Featured The Life and Presidency of Herbert Hoover
The 2016 White House Christmas ornament honors the administration of the thirty-first president of the United States Herbert Hoover, who served...
Mrs. Polk Receives Unwelcome Advice About Her Servants
How Long? 2 minutes
This plateau, purchased by President Monroe, is likely the same one referred to in the Nelsons’ anecdote about Mrs. Polk and her servants.
James K. Polk and Sarah Childress Polk lived in the White House from 1845 to 1849. Anson and Fanny Nelson, admirers of Mrs. Polk, published this story many years later:
"An elderly lady, who had been present at [a White House] dinner-party, called on Mrs. Polk and said, 'May I take the liberty [to] make a suggestion to you, Madame?' The dining-table at the White House was adorned with a long mirror, . . . called the plateau, reflecting the light of the candelabra. . . . The table extended about a foot beyond the plateau, and this space was covered with a long napkin, which upon the removal of the dishes for dessert was rolled up by the servants, and formed a bulky bundle of linen. The lady’s suggestion was that the long napkin should be cut into short pieces, for the convenience of the servants. 'I seldom noticed these things,' said Mrs. Polk, 'and did not know when the napkin was rolled up and taken off, being engaged in conversation; . . .' [Mrs. Polk] said that the servants knew their duties, and she did not undertake the needless task of directing them."
—Anson and Fanny Nelson, Memorials of Sarah Childress Polk, Wife of the Eleventh President of the United States (New York: Anson D. F. Randolph Co., 1892), 110–111.
You Might Also Like
-
-
Collection The White House Social Secretary
For more than one hundred years, White House Social Secretaries have displayed a profound knowledge of protocol and society in...
-
Collection Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day"
The White House Historical Association and the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project present this collaboration in an effort to open a...
-
Collection "The President's Own"
On July 11, 1798, President John Adams approved legislation that officially brought "The President's Own" United States Marine Band into being, making...
-
Collection Dining in the Executive Mansion
A dinner at the White House has always had significance beyond the merely gastronomical. The elegance of the State Dining...
-
Advances in Entertaining
First Lady Helen Taft loved entertaining and White House hospitality during the Taft administration centered on the dining table, where...
-
The Willard Hotel
During the Civil War, the fighting at times came so close to the capital that the Lincolns could hear the...
-
Livery at the White House
On Saturday, October 24, 1903, the sensationalist New York World reported that President Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary, William Loeb Jr., outfitted the me...
-
The United States Marine Band: The Directors
During its first two centuries, the Marine Band has had 26 Directors. Each leader has contributed to the recognition and appreciation...
-
The United States Marine Band: The President's Own
A long and distinguished association with the presidency has honored the Marine Band. There is a sense of family among...
-
The United States Marine Band: Origins & Traditions
The Marine Band, the first musical ensemble to perform at the White House, has provided a continual opportunity for presidents...
-
The United States Marine Band: Musicians
Since 1798, the Marine Band's primary mission has been to provide music for the President of the United States. Whether performing...
