ELIZABETH TRUMAN .

Whistle-stopping in 1948, President Truman often ended his talk by introducing his wife as "the Boss" and his daughter, Margaret, as "the Boss's Boss," and they smiled and waved as the train picked up steam. The sight of that close-knit family fighting against such long odds had much to do with his surprise victory at the polls that November.

Strong family ties had always been important around Independence, Missouri, where Elizabeth Virginia Wallace was born on February 13, 1885. Harry Truman always kept his first impression of "Bess," her – "golden curls" and "the most beautiful blue eyes." They attended the same schools from fifth grade through high school.

For Bess and Harry, World War I altered a deliberate courtship. They became engaged before Lieutenant Truman left for the battlefields of France in 1918. They were married in June 1919, and lived in Mrs. Wallace's home, where Mary Margaret was born in 1924. When Harry became active in politics, Bess shared his platform appearances. His election to the Senate in 1934 took the family to Washington. When she joined his office staff as a secretary, he said, she earned "every cent I pay her." Reluctant to be a public figure herself, she always shared his thoughts and interests in private.

Three months after Truman’s inauguration as vice-president, President Roosevelt was dead. On April 12, 1945, when her husband took the president's oath of office, Bess, who managed to look on with composure, became the new first lady.

The lack of privacy in the White House was distasteful to her. As her husband put it later, she was "not especially interested" in the "formalities and pomp or the artificiality which…inevitably surround the family of the President." Though she conscientiously fulfilled the social obligations of her position, she did only what was necessary. While the Executive Mansion was rebuilt during the second term, the Trumans lived in neighboring Blair House and kept social life to a minimum.

They returned to Independence in 1953. After her husband's death in 1972, Bess Truman continued to live in the family home. There she enjoyed visits from Margaret and her husband, Clifton Daniel, and their four sons. She died in 1982 and was buried beside her husband in the courtyard of the Harry S. Truman Library.

MAMIE EISENHOWER .

Mamie Eisenhower's bangs and sparkling blue eyes were as much trademarks of an administration as the president's famous grin. Her outgoing manner, love of pretty clothes and jewelry, and obvious pride in husband and home made her a very popular first lady.

Born in 1896 in Boone, Iowa, Mamie Geneva Doud moved with her family to Denver Colorado when she was seven. During winters the family made long visits to relatives in the milder climate of San Antonio, Texas. There, in 1915, Mamie met Dwight D. Eisenhower, a young second lieutenant. On Valentine's Day in 1916 he gave her a miniature of his West Point class ring to seal a formal engagement; they were married at the Doud home in Denver on July 1.

Mamie's new life followed the pattern of other army wives: a succession of posts in the United States, the Panama Canal Zone, France, and the Philippines. She once estimated that in 37 Years she had unpacked her household at least 27 times. Each move meant another step up the career ladder for her husband, with increasing responsibilities for her. Their first son Doud Dwight or "Icky," born in 1917, died of scarlet fever in 1921. A second, John, was born in 1922 in Denver. Like his father he had a career in the army. Later he became an author and served as ambassador to Belgium.

During World War II, while fame came to "Ike," Mamie lived in Washington. In 1948, the Eisenhowers purchased a farm at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the first home they had ever owned. When her husband campaigned for president, Mamie cheerfully shared his travels. When he was inaugurated in 1953, the American people warmly welcomed her as first lady. Diplomacy - and air travel - in the postwar world brought changes in their official hospitality. The Eisenhowers entertained an unprecedented number of heads of state and leaders of foreign governments, and Mamie's evident enjoyment of her role endeared her to her guests and to the public.

When their Gettysburg dream home was finally completed in 1955, the Eisenhowers celebrated with a housewarming picnic for the White House staff. In 1961, they retired there for eight contented years together. After her husband's death in 1969, Mamie continued to live on the farm, devoting more of her time to her family and friends. Mamie Eisenhower died on November 1, 1979. She is buried beside her husband in a small chapel on the grounds of the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas.