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The Working White House: A Working Family

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  • The Working White House: Lillian Rogers Parks

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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
  • The Working White House: Samuel Ficklin

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    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
  • The Working White House: Butlers

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    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
  • The Working White House: Cloakroom Staff

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    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

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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.

Among members of the residence staff, a spirit of kinship pervades the working White House. It embraces those who are not related by blood, but who are part of a “family” committed to the hard work and cooperation crucial to the efficient operation of the Executive Residence. Employees collaborate on the job, maintain personal ties outside the workplace, and stay in active contact with retired colleagues through correspondence and reunions.

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