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Culinary staff before dinner for Prince Charles, 2005. Shortly before the official dinner for Prince Charles, members of the White House culinary staff gather for a portrait.
The White House
Workers wash glasses after a dinner, 1966. An assembly line of workers, still in formal white tie attire, washes hundreds of drinking glasses used at a White House dinner.
White House Historical Association
Workers prepare tea napkins in the White House sewing room, c. 1945. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt hosted two tea parties almost every afternoon. “And you had all those tea napkins, two and three hundred at a time,” which needed to be carefully counted and folded, Lillian Rogers Parks recalled.
Lillian Rogers Parks photo album, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural HeritageAbout this Gallery
Every occupational group, whether doctors, teachers, or factory workers, has its own distinctive culture. Each group possesses special skills, language, and knowledge, which are shared and communicated among all group members. When members of an occupational group work in a single building, such as the White House, the culture is even more distinctive. Moreover, the White House staff must synchronize its culture with that of a new first family, in order to find the proper balance between serving the nation and serving the home’s residents to the highest possible standards.
For more than one hundred years, White House Social Secretaries have demonstrated a profound knowledge of protocol and society in Washington, D.C. The position had its beginnings in the Theodore Roosevelt administration when First Lady Edith Roosevelt hired an executive clerk. From the intricacies of ceremony planning to routine office work, the social secretary must possess unfailing tact in
For more than two centuries, the White House has been the home of American presidents. A powerful symbol of the nation, it is a uniquely private and public space. Since John and Abigail Adams first moved into the “President’s House” in November 1800, hundreds of individuals have worked behind the scenes to help the White House fulfill its roles as a seat
The White House Military Social Aides have played an important role in many different White House events and functions. They have assisted the President with diplomatic protocol at State events, at annual meetings with the leaders of Congress and the Federal Judiciary, and at other significant social events. Military Social Aides play the role of assistant hosts at the White
While the presidency is often in the eye of the public, those who ensure operations at the White House run smoothly on a day-to-day basis often carry out their work behind the scenes. Furthermore, some of the president's most intimate relationships play out behind the walls of the Executive Mansion. In this collection, pull back the curtain on some of
