Collection The Working White House
For more than two centuries, the White House has been the home of American presidents. A powerful symbol of the...
The Working White House: A Working Family
Gallery
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Lillian Rogers Parks holds a portrait of her mother, Maggie Rogers, who came to the White House in 1909 under President William Howard Taft and retired in 1939 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Parks recalled, “I grew up in the White House. I was 12 years old when I first started going there with my mother.”
Roland Freeman, Smithsonian Institution -
Samuel Ficklin, 1992. Samuel Ficklin worked as a part-time butler from 1941 to 1990, serving nine presidents. Nine members of Ficklin’s family, including his brothers John and Charles, were also employed at the White House through the years.
Roland Freeman, Smithsonian Institution -
Butlers in the Family Dining Room, c. 1975. Eugene Allen (second from right) worked from 1952 to 1986 as a pantryman, butler, and maître d’. He recalled, “I had a good relationship with all the butlers. You know, it’s closer than your relatives, because you work so close together. You see them every day. You eat together, you work together. It’s every day.”
Eugene Allen photo album, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage -
Cloakroom staff, c. 1940. Former usher James “Skip” Allen described his colleagues as “the greatest staff that’s ever come down the pike. Ninety-seven people, one big happy family most of the time. Everyone is professional. Everyone knows what they’re going to do when they’re told to do it. You seldom have to make any deep checks on making sure that their jobs are done.”
Lillian Rogers Parks photo album, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
About this Gallery
Family connections among the White House residence staff run strong, and it is not unusual for workers in the Executive Mansion to be children or siblings of other employees. The continuance of these family lines through the generations speaks to the level of confidence and trust that First Families place in the household staff, who are in turn dedicated to a high standard of service to the president and the nation. Recommending one’s son, daughter, or sibling for a position in the White House is a further expression of that dedication.
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