Chief Usher J.B. West in the White
House Ushers’ Office. John F. Kennedy Library.
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The White House Usher on the Role
of Television
"Largely through television," notes
historian William Seale, the White House "is
the best known house in the world, the instantly
familiar symbol of the Presidency, flashed
daily on millions and millions of TV screens
everywhere."1
J. B. West was
Assistant Chief Usher at the White House
from 1941 to 1957, and Chief Usher from 1957
to 1969. During the Eisenhower administration,
West had an inside view of television's role
as both a communication tool for the President
and a form of entertainment and relaxation
for the First Family.
West refers to television
as "the electronic
novelty." The White House had two TV
sets, and West recalls that the Eisenhowers
embraced TV wholeheartedly. In 1953, the
White House press secretary announced that
the President had decided to admit television
and radio
into his press conferences.2
West
comments that President Eisenhower's "wide
smile, his proud, erect posture, his direct
manner were magically carried to homes around
the country by the TV cameras."3
According
to West, Ike and Mamie Eisenhower regularly
watched the evening news while having their
meals on tray-tables. He notes that Mrs.
Eisenhower's enjoyment of As
the World Turns "initiated the
Television Era in the White House."4
1 William Seale, The President's
House (Washington, D.C., White House
Historical Association, 1986), 1052–1053.
2 "Press Talk TV Explained," New
York Times, Jan. 26, 1953: 11.
3 J. B. West, Upstairs at
the White House (New York: Coward-McCann,
1973), 159.
4 Ibid. |
