura Bush went to Afghanistan alone to promote projects about and for women right against the crushing force of Taliban misogynistic fundamentalism.

In her first six months as first lady, Michelle Obama has not traveled alone of official business internationally. Her private trip with her daughters took her to the Élysée Palace to lunch with the famed fashionably French Sarkozy First Family to the English gardens of Number 10 Downing Street with Sarah Brown and to meet the head of state in England, her new British buddy, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The only place Mrs. Obama had been prior as first lady was her stay at ambassadorial residence of Winfield House where she stayed for the Obamas official visit to England. I am all for a side trip for the kids to go to one of, if not the most beautiful museum in the world, the State Hermitage built by Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg. (Hillary Clinton speaking in Beijing, China where there state run media had orders to not cover her speech, lest it give people ideas.)

First family on the Fourth on the South Portico welcoming military families as their last function before leaving for a week of travel. Sasha has a lot on her mind.

Friday, the Sistine Chapel and a papal visit await President Obama and the first lady at the Vatican. The first lady will be as selective for her attire with the Holy See, Pope Benedict as she was with the Queen for her first meeting with her majesty. Rome is hot this time of year and has so many things for the First Daughters to see, the catacombs, the Coliseum, and the Spanish Steps with scrumptious gelato everywhere, which may be difficult for them to eat without security permission. Rome presents many choices for the Obama girls and its not too far for a day trip to Pompeii. It is a time of maximum exposure to the continent and this will be their second trip to Europe in less than a month.

Ghana is a thriving nation in Africa. Three years ago, while their father was a newly minted senator, the girls and their mother went to Kenya. It had none of the additional staff and level of security now present. Any activities the girls now partake of ill be worldwide news monitored by the East Wing and the communication shop. The final stop on this official odyssey will be to the west coast of Africa to Accra, the capital of Ghana. On Saturday, Malia & Sasha should get a good giggle from the fact the name mean ants, but watch the industrious women in awe who can carry a variety of goods balanced on their heads for great distances. (The posters already line the streets of the Capital of Ghana in advance of his address to the Ghanaian parliament on Saturday Photo courtesy VOA)

Interesting just the president is mentioned on the US Embassy in Ghana purple poster though the First lady, Michelle Obama will have an impact on Ghana as well. It will be interesting to hear the East Wing describe Mrs. O's official activities on these state visits. These visits are for the history books and we shall have a first draft of history.

Something Old, Something New

Michelle Obama gave an interview to Oprah Winfrey not long after the inauguration. Magazine lead times being what they are, the March issue of O magazine debuted the First lady for a double O cover shot. This was first time since the magazine'sinaugural that honor was shared. Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue underscores the grand old mansion with its 132 rooms, 6 tiered levels, garland trim bedecking the North Portico, and receiving rooms galore. This is the culmination of a new beginning for any First Family as they enter the Diplomatic Reception Room to gain access to their new living quarters on January 20th every four years. For Michelle Obama, her first visit to the White House was as a junior senator's wife accompanied by her two daughters as part of an invitation from Laura Bush to congressional families. Malia and Sasha remembered petting Barney.

On the second floor of the White House, the Yellow Oval Room—part of the First Family'sprivate residence—offers a stunning view of the nation's capital. The Washington Monument stretches into the heavens. The Lincoln Memorial sits above the glassy water of the Reflecting Pool. In the distance, you can see the U.S. Capitol, where the world's attention was focused on January 20 as millions gathered to witness an event many had thought would never happen. This room is where I interviewed First Lady Michelle Obama in February, and as I gazed out the windows and took in the view, I was struck by the immense legacy she and her family have inherited. I felt the weight of history, and I understood what she means when she says, as she often does, "This is not about us."Now the country wants to know more about what happens at 1600 inside the graceful executive residence built by an Irish architect. Oprah was the first to get an indepth interview from inside the residence in th e Yellow Oval Room.

Now the country wants to know more about what happens at 1600 inside the graceful executive residence built by an Irish architect more than two centuries ago. From inside the residence in the Yellow Oval Room which has seen the likes of many Queens, Kings, Emirs and Presidents for formal entertaining. It has an entrance out to the beautiful almost sixty year old Truman Balcony. Another point is how does the First family project its social style overseas. President & Mrs. Obama today embark on an eight day, five city trip to the European powers and on to Prague in the Czech Republic with a final stop in Istanbul, Turkey. Gifts will be exchanged and international curiosity somewhat slaked as the first couple makes their way through cities meeting heads of State and people along the way. (photo of South view from Yellow Oval Room)

What the First Lady wears, as well as the nationality of the designers, will keep her press office in the East Wing very busy as the minutest details will not go unremarked. Gift exchanges can be fraught with peril and poison relationships as noted by the British press that were deeply miffed with the less thoughtful gifts (Movie DVDs and toy replicas of Marine One) given to Prime Minister Gordon Brown when he and his wife traveled to DC. Mrs. Obama can have the truly elegant touch with gifts as on her first day to become the First Lady of the Land she carried a gorgeous red-ribboned gift for Mrs. Bush that held an engraved pen and leather journal. Now we all get to wait and see how the Obamas' navigate the cultural and style requirements abroad.